Towering, lucid abominations drape rows of fanged, tentacular protrusions over the barren nuclear wasteland, expelling plumes of carcinogenic fog into the atmosphere like a biological chimney. Cephalopod mucous and cosmic slurry envelops the ecosystem in desecration, annihilating biodiversity like an epoch-defining mass extinction. Abyssal Earth.
Much like the faceted compound eyes of a bloodthirsty mosquito, the multilayered landscape of present-day death metal is saturated with complexity, technicality and otherwise mind-melting instrumental wizardry that will have the most primitive cavemen (such as myself) scratching their thinning heads with confusion. Because of this, it has never been more abundantly clear that the sanctity of the more ‘barebones’ death metal approach must be protected at all costs. With that in mind, allow me to introduce to you the brand new studio full-length album by Japan’s Invictus.
On 26th January 2026 through Me Saco Un Ojo Records, Invictus’s sophomore album ‘Nocturnal Visions’ was spawned from the rancid oviduct of the hellish molluscan miscreant, once again exhibiting the band’s charmingly measured approach to cranium-bashing traditional death metal.
No frills are to be observed at any point during this 35-minute audial onslaught. From the very opening moment, you are subjected to a barrage of thrashing drum beats, so powerful that they could send a war veteran spiralling into a trembling PTSD episode. Lightning-quick double kick work is adopted to keep your pulse racing, injecting a scintillating shot of adrenaline into otherwise simplistic, straight to the point 8th note bars. The hi-hat and ride cymbal alternate like erratic insectoid flight patterns throughout, accentuating each riff section with an air of respectable modesty and alluring subtlety, keeping you returning for more like a victim of Stockholm syndrome.
Respite is scarce, and breathing becomes a luxury within this choking cesspit of organic dissolution, as winding guitars swell and churn in the mix, leaving no hollow space unexplored. Amidst the incorrigible cacophony dwells a delectable smorgasbord of rhythm riffs, bouncing between voracious thrash pickings and dirty, sluggish mid-paced dirges to bring you to your knees in the noxious goo beneath your feet. Electrifying solo sections are based within the traditional formula, splitting each track into two segments and gluing them back together, as entrancing melodies lull your collapsing body into a false sense of security.
Gravelly bellows and ungodly growls rumble from within the grotesque mass’s compartmented stomach, bubbling like ascending bile with each nauseating verse. Admirably, lyricism nor vocal emanations are used excessively here, allowing extensive instrumental passages room to build, grow and climax to their fullest potential, as each riff is scorched into your brain matter like a cattle brand. Whilst the bass guitar can often become swamped in noise by its surrounding counterparts, it can be heard perfectly in this instance, providing a solid foundation atop which the ghastly streams of pus, gore and putrefactive soup can flow.
This is an absolute treat for the masochist’s ears, combining the innate modern brutality of the Danish Killtown sound, with the classic late ‘80s prototype to create an unstoppable force of true, unfiltered violence. If, like myself, you are in the market for high quality, outstandingly written death metal in the old school vein, then I employ you to subject yourself to this oozing slab of rot before it subjects itself to you!
