Lecherous Nocturne

" Blistering Grinding Death metal we have here reminds me of those amazing mind blowing albums of the 90's on labels like Earache and Roadrunner. Lecherous Nocturne is strongly influenced by Napalm Death, Incantation, Vital Remains & Morbid Angel. There is a huge sound going on here and the gutteral vocals are second to none my friends. I really like the mix of Grind and Melodic Death Guitars going on at times Lecherous Nocturne even get a Pestilence oe Atheist vibe going on with a few riffs here or there. There are some truly talented musicians creating a mix of several metal genres here. The production helps so much here with the full sound and stellar mix you can hear every blasting drumming beat, bass line and guitar ripping through your ears at break neck speed. A highly recommended slab of Death is what we have here." - www.absolutezeromedia.us

"Don't judge a book by its cover" - an old adage I'm sure we've all heard a million times before, and one I still find myself ignoring like a complete bastard. Case in point - Lecherous Nocturne's Adoration of the Blade. Based on the band name, album title, and cover artwork, I was sure I was about to step into a melee of grizzled, lo-fi black metal with howling, murderous vocals, alas I was wrong once again. Instead, these Greenville, South Carolinians offer up one hell of a solid (albeit short) death metal debut full-length. Adoration of the Blade is equal parts Immolation, early 90s era Gorguts (minus the soloing), topped off with a smidge of Terrorizer/Napalm grind. Pantaloon-pup-tents popped and eyes directly on the chalkboard? Excellent, because there are two other tiny tidbits of information that might be of interest to some; Lecherous Nocturne also features Dallas Toler-Wade of Nile fame behind the drum kit, and Monstrosity's Mike Poggione on bass. On to the goods at hand...

Folks, this record (unlike its reviewer) does not fuck around. Period. In the scant 24-minutes that is Adoration of the Blade, you will not find a single 'mood-enhancing' sample, no lilting acoustical interludes, and nary a single solo to break up the never-ending barrage of mangling riffs (shitloads of riffs), pummeling drums, and monstrously malign vocals. The pace of the record is manic and quite violent, but nearly every short song (five of the eight songs clock in under three-minutes) throws down a nice little break to give listeners a chance to catch their breath. And for those death metal drum snoots that might be wondering how Dallas fares behind the kit as compared to his regular guitaring gig with Nile, his performance is incredibly surprising and he does a hell of a job pushing the frenzied pace of this record from the moment it starts, to the moment it quickly ends. I'd also like to point out just how much I enjoy the vocal styling of Jason Hohenstein as well (where the fuck did this guy come from?). This dude annihilates his vocal chords through each of the eight songs as if he didn't give a shit about ever speaking again.

Honestly, there's not much bad I can say about Adoration of the Blade, apart from the fact I wish there were a few more songs to lengthen it. I also wouldn't mind seeing the band throw in some sweet Gorgut-ian soloing on future endeavors, but I'm a sucker for that kinda shit.

I've also read these guys put on a hell of an energetic live show. If this record is any indication of what might occur on stage, I definitely hope I get a chance to check them out. The incredibly reasonable price tag of $12 from Deepsend Records makes Adoration of the Blade another death metal no-brainer; buy the fucking record." - » Metalreview.com

"Essentially an EP due to it's overall length of less than 30 minutes, the latest from Lecherous Nocturne, Adoration of the Blade, is nontheless a brutal display of technical death metal that fans of Morbid Angel, Nile, Cannibal Corpse, Behemoth, Immolation, Suffocation, and Cephalic Carnage need to hear. The core members of the band, guitarists Christian Lofgren & Chris Lollis, and singer Hohenstein, are joined here by Nile guitarist/vocalist Dallas Toler-Wade on drums (and yes folks, he can CRANK on some super-human black metal styled blast beats) and Monstrosity bass player Mike Poggione.

This is relentless, technical death metal with touches of black metal thrown in for good measure, led by the growling throat of Hohenstein who gurgles his way through killer extreme metal tunes like "The Divine Wind" and "Singe Este Viata" with maniacal furor while his bandmates break the speed of sound and pummel the listener senseless. One of the highlights here is the complex riff monster "A Path to a Deity", a truly brutal piece with some of the most intense and intricate guitar work that you are going to hear in death metal.

