Nocturnal Fear
Metal Of Honor
7.4
Detroit’s Nocturnal Fear are back to deal out another round of war-soaked virulent thrash metal showing considerable debt to Teutonic forefathers like Sodom and Kreator. Cleanly sidestepping the more melodic and dynamic Bay Area formula so dearly prized by the deep throng of nu-jack thrashers, Nocturnal Fear trade in balls out speed and snarl to deliver their battle-obsessed tales. Can you survive their blitzkrieg?
The fact that the album opens with a load of samples from Rambo movies, and includes a ‘three-part instrumental’ (“Reign of Terror”) that’s wrapped up cleanly in three and a half minutes gives you a pretty good idea of what these guys are all about--pure onslaught is their sole intention here. Metal of Honor is hardly a mandatory listen, but damn if this one trick pony doesn’t make for a fun ride. At nearly an hour long the album comes dangerously close to wearing out its welcome, but along the way there are loads of headbangable moments. The frenetic riff fests of “Soul Destroyer” and “Nuclear Deathstrike” in particular get fists pumping nicely and show off axe-man Rev. Chris Slavehunter Ph.D’s (yeah, I know) impressive fret abuse. Vocals this time around are ably handled by session combatant Doomy G. Blackthrash (Sauron).
If you’re in the hunt for fiercely executed reverence to the vintage days that manages to avoid sounding retro and contrived, Nocturnal Fear are looking for a few good men to join their ranks. Enlist at your own risk. Pure metal, this one.
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7/15/2008