Label : Napalm Records

Review By Tony Cannella

Like Doom Metal?  Well, I find it hard to imagine that there is a band out there any doomier than Sweden’s Nox Aurea.  With their second album, "Ascending in Triumph", Nox Aurea present an album that is loaded with some of the heaviest riffs I have heard this side of Candlemass or Solitude Aeturnus. The riffs are also slow, deliberate and did I mention heavy?  There are moments on "Ascending in Triumph" where the band speeds up the tempo a little bit with bursts of aggression, and it is these moments that really pack a huge wallop. 

Even though "Ascending in Triumph" features only 8-songs, the CD clocks in at over an hour long. Every song is in the 6-8 minute range, with the lone exception being the final song, the instrumental "Emendare", which is just over 4-minutes long. The main lead vocalist is Patrik Kullberg whose style is your basic, growly brutal style; his vocals are simply ferocious at times. He is also joined by female singer Alice Persell who really enhances the songs when she is called upon.    

Throughout the course of "Ascending in Triumph", the heavy doom laden riffs, just keep on coming. I have never professed to be a Doom Metal aficionado, but Nox Aurea really seems to be a band that has a belief and conviction in what they are doing. "Ascending in Triumph" is a release that should be welcomed with open arms by fans of Doom Metal.  

Rating – 75/100

Tracklist

1. Ascending In Triumph
2. The Loss And Endeavor Of Divinity
3. The Shadowless Plains
4. Mother Aletheia Chapter II
5. The Delight Of Autumn Passion
6. My Voyage Through Galactic Aeons
7. To The Grave I Belong
8. Emendare

Line Up

• Patrik Kullberg – Vocals
• Alice Persell – Vocals
• Grim Vindkall – Guitars, Keyboards, Vocals
• Peter Laustsen – Guitars, Keyboards
• Robert Persson – Bass, Keyboards, Vocals
• Joakim Antonsson – Drums

Links

Nox Aurea Official MySpace 

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