The one slight problem with this album though is that every track after a while starts to sound the same, as there's no real variance on the speed or brutality level. Perhaps the near half hour running time is perfect for an album like this, as I'm sure 45 minutes of the lethal attack of Lecherous Nocturne would simply pulverize you into complete submission." - www.seaoftranquility.org

"This five piece extreme Death metal band is plowing it's way to the top of the Death Metal heap. They have a very technical sound to their music, but at the same time are also playing crushing brutal Death Metal, reminescent of the Florida Death scene. They add in some touches of Black Metal into thier sound as well. The vocals are done in a mid ranged & harsh Death growl with the occassional scream here & there. The band also features members of NILE & MONSTROSITY. Watch out Death Metal world,, because these guys are on the verge of taking over!!! You have been warned!" - » www.beowolfproductions.com

"Those of you who are slaphappy about anything to do with the bands Nile and Monstrosity are in for a special treat. Dallas Toler-Wade (Nile Guitarist) and Mike Poggione (Monstrosity Bassist) have lent their efforts to the Southern Death/Black Metal band, Lecherous Nocturne. The only thing strange is Toler-Wade is the skinbasher. The end result of these two joining up is a new disc entitled, Adoration Of The Blade. The album is billed as a full length and features eight tracks, however it doesn't break the twenty-five minute mark. I'm not one to complain, but I wouldn't call it a full length.

Aside from the time constraints, the band puts together one helluva album. It's standard American Tech-Death Metal with elements and atmospheres of Euro Black Metal. Indeed, it is quite a listen and you never really know what to expect until it hits. For the most part I'm inclined to say the brutality takes the bulk of the sound here as everything is loud, boisterous and downright chaotic. If you're a fan of Cryptopsy, you'll really enjoy and appreciate what the band is trying to accomplish. The blastbeats and guitar riffs are prominent and the band is happy to beat you all about the head and shoulders non-stop without slowing down too often. The majority of the time I would be all for this, but at times it gets repetitious and I have trouble remembering which track I am listening to. Vocally, it comes across as Death and Black Metal mixed, which will further interest fans of both genres.

The only complaint I have with this disc is the length and the repetitiveness of a few of the songs and rhythm structures. Outside of these two factors, Adoration Of The Blade is a welcomed listen. I'd recommend the band put some space in between this album and the next and put together a proper full length. I'm sure if there were more tracks to be devoured here the repetition wouldn't be a factor. The stand out tracks are "Release In Flame", "Adoration of the Blade", and "A Path to a Deity"."
- » www.blackangelpromotions.com

"South Carolina's Lecherous Nocturne wastes not a moment of precious time on their debut for Deepsend Records; an 8-song shredder that sounds like the horribly disfigured child of death, grind, black and thrash metal, menacingly blasting and clawing its way through a very short but mind-numbing 23 minute listen.

This is music that is savage enough to cause waking nightmares in your daily life. Militant blasts rage beneath a wall of lightning fast, frost-bitten riffs that never let up for a moment and will slowly drive you to the brink of insanity. The vocal performance is as equally unrelenting as the music as vocalist Jason Hohenstein goes through a variety of deep, tortured bellows, ear-piercing screams and vicious snarls that cut like a knife into flesh. These guys really show some technical shops throughout the record with riffs that defy human comprehension as they normally are fired off at light-speed but sometimes slow down to more ominous and battle-torn lurches.

The opening explosion of the album's first track "Kampagne" tears out of the gate with thrashing riffage and break-neck, grind/black/death pacing before it eventually fades out slowly with a bleak, slowed down black metal riff and retching vocals. Throughout the short but sweet running time of the rest of the disc, Lecherous Nocturne hit on several mind-melting moments that will please all fans of the abrasive and extreme ten times over. "The Divine Wind" which clocks in at over four minutes (and is the longest track on the disc) hits hard and fast even with it's long running time alternating between hyper-speed death/grind with searing elements of thrash and black metal sprinkled throughout, especially in the tone of the guitars. The band also nails a surprising riff that moves slowly and groovy, in the song's mid-section before the band brings back the wall of double-bass, thrash riffing and bloody lung vocals.

