Australia has long been a hotbed of hellish heavy metal. Perhaps it’s because they’re so “down under” that the underworld isn’t too far behind. It’s the only logical explanation for a continent that has produced the likes of Hobbs Angel of Death, Sadistik Exekution, Vomitor, Bestial Warlust, Deströyer 666, and Denouncement Pyre; the latter two featuring members that make up today’s featured band, Nocturnal Graves. Originally formed as the one man project of Jarro Raphael AKA Nuclear Exterminator, they’ve since grown to be a full blown supergroup. Their latest release, An Outlaw’s Stand, is their fourth studio album.
Nocturnal Graves specializes in the same black/death/thrash metal amalgamation as their aforementioned fellow countrymen. At certain points they lean towards death. At other points they lean towards thrash. What doesn’t break is their musical backbone, which is firmly rooted in dark, sinister, second wave black metal. I’d use the term “blackened death metal”, but that would infer death metal lies at the base of their sound. In reality, Nocturnal Graves is more of a “deathened black metal” band, if such a term existed.
This approach is displayed quite brazenly on the militant Morbid Angel-esque “Death to Pigs” and the savage “Command for Conflict”. Together, they’re a fearsome one-two punch that lets the listener know this band isn’t playing around. As the album progresses, the band throws in a lethal dose of thrash, before returning to this black/death assault for “Beyond the Flesh” and the blindingly fast closing title track. There’s no denying these maniacs saved the heaviest for last. Riddled with pulverizing blast beats, tremolo riffing, and a menacing aura, “An Outlaw’s Stand” is a bona fide black metal hymn.
With all due respect to the black/death metal leanings which dominate this release, my favorite moments on An Outlaw’s Stand are when Nocturnal Graves goes headfirst into thrash metal hell. “Ruthless Fight” showcases this approach in unrelenting fashion, falling somewhere between Pleasure to Kill era Kreator and In the Sign of Evil era Sodom. The pummeling “Across the Acheron” is lead by a blatantly Slayer influenced riff, while “No Mercy for Weakness” and “Law of the Blade” recall the thrash infused second wave black metal of Nifelheim, Aura Noir, and many of the bands listed in the first paragraph. Granted, these neck snappers may be too extreme for your average beer guzzling, hard partying thrasher, simply due to their infernal disposition.
If you’re looking for an album that reinvents the wheel, look elsewhere. An Outlaws Stand carries on the grand Australian tradition of sheer metallic brutality: a tradition that has been passed on through the ages, yet potent as ever. Predictable? One dimensional? Occasionally repetitive? Sure. Soft? Absolutely not. Nocturnal Graves cordially invites you into their diabolical abyss of hadean metal: An unforgiving world of spikes, leather, and all things heavy and true. Do you accept?
6 out of 10
Label: Seasons of Mist Underground Activities
Genre: Black/Death/Thrash Metal
For fans of: Deströyer 666, Bestial Warlust, Sodom