Review by Felix on February 2, 2020.

Nocturnal’s “Storming Evil” was a killer album and so I was glad to hear that a new output has seen the light of day. Well, one new track and a cover of “Invincible Force” – that’s not much, right? Of course, I know all these wonderful arguments like “this is our "Reign in Blood" 7-inch” or “quality beats quantity”. That’s correct, but great quality and appropriate quantity would have been a good idea as well. Anyhow, the new song “Preventive War” sounds like a strong leftover of their full-length from 2014. Jagged, sharp riffs, light speed and (now comes the difference) a new male vocalist. Pino, lead vocalist of Witchburner (will these dudes ever record a new album?), lends the song his voice and his performance meets the expectations in a convincing manner. “Invincible Force” cannot keep up with the original. Okay, this might be a matter of course, but this version really lacks power and the sound is subject to fluctuations. There is only good thing I can say about this version. Nocturnal do not hide the fact that they play a cover – and this distinguishes them from their comrades called Nuctemeron...

…because the stylistically very well comparable dudes from Saxony present a song called “Eternal Proscription” as their own, but there is a lot of “Crionics” in it. Okay, after two millions of thrash metal songs it might be that some similarities are inevitable, but I thought that Slayer’s debut is well known and to copy one of its parts note by note is either an act of worship or pure audacity. By the way, this dubious action was pretty unnecessary in view of the indisputable potential Nuctemeron shows here. As mentioned before, their songs lie in close proximity to those of their split vinyl partners and this means that a sinister aura meets diabolic nagging, slicing guitars and rumbling yet propelling drums. Both tracks make clear that the German underground is not at risk to dry out. Moreover, it seems as if black thrash metal is never getting old, even if Nocturnal do not reach their top form this time. Nevertheless, the vinyl with the double artwork, both in the vein of old school demos, is recommendable.

Rating: 7.5 out of 10

Review by Chris Pratl on January 15, 2019.

Death metal of this sort found on American soil usually falls into one of two categories. Usually the first type is bland, oversaturated death metal that is too thin sounding to be taken seriously with a production as sheer as wax paper and no true grasp of the concept. The second brand of death metal is a thick, battering brutality that simply pounds your skull like a malfunctioning trip hammer and flips the switch in your head right off the bat. Arizona’s Negative Existence is the sole purpose my head is dented and bruised today.

With a drum-beat sound straight out of Malevolent Creation, guitars from the Broken Hope school of death, and vocals that make Craig Pillard appear subdued, Enshrouded Perdition casts a very heavy shadow over the room; 22-minutes of shameless disfigurement by way of audio transmission seem like hours as one track after another disassembles your thoughts and provides a sick and twisted jaunt into caustic nausea. “Using Fear as a Motivator” is something that sounds straight out of the early 90’s underground, especially the riffs that simply sound deadly and the musical equivalent of decay. The guitar tones over the “Lashing out against your condescending tone--/Lashing out at your motives to control-“ are some of the more evil and sadistic sounding I’ve heard. The whole demo provides a serious look downward into the sewage of the human condition.

What impresses me most about Negative Existence is that fact that there is no pretense, no overuse of shock as a weapon; there is a simply battery of dark and violent chords melding with a drum sound that is fast, nicely crisp throughout, and just angry enough to cause small ripples of anger at pretty much everything around me. That right there is what death metal is supposed to accomplish, and this demo does that and then some. This music is as ugly as it gets with some of the better production values to boot; you need to seek out this death metal filth. 

I hope these guys keep going in this vein.

Rating: 8 out of 10

(Originally written for www.metalpsalter.com)

Review by Chris Pratl on January 15, 2019.

Death metal of this sort found on American soil usually falls into one of two categories. Usually the first type is bland, oversaturated death metal that is too thin sounding to be taken seriously with a production as sheer as wax paper and no true grasp of the concept. The second brand of death metal is a thick, battering brutality that simply pounds your skull like a malfunctioning trip hammer and flips the switch in your head right off the bat. Arizona’s Negative Existence is the sole purpose my head is dented and bruised today.

With a drum-beat sound straight out of Malevolent Creation, guitars from the Broken Hope school of death, and vocals that make Craig Pillard appear subdued, Enshrouded Perdition casts a very heavy shadow over the room; 22-minutes of shameless disfigurement by way of audio transmission seem like hours as one track after another disassembles your thoughts and provides a sick and twisted jaunt into caustic nausea. “Using Fear as a Motivator” is something that sounds straight out of the early 90’s underground, especially the riffs that simply sound deadly and the musical equivalent of decay. The guitar tones over the “Lashing out against your condescending tone--/Lashing out at your motives to control-“ are some of the more evil and sadistic sounding I’ve heard. The whole demo provides a serious look downward into the sewage of the human condition.

What impresses me most about Negative Existence is that fact that there is no pretense, no overuse of shock as a weapon; there is a simply battery of dark and violent chords melding with a drum sound that is fast, nicely crisp throughout, and just angry enough to cause small ripples of anger at pretty much everything around me. That right there is what death metal is supposed to accomplish, and this demo does that and then some. This music is as ugly as it gets with some of the better production values to boot; you need to seek out this death metal filth. 

I hope these guys keep going in this vein.

Rating: 8 out of 10

(Originally written for www.metalpsalter.com)