The short but gut-wrenching title track speeds along with venomous blackened intensity before lurching into a sludge-ridden riff in the track's final stretch that definitely brings to mind the bayou blackness of Goatwhore. "A Path to a Deity" starts out with a staggering opening riff/intro before unleashing the blackness once again with somehow catchy yet cold as ice riffs, dazzling bursts of hyper-death and serial killer vocals that will stop you dead in your tracks.

This record is through and through a must have release for fans of hammering hybrids of death, grind, black and thrash metal. These guys remind me of an unholy mixture of Cattle Decapitation, Hate Eternal, Goatwhore, Gorguts and Cryptopsy. Totally technical and totally uncompromising extreme metal for fans that like it brutal with little slow down, so what more could you want? The only draw back is that this record isn't nearly long enough but the 8 songs contained here should give listeners a good deal to come back to. Highly recommended and features members that have played with showstoppers like Nile and Monstrosity." - » www.daredevil.de

Here is a very competent, visceral and exceedingly tight death/black metal record, but what would you expect from a band featuring drummer Dallas Toler Wade (who plays guitar in Nile) and bassist Mike Poggione (Monstrosity)?

That being said, credit should not be taken from the other members (guitarists Christian Lofgren and Chris Hollis and vocalist Hohenstein) who in conjunction with the two press sheet headliners, make for a rather direct and admirable slab of razor sharp savagery.

Council of the Fallen comes to mind with the band's makeup and style, but not as progressive; this is straight to the throat, ripping violence for its sub 30-minute duration and pulls no punches whatsoever. The murderous pace of the blackened Floridian death assault starts with the slicing immediacy of "Kampagne" and pretty much does not let up until "Whorrified". No interludes, no acoustics, no samples, no bullshit. The title track and "The Divine Wind" with their more complex and varied take on blistering aggression, could be construed as reprieves, but only if you consider a reprieve having your finger nails plucked out after being repeatedly punched in the sternum. Hohenstein delivers ample snarls, growls and screams layering over the squealing, jagged intensity of tracks like "A Path to a Deity", "Singe Esta Viata", "Phalluscidal", and "Release in Flame"; all impressive slabs of well produced, feral and satisfyingly savage black/death metal

A solid release from Deepsend and a band that certainly has the clout and potential to mix it up with the genre's heavyweights based on music alone, regardless of band member affiliation. - » Digitalmetal.com

"Lecherous Nocturne hail from Greenville, South Carolina and the band contains members of Nile, Capharnaum, and Monstrosity. Lecherous Nocturne play Technical Death Metal, they use the technical guitar riffs, with chops similar to those used by Necrophagist and the vicious edge used by Cryptopsy. I usually don't have interest in Technical Death Metal, but somehow Lecherous Nocturne makes it work, as they keep things interesting and short to the point on Adoration of the Blade as the album only last for twenty-three minutes and thirty-nine seconds and the lyrics on the album deal with banality of evil, disgust with humanity, violence.

..:: Track By Track ::..

Kampagne begins the album this song is heavy to all extent. Lecherous Nocturne utilize everything that makes up Technical Death metal by using blast beats, razor-sharp riffing, growled vocals and shouted vocals. Kampage in a way reminds me of a song Origin would do especially at the beginning, but by no means are Lecherous Nocturne that fast in terms of speed.

Release of Flame is the second song here Lecherous Nocturne use the same formula that was used in Kampagne, but here is where more of the brutal approach comes in this song could have easily fit on any Brutal Death Metal bands album ranging anywhere from Decrepit Birth, Deviant, Lust of Decay, or Emeth.

The Divine Wind is the third song; this song is made up of only fast riffing and technical drumming, with drum fills. The Divine Wind is possibly one of my favorite tracks on the album. This song is just amazing and what makes it good is the fact that is has a Hate Eternal feeling to it.

Adoration of the Blade starts with some blast beats done by Dallas Toler Wade on drums, with the guitars by Kreishloff and Chris raging in the background. Jason's vocals are all over the place from growls to shouting.

