NOCTURNAL ESCAPE are a Black/Death Metal that formed in early 2014 by Leo Bergmann in large part to fill a creative void left after his previous band disbanded in late 2013. NOCTURNAL ESCAPE began largely as a recording project, but ended up beginning to release music. NOCTURNAL ESCAPE hail from Augsburg, Germany. NOCTURNAL ESCAPE have just released their latest self-titled album titled "Nocturnal Escape" as an Independent release.

NOCTURNAL ESCAPE have a great Death Metal sound to them on their debut full-length LP. The theme of their entire release seems to be the metaphorical death of humanity as we know it as hate, anger, and power-hunger take over the world. Given the world we live in today, NOCTURNAL ESCAPE's entire "Gloom-N-Doom" outlook on the point at which humanity is in seems quiet fitting for many people that relate to this point at which humanity has reached. Some of it is based on reality, and other parts on fiction, but comes together to paint a picture of the end of humanity as we know it in the 21st century.

The album starts off with "War Of Beliefs" which is groveling, growling anthem about how humanity is in a war or who should believe what, and the terrible things that humans will do in the name of what they believe in. People are constantly fighting over who believes what, or who should have to believe what just because someone else believe in it. "Age Of Atrocity" is about how our hate and disgust as humans tend to rip our race apart rather than bring us together. "A Lucid Mind" is about how we as humans must fight for ourselves, or we will continue to fall into this trap of hate and anger. We must encourage ourselves and others to change our ways, and to lift each other up rather than tear each other down the way humanity tends to do.

"Disillusion Strikes" is about how the people of the world live in silence despite wanting to scream out loud about all the things that are wrong. Governments and the higher-ups try to brainwash us that everything is OK, even as the world can be falling apart around us. Someone needs to get us help, but we are not able to call out and ask for it because we are afraid of what will happen if we speak up. The self-title track of "Nocturnal Escape" begins with a ballad-like sound that paints the picture of a dark, cloudy night where people are out in the field all alone with nothing else surrounding them. This is about the only place left on this planet to escape from the insanity that is the world anymore. It's the only place where people are not being pressured into doing things by the powers-that-be in life. It's the only solitary, quiet place where someone can be alone anymore. It's something peaceful among a life of agony and suffering otherwise. "Screaming Heart" about how badly people can hurt our feelings by just saying things that really rip someone's heart apart.

"Gaia's Demise" is the song that brings us to the day we leave this messed up planet for a better place, wherever that place may be. Some afterlife or heaven or whatever we believe in. We want our lives here to end, and we want to go somewhere where things are better than they are here. Our lives after this planet will be better than it is here. That is a fundamental belief most humans must hold to give hope to the future. Finally the last track titled "Call To Humanity" demands that humans start being better people and how we need a society that lets people live how they choose while making people stand up and be responsible for what they have done and will do. If we don't do that humanity will not be any better than it is now, and this world will not become a better place than it was before.

NOCTURNAL ESCAPE have created a very Death Metal-themed album here that is quite doom-y and gloom-y and talks a lot about, well, death. There is quiet a bit of groveling and growling in the vocals as well as moments that shows the brilliant melody of NOCTURNAL ESCAPE's vocalist. The song-writing is quite unbelievable as well, and gives the listener a lot to thing about through some pretty substantial lyrics that really have a lot of depth to it. There is also a large dose of reality that people can relate to as humanity slowly goes crazy even today in our world. NOCTURNAL ESCAPE wrote something that a lot of people can relate to, and understand.

Songwriting 10


Production 10