Album Review: Noctem – Credo Certe Ne Cras (MNRK Heavy)

Iberian death/black metal practitioners, Noctem, will release their eagerly awaited new full-length ‘Credo Certe Ne Cras’ on the 28th of October 2022 via MNRK Heavy.

Oozing black metal power, Credo Certe Ne Cras finds Noctem on a blistering tear. At their twisted and darkest best, delivering hearty heaviness that engulfs the mind, body and soul. This is black metal but black metal played with vigour that is delightfully hellish.

From the moment I Am Alpha ominously arrives, careening into carnage as Noctem let rip with their brand of innate savagery, the inferno is lit. Layers of epic atmosphere and unrestrained fury combining to set the mind aflame. Something that continues into the brutish intensity of Sovereign Providence, although here, a ringing post-guitar melody rises to such prominence at the end, it’s simply divine.

The cold melody at the start of Sanctum of Anguish only serves to make the explosive blast of metal even more powerful sounding. Noctem digging deep into their blackened souls to unleash smothering darkness. Before the title track ups the chaos significantly, the crashing and smashing of instruments matched only by the howl of the vocals. No number of melodic interludes can make this one feel anything but harsh.

Faster, heavier, darker and more melodic, Homilia of Punishment is one of the shorter tracks on the album but that doesn’t make it any less exhaustive. Such is the way of Noctem. Whereas The Pale Moon Rite is the longest track and arguably the most detailed and varied. The word ‘progressive’ can’t help but sneak into the mind even if the unrestrained ferocity of this band always wins out.

It’s that commitment to the darkness that makes the remainder of the album such a perverse joy to behold. From the wickedness of The Tolling of The Nine Bells, to the callousness of Chalice of Turpitude and to the unmitigated fury of Ceremonial Miasma. Noctem batter away with such force that it’s impossible to not start to feel numb all over.

Thankfully, before that feeling can sink in too deeply, the album comes to an end with just one more hard and heavy battering. The brilliant concentration of blackened metal hitting immense highs as Noctem close out their epic in blistering style. The inferno they create across the ten tracks staying flesh-meltingly hot throughout.

Noctem – Credo Certe Ne Cras Full Track Listing:

1. I Am Alpha
2. Sovereign Providence
3. Sanctum of Anguish
4. Credo Certe Ne Cras
5. Homilia of Punishment
6. The Pale Moon Rite
7. The Tolling of The Nine Bells
8. Chalice of Turpitude
9. Ceremonial Miasma
10. We Are Omega

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