 | This article needs additional citations for verification .(July 2024) |
| The Key | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | October 1, 1990 | |||
| Recorded | June 1990 | |||
| Studio | Morrisound Studio, Florida | |||
| Genre | Technical death metal | |||
| Length | 46:56 | |||
| Label | Combat/Earache | |||
| Producer | Tom Morris, Nocturnus | |||
| Nocturnus chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [1] |
The Key is the debut studio album by American death metal band Nocturnus. It was released on Earache Records on October 1, 1990.
Browning has claimed that he has not seen any royalties from either this album or its follow up since he was kicked out of the band, blaming both former band members and Earache Records.[ citation needed ]
A concept album, The Key is centered on an occult (the influence of drummer/vocalist Mike Browning) meets sci-fi (influenced by guitarist Mike Davis) theme. The story follows a cyborg who travels back in time to the year 0 B.C. to assassinate Jesus Christ which leads to the destruction of Christianity (highlighted by the controversial track "Destroying the Manger") and the creation of a modern empire. In addition to their unusual lyrical content, the band employed the use of keyboards which was virtually unheard of at the time in the broader genre of death metal. The keyboards were generally used for song intros and more atmospheric purposes, however, and most of the album was based upon a more conventional guitar and drums approach, with Kam Lee of Massacre providing backing vocals. The album's instrumentation has been described as "more musical" than most death metal existing at the time. Due to the increased complexity and experimentation, some have considered the release to be the first progressive death metal album. Browning's vocals on the album have been described as "demonic." [2] [3] AllMusic assessed, "It wasn't unusual for mainstream metal and hard rock bands to use keyboards, but it was hardly typical in the underground world of death metal, thrash, and grindcore. Nocturnus, of course, didn't want to be typical." [4]
Alex Henderson of AllMusic said The Key is "among the more interesting death metal releases of 1990." [4] Loudwire wrote, "even today, [the album] remains an awesome achievement, well ahead of its time." [5]
| No. | Title | Lyrics | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Lake of Fire" | Mike Browning | 4:51 |
| 2. | "Standing in Blood" | Browning | 4:13 |
| 3. | "Visions from Beyond the Grave" | Browning | 4:00 |
| 4. | "Neolithic" | Browning, Mike Davis | 4:40 |
| 5. | "Undead Journey" | Browning | 4:16 |
| 6. | "B.C./A.D. (Before Christ/After Death)" | Browning | 4:48 |
| 7. | "Andromeda Strain" | Browning, Davis | 3:36 |
| 8. | "Droid Sector" | Browning, Davis | 4:16 |
| 9. | "Destroying the Manger" | Lou Panzer, Browning, Davis | 5:59 |
| 10. | "Empire of the Sands" | Browning, Davis | 6:17 |
| Total length: | 46:56 | ||
Death metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music. It typically employs heavily distorted and low-tuned guitars, played with techniques such as palm muting and tremolo picking; deep growling vocals; aggressive, powerful drumming, featuring double kick and blast beat techniques; minor keys or atonality; abrupt tempo, key, and time signature changes; and chromatic chord progressions. The lyrical themes of death metal may include slasher film-style violence, political conflict, religion, nature, philosophy, true crime and science fiction.
Permanent Vacation is the ninth studio album by American rock band Aerosmith, released by Geffen Records on August 25, 1987. The album marks the band's shift to a pop-metal sound that they would maintain up to 1993's Get a Grip.
Windir was a black metal band from Sogndal, Norway. The band was formed in 1994 by vocalist and multi-instrumentalist Terje "Valfar" Bakken, and released its debut album, Sóknardalr, in 1997. Windir combined black metal with Scandinavian folk music, folklore, and mythology, and many of the band's lyrics were written in Sognamål. Windir produced four albums in their nearly ten years of existence. The band broke up in March 2004 after frontman Valfar died of hypothermia after becoming caught in a blizzard on his way to his family's cabin in Norway. Following his death, the remaining band members went on to form several new bands, including Vreid, Mistur, and Cor Scorpii.
Leprosy is the second studio album by Florida death metal band Death, released on November 16, 1988, by Combat Records.
The Wayward Sons of Mother Earth is the debut album by British folk metal band Skyclad, and is regarded as one of the first folk metal albums, with the track "The Widdershins Jig" in particular pointing the way for the genre. Front cover artwork is by Garry Sharpe-Young.
Alice in Hell is the debut studio album by Canadian thrash metal band Annihilator, released on April 17, 1989 through Roadrunner Records. This was the only Annihilator album for ten years to feature Randy Rampage on vocals, until he returned for their seventh studio album Criteria for a Black Widow (1999).
