The Finnish Black Metal has given through the years very good bands and cult bands like BEHERIT, BARATHRUM, SATANIC WARMASTER, IMPALED NAZARENE, among others. So when I read that NOX ULTIMA calls their music "Cold Finnish Black Metal", immediately I wanted to hear their debut album "From Delirium to Catharsis".

NOX ULTIMA was formed in 2009 and his style could be described as a mid-tempo Black Metal / Death Metal with some Doom Metal elements. They cite as influences bands like BARATHRUM, WATAIN, CARPATHIAN FOREST, DARKTHRONE, MORBID ANGEL, INCANTATION, DISSECTION, etc. "From Delirium to Catharsis" is mostly characterized by elapse to mid-tempo, with some fast passages. Slow rhythms, almost Doom, combined with Death Metal vocals and riffs. All these elements are traversed by a cold Black Metal atmosphere, generated mostly by the guitar sound of Nuclear Meatgrinder.

I find difficult analyze the album track by track. "From Delirium to Catharsis" is an album that sounds compact but monotonous at times, without highlighting guitar solos and without too many variations that capture my attention I was expecting something more visceral. While we note that NOX ULTIMA is a band formed by serious and competent musicians, their songs fail to convey what I look for in this style of music.

Notwithstanding, these songs are highlights: "Contagion" (album's opener), "Annihilation and Ecstasy", "Sigil" (with a powerful Death / Thrash riff) and "Worldburning".

Honestly, I haven't found anything amazing with this debut NOX ULTIMA album, however fans of traditional Black / Death Metal assimilations, dark and in a mid-tempo, should give it more than a handful of spins.