The last album released under the NOCTURNUS name was 1999's "Ethereal Tomb."  A lot of bands from the past have been returning in recent years such as AT THE GATES, CARCASS, LIGHT THIS CITY, and many others.  Although the name is different, the spirit is the same with NOCTURNUS AD and their debut album "Paradox."  For the uninitiated, NOCTURNUS were one of the first Death Metal bands to incorporate both Sci-Fi themes and keyboards into their music. NOCTURNUS AD continues this trend and picks up pretty much where they left off.  They don't do anything original compared to their own sound but considering they are innovators themselves, that doesn't really matter here.

What matters is that soon as I pressed play on my promo MP3's, I was blown away on how fucking good the band sounds and the production too.  The guitar tone, the bass, the overall feel...everything just screams classic Florida Death Metal.  This album sounds like a dream—a destructive, weird, crazy, but wholly entertaining dream. The album begins with those famous eerie and alien keyboards on the opening track, "Seizing The Throne."  JOSH HOLDREN really knows how to use subtle techniques to hone in on just the right moments to add in just the right amount of keys to both compliment and heighten the atmosphere.

As previously mentioned, Koblak, Heftel, and Tucker know their Death Metal inside and out.  Anyone who grew up with the scene from Florida or knows a lot about it through countless listening hours will not find anything to complain about with these riffs, or the frantic leads that live within them."Seizing The Throne," is extremely mind bending especially towards the middle part of the song with that heavy as a black hole riff hammering down in between the guitars and keys fighting it out in quick little duels.

"Paleolithic" is almost faster than ears can hear and a fury that confuses the brain. Browning barks out his lines as he devastates his own song with the drums.  It opens up about a minute and a half in for a groovy riff and slick guitar solo.   The last minute is one of the most intense and harrowing moments I've heard all year in Death Metal. "The Antechamber," serves as, basically, the middle portion of the album and it is such a good track that I can't think of any reason why it wouldn't keep a person's interest level high.  The keys and riffs work as one frantic whirl of energy that pummels the listener as it builds the song up towards the moment at 2:30 with one of the best riffs on the entire album teaming up with BROWNING to deliver a crushing musical movement that sounds like a symphony from the hell of an unknown planet within deep space.

"Paradox," is the missing album from the band that fans have wanted for years and a worth follow up to their discography.  The band doesn't do much to expand on their sound or concepts, but they play with the same conviction and unconventional ideas that made them good in the first place.