So Adoration of the Blade is a good album for what it's worth, but the production is what holds the album back from being Technical Death Metal brilliance without boredom." - » Living for Metal

"Now this is some evil stuff. Playing fast, technical brutal black/death metal, Lecherous Nocturne is a new band that features members of Nile and Monstrosity. It..s not perfect, but Adoration Of The Blade shows a lot of promise in a cluttered field of bands who are indistinguishable from one another, except of course, by name.

The presence of Dallas Toler-Wade behind the skins is probably what draws one to Lecherous Nocturne, and the Nile axeman definitely rises to the occasion with unrelenting ferocity. As with many other brutal death metal drummers however, he suffers from IBD-Inundating Blast-beat Disorder, and it..s quite a severe case at that. While Toler-Wade does mix it up with some interesting, jazzy high hat work (always a draw for this reviewer) and some mach speed double bass work, overall the drumming on Adoration is a monotonous affair.

The guitar work of Chris Lollis and Kreishloff, however, is cut of a different cloth. It is, of course, quite technical, but what is truly endearing about Lollis.. and Kreishloff..s fretboard wizardry is that it is soaked with tone that can only be defined as evil-no, scratch that..in fact, leave it be. Indeed, it may be folly to even attempt describing just how implausibly vile this stuff sounds. It..s all too easy to compare any and all bands in this field to Morbid Angel and Immolation, and the dissonant chord progressions Lollis and Kreishloff exploit do indeed hearken to Here In After and Failures For Gods, as well as portions of Unholy Cult. however, while Jon Vigna..s forte has always been slow, doomy dirges, Lecherous Nocturne..s songs are often more upbeat than the majority of Immolation..s work. Truth being told, it seems quite unfair to compare such a unique and talented duo to other heavyweights in the genre, as their style is truly inimitable.

The vocals, too, exhibit a good deal of bite, effectively juggling various styles, including indecipherable, Lord Worm-esque gurgles, tortured screams, and low David Vincent-esque growls. It..s a dynamic and indeed, charismatic performance that..s probably the best thing about the disc. Moreover, it..s fitting that the lyrics are appropriately violent and bloodthirsty, dealing predominantly with war, with some songs that also deal with torture and S&M. Jason Hohenstein..s versatility puts him in league with some of the legends of the genre. However, he lacks confidence as a vocalist, and seems to be unwilling to break out and cut his own swath, thus giving one the impression that he is, and seeks to be nothing more than a cheap imitation of some of the genre..s finest growlers, which would be a harsh assumption. I would suggest one approach Hohenstein..s performance with an open mind, as while it isn..t breaking any new ground, it definitely establishes him as one of the pre-eminent practitioners of this style.

Another highly laudable aspect of Adoration.. is its production, but admittedly, it..s a bit of a double-edged sword. Whereas the sparse, blackened production does much to accentuate the ominous tone of the album, it seems needlessly muddy as far as the low end is concerned. The bass is conspicuously missing in the mix, and if it weren..t for the triggers on the kick drum, I really doubt Toler-Wade..s ferocity would be so apparent. That, however, is likely a side effect of playing at the speds apparent on this disc. However, as previously stated, the production does serve to further the all-encompassing doom-speaking nature of Adoration of The Blade. When it comes down to it, that atmosphere is what truly makes the lasting impact.

In fact, the atmosphere in and of itself is probably what makes Adoration.. so memorable. The band is indeed a bit rough around the edges, but despite this, they put their best foot forward in this enthralling, highly technical, and outright twisted death metal whirlwind. Pop this CD in with the lights out and the full moon high, and be enthralled by these eight magnificent movements of vicious, unrelenting depravity." - » www.noofficialcapacity.net

The Grimoire of Exalted Deeds #32
Lecherous Nocturne-Adoration of the Blade

This album can change the most peace-loving hippy into a mass-murderer. I felt road-rage and I was in my house. I wanted to get into my car and mow people down. The essence of hatred has been masterfully captured. Putting this CD into your stereo is like uncorking a bottle of demons. Use with caution! - Bill Zebub" - The Grimoire