Review : NOX AUREA – “Ascending in Triumph”

Nox Aurea – Ascending in Triumph
Release Date: 2010Jun30 (US)
Label: Napalm Records
Rating: 4/5

Latin for “golden night”, Swedish band Nox Aurea is described as gothic doom metal. This certainly shows when the opening track, “Ascending in Triumph”, starts off with slow and ominous notes of doom. If I could name possible influences, I’d pick early Cathedral. “The Loss And Endeavour Of Divinity” is beautiful with a very well done of mixture of death/doom and sorrowful melodies. At about 3 minutes in, the song changes up with a stronger focus on the drums and a faster pace before it slows down once again; a peak-and-valley delivery. “The Shadowless Plains” starts with a strong build-up and the instrumentation really shines. Combine that with strong male/female vocals and you really can’t go wrong. “Mother Aleitha Chapter II” is certainly one of the strongest tracks and I believe it fully fleshes out the vision that the band seeks to fulfill, resulting in a track that’s nothing short of epic. During my research, I noticed that a common complaint was the length of the songs. Honestly, I feel that the length isn’t really a problem as most songs have their own unique signature. “The Delight Of Autumn Passion” and “My Voyage Through Galactic Aeons” are also delightful tracks as well. “To The Grave I Belong” is strongly reminiscent of Cathedral but otherwise, there’s not much to differentiate it from other tracks. “Emendare” closes off this album with a return to slow, haunting melodies. Ascending in Triumph starts off strong and only really starts to get repetitive with three of the last four songs. It is certainly an album that you’d want to listen to from start to finish, and a Best of 2010 pick!

FCC OK
Try: 1, 2, 3, 4, 8

01. Ascending In Triumph
02. The Loss And Endeavor Of Divinity
03. The Shadowless Plains
04. Mother Aletheia Chapter II
05. The Delight Of Autumn Passion
06. My Voyage Through Galactic Aeons
07. To The Gra