Band:	Nocturnus AD
Album:	Paradox
Style:	Technical death metal
Release date:	May 24, 2019
A review by:	Auntie Sahar

01. Seizing The Throne
02. The Bandar Sign
03. Paleolithic
04. Precession Of The Equinoxes
05. The Antechamber
06. The Return Of The Lost Key
07. Apotheosis
08. Aeon Of The Ancient Ones
09. Number 9

Ah yes, "comeback albums." A rare occasion that almost always results in hit or miss efforts. With the mighty Nocturnus, pioneers of spacey death metal now rebranded as Nocturnus AD, thankfully Paradox is a lot more of the former than the latter.

Nocturnus have long had an odd distinction of being one of the most well respected, yet frequently overlooked of the "old school" death metal bands. Being one of the first death metal bands to incorporate keyboards into their music and thus experiment with a genuine "atmospheric death metal" sound, the band is most often remembered for their landmark 1990 debut The Key, a concept album of sorts about a time traveling cyborg who travels back to the first millennium BC to kill an infant Jesus because religious blasphemy. Recently Nocturnus has struck back in the form of Nocturnus AD, centered around Mike Browning, who contributed drums and vocals on The Key. Nearly 30 years later, the group is tapping back to the legacy of the Nocturnus debut with a debut of their own, 2019's Paradox.

Considering the fact that Browning is the only member of Nocturnus's lineup from The Key still present on Paradox, the group he's assembled under his banner does a pretty damn fine job at recreating the classic Nocturnus sound. While Paradox might not be as keen as its forefather on the spacey, electronic factor, being overall more deserving of the "technical death metal" label than "atmospheric" or "progressive" death metal, it nonetheless does a fantastic job of more or less redelivering The Key and all its glory for a present day audience. Replete with wicked, complex riffage, keyboard interludes that enhance the sci fi vibe, and Mike Browning's raspy vocals that differ very little in sound from his delivery on The Key, with Paradox Nocturnus AD generate a sound sure to please listeners who were looking to see them tap into their legacy, but that may disappoint listeners who were looking for something a little newer and more unexpected.

If there's anything to complain about with Paradox, it's the fact that Nocturnus AD are essentially going for The Key 2.0 with this album, and that overall it's not very high on the originality factor. Additionally, most of the tracks stick around the same upbeat, frantic tempo, meaning that there's little distinction between them, and after a while the sound on Paradox does become a bit repetitive. But in all fairness, Paradox may be more of an "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" type of thing than anything else. As The Key was never anything less than an album that received near universal praise among the death metal community, there could certainly be worse examples that Nocturnus AD could be tapping into as a source of inspiration for Paradox. Sure, you could criticize this album for a lack of originality, but you damn sure can't criticize it for a lack of quality.

The time traveling cyborg is still head hunting. Help bid him a warm welcome to 2019.