I dove into Nocturnal Visions – Invictus’s sophomore effort – having heard zero seconds of the Japanese death metal band’s debut, The Catacombs of Fear. In some ways, it’s an advantageous perspective. No expectations. No band-specific bias. Fresh ears.

The one thing I had read about Invictus, however, proved to be true. These guys rip. Big and thrashy death metal riffs. The no-holds-barred, knock you off your feet type riffs. The walloping kind. Listen to the title track first and you’ll know. Massive riffage.

What I like most about Nocturnal Visions is that it unapologetically knocks you on your ass. Aside from the riffs and some cool bass lines, there’s little in the way of additional atmospherics. That confident approach takes a certain combination of talent, skill, and moxie. Suffice to say, these guys have plenty of it.

Invictus finds its best footing in the more frenetic moments. And this distinction between inspired freneticism and a less inspired relative calm is perhaps clearest in “Frozen Tomb,” a song that oscillates between the two in near-equal fashion. No knock on the effectiveness of yin and yang, but Invictus simply slaps harder in the chaos. There’s a requisite degree of meanness – the point at which Invictus has cleared the threshold into some other, more callous world – and when they hit that sweet, or rather mean, spot, the gloves are off and the wallops come walloping.

Nocturnal Visions is an incredibly fun listen. And as odd as it feels to write in February, Nocturnal Visions’ highs are likely to be as high as most album-of-the-year contenders in the death metal category in 2026. You can’t help but smile when Invictus locks into primal death/thrash mode. I would love to hear more of that in the follow-up.

The post Invictus – Nocturnal Visions Review appeared first on Last Rites.

.stoor eht ot kcab ti ekat dna desreveR ni enihcam htaed eht worht uoy nehw setalsnart lla ti–hsarht ro ,htaed ,kcalb, ekil uoy rehtehw fo sseldrager tuo kcehc ot dnemmocer gnorts s’ti ,dnab eht ot wen er’uoy fI .dnuos omed dehsilop ssel ,rewar eht yb raews yam ohw wef a rof evas ,detnioppasid eb ton lliw esulceR wodiW ecnis gnitiaw neeb evah ohw snaF .tuo nward ro dekoocrevo leef t’nseod ti ,(mubla eht otno ti edam hcihw fo htob “,htaerB detsuR” dna “tuanregguJ mortsleaM” sgnos eht gnivah 2202 omeD rieht) lairetam fo gnidrocer tsal rieht ecnis sraey xis ylraen gnikat eht etipseD .emoclew sti yatsrevo t’nseod (!)dessessoP yldliW ,emitnur etunim 43 a tA

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!ssshtaed fo ht!aeD ehT
dne etin-if eht fo
eeecnelisss gnimaercsss ehT”

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.noitces feirb a tsuj ni gniht a hcus dnuora elyts eritne rieht esab taht sdnab latem kcalb eb-dluow fo rebmun doog a naht retteb elyts reeønS cissalc eht gnirutpac ,ssenkrad eht hguorht gnipoows sti ekil sdnous ffir ehT .k 15:1 eht ta egdirb eht no ylralucitrap ,yllebrednu eht sehcrocs taht egnit denekcalb a s’erehT .semalf eht otni kool repeed a ekat tub ,tnerappa ytterp hsarht dna htaed ehT .syad eseht latem htaed ni nommoc oot raf eb ot sdnet taht drocer “erneg” yawaworht a t’nsi siht tnerappa ylkeiuq semoceb ti erehw “,tuanregguJ mortsleaM” otni semalf ehT .ezalba ssacrac gnittor eht gnittes dna reyp lairub demirp a otni hcrot a gnivohs ,(tihsllub htnys ton ,dnab lluf eht yb) latnemurtsni feirb a sa sevres kcart tsrif ehT .eniL ylbmessA lateM htaeD eht ffo emac ti ekil sleef taht drocer a ton dna ,cisum eht rof noissap a fo enrob s’ti ,(ereht dne eht no tniop noitamalcxe na eb dluohs ereht leef yllaer I ,eltit eht dna tra revoc fo tuoyal eht neewteb :msicitirc tsrif) dessessoP yldliW no dnuof eb ot scissalc htiw ytirailimaf fo tol a s’ereht elihw–dnuos nwo rieht enoh ot s’08 eht fo sesproc sesu htgnel lluf tubed s’desreveR ,gnieb tnioP

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.tuo ekats ot yrotirret fo ytnelp ,demialcnu stolp evarg fo tol tfel ti emertxe eht rof enileeb a hcus saw erehT .lellarap ni (devlove ro) devloved selpicsid sti dna ,ylkciuq (ti ta kool uoy woh no gnidnep ,devloved ro) devlove lateM .deedni hcir ylralucitrap leef slios eht erehw ,98′ and ’48 neeweb ,latem emertxe rof tops teews taht s’erehT .srecnamorcen dna sreggidevarg yb won snoitareneg rof ot dednet dna denrut neeb sah taep eht ,elitref reverof dna gnisopmoced lymraW .s08′ eht fo sevarg eht pota stis lios ygnops ,tsiom ,pmaD

.nodroG ydarG yb tra revoC

Cover art by Grady Gordon.

