Review by Daniel for Nocturnus - The Key (1990)

The debut album from this Florida tech death outfit was a really big record for Ben & I back in the day after I picked it up on cassette shortly after release. I was absolutely blown away by the lead guitar wizardry while the unique use of keyboards & sci-fi- themes was also a major drawcard. I've been wondering whether I'd appreciate it as much in modern days though so I was a little hesitant going into my first revisit in many years. That hesitation proved to have some merit too because there's no doubt that some parts of the album sound less complete than others.

"The Key" opens in stunning fashion with the first three cuts all being genuine death metal classics in their own right, particularly "Standing In Blood" which is an all-timer for me. There's definitely a bit of a dip in quality after that though, even though there's nothing I'd say is weak as such. "Neolithic" & "Undead Journey" see me labelling the middle of the album as merely decent before things pick up in the back end with closer "Empire Of The Sands" being another wonderful representation of the Nocturnus sound.

I absolutely adore the super-shreddy lead guitar tone of Mike Davis & Sean McNenney. It's about as metal as it gets really. The keyboards can get a touch overblown during that middle section but most of the time they tend to stay away from anything too cheesy. Band leader Mike Browning is the clear weak point though, particularly his vocals but also his drumming to a lesser extent. Nocturnus' music is meant to be ridiculously over the top & some of Browning's beats feel a little underwhelming if I'm being completely honest. Still... there's no doubt that "The Key" is a very strong record that borders on my higher scores. You can hear Browning's former band Morbid Angel in not only the vocals & drums but also some of the riff structures. There's a similarly thrashy influence to the "Abominations of Desolation" album too only in the context of a much more overtly technical outlook with some of the riffs essentially being light-speed dual-guitar lead solos. It's amazing how Florida was coming up with so many forward-thinking & talented death metal bands at the time with Nocturnus standing toe to toe with artists like Death & Atheist. "The Key" doesn't seem out of place next to that company either although I'd suggest that, unlike those two acts that went on to greater things, Nocturnus peaked early &, as a result, are probably better suited to being a leader amongst the second tier of the Florida death metal hierarchy.