Coming from Nagano in Japan is Old School Death Metal band INVICTUS. This is their eleventh year of existence, and it is time for them to give us a follow up to their 2020 debut album "The Catacombs Of Fear". In 2025 they did make another album, "Demo Compilation", but as the title suggests it is purely it's a compilation album which houses all their demo material up to that point. On 26 January 2026 their sophomore studio album with all new material "Nocturnal Visions" was released, and it is filled with just over 35 minutes of intense, thundering and very invasive Old School Death Metal. Youi won't encounter any of that newfound weird stuff, strange breaks, softening sounds or any form of subtlety.

This is really as Old School as one can get, but with an intensity, dedication and decisiveness that is a lot more convincing than you will find in a lot of other Death Metal releases. As far as I'm concerned INVICTUS has given us an album that has 'flattening everything in its path' written all over it. Oh, and the tempo being followed here will range from standard up to rather fast, but always with so much conviction that there is not one song on "Nocturnal Visions" that is any less or any better than the others. They all are written, recorded and produced to a standard that will undoubtedly please the Death Metal audiences. Due to the sound being so full, filling every gap or hole that might be encountered, you don't have or get the luxury to slack during listening. INVICTUS will draw you back in within the next second.

As every tune is also very well constructed, properly arranged and with all the hallmarks that will define a good Old School Death Metal song, I have to conclude that I'm listening to a really decent album. I know of a few embodiments of a band with the name of INVICTUS, I had never heard of the Japanese version before. That has now been rectified and I can only say that I'm glad to finally have listened to and experienced these Far East Death Metallers. I haven't become a real fan all of a sudden, but I do know if someone plays INVICTUS for me, and especially "Nocturnal Visions", I will enjoy them doing so. The same goes for on stage; if I ever get the chance to see them in my area, oi won't hesitate to ga and experience them in a live setting.