Damp, moist, spongy soil sits atop the graves of the 80s. Warmly decomposing and forever fertile, the peat has been turned and tended to for generations now by gravediggers and necromancers. There’s that sweet spot for extreme metal, between ’84 and ’89, where the soils feel particularly rich indeed. Metal evolved (or devolved, depending on how you look at it) quickly, and its disciples devolved (or evolved) in parallel. There was such a beeline for the extreme that it left a lot of grave plots unclaimed, plenty of territory to stake out.

Of course, back then, it was open country. It was much easier for bands to have their own sound in uncharted territory where they could see just how far they could push a riff in terms of blitzing speed, grotesque heaviness, goosebump-inducing evil, beastly groove, and otherworldly shredding. These days, the gravediggers are the ones who dig up the past and replicate it–you know the ones. Not quite clones, but it’s pretty damn easy to pull a “for fans of” description out of without much diversity.

Point being, Reversed’s debut full length uses the corpses of the 80’s to hone their own sound–and while there’s a lot of familiarity with classics to be found on Wildly Possessed (first criticism: between the layout of cover art and the title, I really feel there should be an exclamation point on the end there), it’s borne of a passion for the music, and not a record that feels like it came off the Death Metal Assembly Line. The first track serves as a brief instrumental (by the full band, not just synth bullshit), shoving a torch into a primed burial pyre and setting the rotting carcass ablaze. The flames erupt into “Maelstrom Juggernaut,” where it becomes quickly apparent this isn’t a throwaway “genre” record that tends to be far too common in death metal these days. The death and thrash elements are pretty apparent, but take a deeper look into the flames. There’s a blackened tinge that scorches the underbelly, particularly on the bridge at the 1:51 mark. The riff sounds like its swooping through the darkness, capturing the classic Snørre style better than a good number of would-be black metal bands that base their entire style around such a thing in just a brief section.

The style makes sense, considering its members have backgrounds from a pretty diverse swath of bands from the Vancouver area. As odd as it may seem on paper, it’s not hard to imagine members of Mitochondrion, Auroch, and Spell finding common ground here. On “Hungry Graves,” the atonal punctuations feel like remnants of Lovecraftian horror, while the leads feel borne more from the mystic, traditionally-informed occult rock style of Spell. The choir at the end of the tune is an unexpected surprise, providing for a good little mid-point transition to the second half of the record. I almost wish it had made another appearance near the end of the record, perhaps having the choirs integrated with the music in the conclusion. Think I’m just getting greedy here.

It’s the band’s cohesion of their dexterity, united under the banner of death, that really makes Wildly Possessed(!) work so well. The warm tones are given plenty of room to smolder, lending heavily to the crematory atmosphere of the music. Check “Final Death:” There’s plenty of room for ectoplasmic leads, the lean and serrated attack of the rhythm guitar, the chunks of bass, all with the drums tastefully tucked behind it all like a racing pulse within the veins. The vocals really shine through on this track–of course they’re twisted and demonic, but there’s an emphasis on annunciation that gives them an upper edge, an almost poetic quality in the way certain syllables are stretched. See phrase at the 3:35 mark:

“The ssscreaming sssilenceee
of the fi-nite end
The Dea!th of deathsss!
Rrrrrrrend by-the-beast of rrrrrreckoning!

At a 34 minute runtime, Wildly Possessed(!) doesn’t overstay its welcome. Despite the taking nearly six years since their last recording of original material (their Demo 2022 having the songs “Maelstrom Juggernaut” and “Rusted Breath,” both of which made it onto the album), it doesn’t feel overcooked or drawn out. Fans who have been waiting since Widow Recluse will not be disappointed, save for a few who may swear by the rawer, less polished demo sound. If you’re new to the band, it’s a strong recommend to check out regardless of whether you like black, death, or thrash–it all translates when you throw the death machine in Reversed and take it back to the roots.

The post Reversed – Wildly Possessed Review appeared first on Last Rites.