Iberian blackened death metal behemoths NOCTEM today unleash their lyric video for “I Am Alpha.” Now playing at BrooklynVegan, the icy, utterly ravenous track serves as the opening psalm to the band’s forthcoming new full-length, Credo Certe Ne Cras, scheduled to drop on October 28th via MNRK Heavy.
NOCTEM released their fifth full-length album, The Black Consecration, in 2019. New Transcendence accurately declared the output a “superb album, littered with secrets and enticing riffs,” making favorable comparisons to early Emperor and Dark Funeral while Metal Hammer Portugal wrote, “in this particular genre, it is perhaps one of the best Spanish works ever of its kind.”
Credo Certe Ne Cras broadens its old-school-sounding predecessor’s raw, filthy fury with denser production and melody without sacrificing the frostbitten 200 mph winds of anger and blast beats. Indeed, Credo Certe Ne Cras – meaning “I Believe With Certainty That There is No Tomorrow” — is a true master opus merging the crushing cacophony of angry, adrenaline-fueled lust with newfound sorrows and mournful melodic might. More than a mere listen, the album is a cerebral experience invoking ritualistic examination. In spirit, presentation, and philosophy, NOCTEM shares much in common with Watain, Rotting Christ, Belphegor, and Gorgoroth, while growing their own decaying branch of a wretched metal tree. Any extreme band with Spanish-style nylon string guitars in their arsenal owes a sizable debt to them.
Notes the band of crushing new single “I Am Alpha,” “Through its musical aspects and lyrical theme, this song delves deep into the depths of anguish, and embodies domination and the existential phenomenology of the human being. A transcendental journey, an awakening, and the realization that we are the beginning of the end.”
BrooklynVegan hails, “six and a half minutes of pure black and death metal fury. It never lets up on the attack once; even the slightly slower, more melodic bridge is ferocious.”
Watch NOCTEM’s “I Am Alpha” courtesy of BrooklynVegan, at THIS LOCATION.
View NOCTEM’s previously released video for “Credo Certe Ne Cras” at THIS LOCATION and “We Are Omega” at THIS LOCATION.
Credo Certe Ne Cras will be available on CD, LP, cassette, and digital formats. Find preorder options at THIS LOCATION.
Originating in Valencia, Spain, NOCTEM made their putrid presence felt with the rumble of 2002’s Unholy Blood demo. The God Among Slaves demo followed in 2007, building bloodthirsty anticipation for the band’s proper full-length debut, Divinity (2009), on Austria’s Noisehead Records. Metal Blade Records licensed Oblivion (2011) abroad, followed by a deal with Prosthetic Records, which issued Exilium (2014) and Haeresis (2016), a concept album centered on the Spanish Inquisition. (A special “rotten meat” scented LP edition of Haeresis sold all of its 666 copies in under a week.) The Black Consecration (2019) expanded NOCTEM’s themes of ancient civilizations and dark rites to encompass more of Beleth’s philosophy, previously outlined in his first book, 2017’s Codex Ante-Mortem, released the same year as the band’s homemade beer, A Cruce Salus.
NOCTEM’s union with MNRK Heavy sees them stepping onto the world stage like never before, threatening a full assault. In 2022 and beyond, NOCTEM takes a massive leap forward on their thorn-ridden path, armed with blackened faith and righteous fury, thirsty with unquenchable bloodlust, and prepared to conquer. They arise again without redemption, embracing the chaos of modern times and unafraid of fate.
“…a nonstop onslaught of fiery blasts and throat-shredding screams, perfect for the Summertime. Blast it at a red light and at your next BBQ! Only the true can hang, anyway.” – Metal Injection
“The vocals are shattering in their intensity… yet there’s also a sweeping, cascading quality to the music, which magnifies the scale of its feelings of tension and distress, and roots it even deeper in the mind…” – No Clean Singing on “We Are Omega”
“Credo Certe Ne Cras is a traditional blackened death metal offering, intertwining melodies with the blast beats and shrieked vocals. Anyone familiar with NOCTEM’s previous work, like 2019’s The Black Consecration, will immediately notice an upgrade in production quality.” — MetalSucks
NOCTEM:
Beleth – vocals
Varu – bass
Voor – drums
Moss – guitars
Tobal – guitars
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