Noctum: The Seance (2010/2011)

Swedish quartet NOCTUM was formed back in 2009, and already the following year they launched their debut album "The Seance". Initially released on a small German label, this production have since been reissued a number of times on CD and vinyl both. One of these comes courtesy of Swedish label Transubstans Records, whose edition was made available from mid December 2011.

One fact that becomes crystal clear just a few seconds into this album is that this is a band with a deep respect and affection for Black Sabbath, and in particular what I'd describe as the vintage era of this band - the periods that kicks off with "Paranoid" and ends with "Vol. 4". And Noctum borrows heavily from this era of Black Sabbath's back catalogue. Dampened but intense drum patterns, flowing riff patterns and staccato power riffs incorporated alongside motifs of a more blues oriented manner and the occasional lighter toned, dampened expression, rumbling but subservient bass guitar and light-toned, intense lead vocals.

But despite numerous similarities and an expression that is undeniable Black Sabbath oriented through and through the end result isn't a purebred copycat experience either. Noctum enjoys a greater deal of variation for starters, commonly utilizing a handful of themes and theme variations in their compositions for starters. And as vintage as their expression is, they also flavour their pieces lightly with a few select details that I associate with bands like Celtic Frost and, to a lesser extent, Venom, to a much stronger degree than Iommi and his crew. And while vocalist Indelöf often ventures into an edgy, subtly disharmonic delivery very much in the manner of Ozzy Osbourne, the foundation of his vocal delivery resides in a more controlled and harmonic overall expression. And unless I'm much mistaken, A certain part of bonus track The Fiddler is some sort of a homage to Paul Dianno era Iron Maiden. This might be coincidental, but I'm pretty sure that Maiden fans who enjoy the Dianno years will get a pleasant smile out of this song.

There's a lot to like about this band and this album, as long as you don't mind experiencing a production that occasionally ventures a bit too close to comfort into the realms of their main inspirations. On the negative side I get the feeling that this is a very young band however. While I'm not that interested in lyrics in general I do think that this band has a development potential in that part of their creative repertoire, and otherwise some details in instrumental and vocal performance both made me think about young, aspiring musicians still a tad too naive in some areas.

But by and large "The Seance" is a disc well worth checking out, and in particular if the first few  years of Tony Iommi's Black Sabbath represent a musical style you tend to enjoy.

My rating: 74/100
Track list:
1. The Seance        
2. Fortune Teller        
3. Insomnia        
4. Den Onda Trollpackan        
5. Mistress        
6. Lucifer's Way        
7. Remain        
8. Children of Darkness
9. The Fiddler
10. The Serpent Bride