Nocturnus, currently Nocturnus AD, is a Florida death metal band formed in Tampa, Florida, in 1987 by the drummer/vocalist Mike Browning.
Acheron was an American death/black metal band from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, that was formed by Vincent Crowley in 1988. The band is named after the mythological river Acheron located in the underground kingdom of Hades in ancient Greek mythology. They are not to be confused with 1990s Australian death metal band Acheron, nor the 1980s/1990s American power metal band Acheron, nor any of several lesser known European thrash and death metal bands with similar names between the 1980s and the present.
Dreams of the Carrion Kind is an album released by American death metal guitarist James Murphy, under the band name Disincarnate. It was released in 1993.
Alaska is the third studio album by American progressive metalcore band Between the Buried and Me. It was released on September 6, 2005 through Victory Records and is the first album to feature the band's current lineup, with the addition of Dustie Waring on guitar, Dan Briggs on bass, and Blake Richardson on drums. The band co-produced the album with Matthew Ellard, who produced the band's last album The Silent Circus, and Jamie King, who had previously produced the band's self-titled album. The album was remixed and remastered in 2020.
"Metal Health", sometimes listed as "Metal Health (Bang Your Head)", "Bang Your Head" or, as it was listed on the Billboard Hot 100, "Bang Your Head (Metal Health)", is a song by the American heavy metal band Quiet Riot on their breakthrough album, Metal Health. One of their best known hits and receiving heavy MTV music video and radio play, "Metal Health" was the band's second and final top 40 hit, peaking at #31 on the Billboard Hot 100.
Inside the Torn Apart is the seventh studio album by British extreme metal band Napalm Death. It was released by Earache in June 1997 on double vinyl, regular CD, digipak CD and MC.
Lights...Camera...Revolution! is the fifth studio album by American crossover thrash band Suicidal Tendencies, released in 1990. This was the band's first release with bassist Robert Trujillo and their last studio album with drummer R.J. Herrera.
Thresholds is the second full-length studio album from Florida death metal band Nocturnus. It was released in 1992 by Earache Records.
Ethereal Tomb is the third and final full-length studio album from Florida death metal band, Nocturnus. It was released in 1999 on Season of Mist Records after nearly seven years since the band's last material, the Nocturnus EP was released. Emo Mowery had taken up vocal duties as well as bass, and Rick Bizarro played the drums.
Brave Yester Days is the first compilation album by Swedish heavy metal band Katatonia. It contains the material from Katatonia's older era, mainly consisting of death/doom material, and a few alternative rock songs.
Mean Streak is the fifth studio album by American heavy metal band Y&T, released in 1983 through A&M Records. Tracks include "Midnight in Tokyo", "Sentimental Fool", and the opening track, "Mean Streak". The album peaked at number 103 on the Billboard 200 on October 27, 1983. This was the third of five studio albums released by A&M Records for Y&T.
Enter the Grave is the debut album by the English thrash metal band Evile. Released on 27 August 2007 in Europe and on 25 September in North America and Japan, the album received generally favorable reviews and entered the UK Rock Chart at number 33. It was produced by Flemming Rasmussen and recorded at Sweet Silence Studios, Copenhagen, Denmark. Rasmussen had produced three Metallica albums, which raised the profile of the album's release. The track "Thrasher" was included on the 2008 Earache Thrash Pack, a downloadable selection of songs for the music video console game Rock Band.
Till Death Do Us Part is the ninth studio album by American death metal band Deicide. It was released on April 28, 2008 via Earache Records, marking the band's third and final album for the label. Recording sessions took place at Morrisound Studios in Tampa from October to December 2007. Production was handled by member Steve Asheim.
Florida death metal is a regional scene and stylistic subdivision of death metal. Some of the most significantly pioneering and best-selling death metal acts emerged in Florida, especially in the Tampa Bay area. As a result, Tampa is unofficially known by many death metal fans as the "capital of death metal." The scene coalesced in the mid-1980s through early 1990s around the output of bands such as Death, Nasty Savage, Deicide, Monstrosity, Morbid Angel, Atheist, Obituary, and others. The producer Scott Burns and the studio Morrisound Recording were also instrumental in developing and popularizing the Florida scene. Some bands which originated outside of Florida, such as Malevolent Creation and Cannibal Corpse, relocated to the state in order to participate in this burgeoning scene. The Florida bands featured a more technical approach to the evolving death metal sound, a style which spread beyond the confines of the state, and some were instrumental in creating the progressive death metal subgenre. The death metal genre as a whole, including the Florida scene, declined in popularity in the second half of the 1990s, but many bands within the Florida scene persisted and the scene resurged in popularity in subsequent decades. Although the scene attracted more media attention, it continued to be underground due to its extreme nature.
 | This 1990s death metal album–related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
