This is the first time I am VERY disappointed of not having the lyrics for reading together with the promo package I got from the label. Somewhern in the last millennium I drove with my pals in Nefas up in Belgium for a legendary gig they had with Centurian, one of my favorite bands at the time which I really could not allow to miss (not to mention that beer house in Gent but let’s not digress). Fact is we had a long chat with Rob regarding the lyrics of Centurian, and the concepts behind its Choronzonic devotion. From what I remember, all this was some time before any of this MLO thing came out. Of corpse there was and still is a lot of Cabbalistic study in the lyricswork but I think it comes more from Rob’s love of “Legion” by Deicide than anything else (however things might have developed in the meantime, who knows). But still, I really loved Centurian‘s lyrics and I am sure these are at least as much if not more cool to read.

I will mention Centurian for the fifth time now because Nox is indisputably taking unholy life from where that band ended – hell the first song is even titled Choronzonic Chaos Gods. I guess Wim was too old to keep up with all the shit after marrying ehe (are you listening, hairball?), because I see no other reason in changing the band’s name but not its style. Nevertheless these years have not been unproductive. Things are even more hectic than ever before now, the riffs are so multifaceted and complex, an endless spiral of fractal razor blades whipping around in a maelstrom of screams, blast beats and untainted blasphemies. You can hardly find anything more grandiosely elaborate but at the same time so incredibly ferocious in today’s Death Metal. The singer’s vocals are still violent outbursts of rabid cruelty rather than undemanding routine pig squeals, and well, all of this album is just plain flawless. A perfect blend of aesthetics, music and concept. Nox is nihilistic, destructive tentacular Death Metal in its purest form. Tight as fuck drumming, extremely personal riffs and solos, great vocals. I really cannot think of anything better. At this level of intricacy, I don’t even find the heart of complaining about the overproduction, because you cannot really demand to add more filth to an album like this without losing something in the process. If there is one Death Metal album you have to get this year, this is it (add in Necros Christos and Angelcorpse while you’re at it, though).