NOCTIS IMPERIUM – Nihil
- Posted on 17-11-2010
“Nihil” represents almost 30 minutes of Venezuelan death metal in the vein of early Morbid Angel but with some modern touches and production to bring the classic sound up to date. Nick Barker does a solid job as guest sticksman, but fails to put a rocket up the backside of the songs. The material is better than average for this kind of thing, but Noctis run into trouble when they cover "Maze of Torment" (check it out – it is on this EP in both studio and live versions!). Sure, they do a great job of the cover but all they serve to achieve is to remind the listener how great Morbid Angel can be. What a riff! That brings us to the second problem. How do you replicate the guitar pyrotechnics of the inestimable Trey Azagthoth? Answer – you don’t.
This is a pretty solid EP overall, and if you are a fan of “Altars of Madness” it could well appeal to you. For my money, I’d say wait for a full-length.