Nocturnus

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Nocturnus
Origin Tampa, Florida, United States
Genre(s) Death metal
Progressive death metal
Years active 1986–1988
1988–1993
2000–2002
Label(s) Earache
Moribund
Seasons Of Mist
Former members
Mike Browning
Mike Davis

Nocturnus was an American progressive death metal band formed in Tampa, Florida in 1987 by drummer/vocalist Mike Browning (formerly of Morbid Angel). They were known for their science-fiction themed lyrics and use of keyboards, both of which were virtually unknown in extreme metal. Although they were relatively obscure during their time and even now, important bands such as Necrophagist, Theory in Practice and even Children of Bodom have cited Nocturnus as an influence.

Contents

[edit] Biography

Nocturnus was formed in 1987 by drummer/vocalist Mike Browning following the breakup of his old band Incubus. The band was formed by Browning, former Incubus guitarist Gino Marino and former Agent Steel bassist Richard Bateman. The band eventually began working on material and added second guitarist Vincent Crowley. This first lineup recorded one self titled demo in 1987. Crowley quit (going on to form Acheron) and was replaced by then-unknown 18-year old guitar prodigy Mike Davis. Bateman quit shortly afterwards to join Nasty Savage.

The band remained inactive for some time, returning with new bassist Jeff Estes and a keyboard player, Louis Panzer, both friends of Davis, in 1988. Panzer's addition gave the band a new, more "spacey" atmosphere to the music that made them unique in death metal at the time. This lineup put out the classic Science of Horror demo. In 1989 Marino quit and was replaced by Davis's long time friend and neighbor Sean McNenney. The band, now featuring two virtuoso guitarists, became increasingly technical and complex, which largely added to their audience.

In 1989, thanks in large part to Mike Davis's somewhat ironic friendship with Morbid Angel guitarist Trey Azagthoth, the band signed to Earache Records. The band recorded their debut album, The Key with Tom Morris, which was released in 1990. The album, filled with a unique occult meets sci-fi concept (a blend of Browning and Davis's influences, respectively), virtuoso guitar pyrotechnics and space-age-ish keyboards, managed to become a death metal hit, spawning classic tracks such as "Standing In Blood" and "BC/AD (Before Christ/After Death)". It has gone on to sell 70,000 copies worldwide. It also featured backing vocals by former Mantas/Death and then Massacre vocalist Kam Lee.

Jeff Estes began developing a major drinking problem during the recording of The Key. This damaged his bass playing skills (Mike Davis ended up playing much of the bass on The Key) and was fired shortly after because of this. He was replaced by Jim O'Sullivan. With O'Sullivan on board, the band toured for The Key in 1991 in support of Bolt Thrower, and then embarked on the Grindcrusher tour with Morbid Angel, Napalm Death and Godflesh. O'Sullivan ended up not working out and he was fired as soon as the band's tours were over.

In 1992 the band decided to get a full time vocalist, allowing Browning to concentrate solely on drumming and because Earache promised the band a music video if they got a "real" frontman. Former Tortured Souls vocalist Dan Izzo was brought in on lead vocals. The band drafted Chris Anderson to play bass on their new album, Thresholds.

With Browning becoming less involved in the bands songwriting, Thresholds saw the band moving in a much more space and sci-fi oriented direction. It was generally more musically mature than The Key (in the case of "Arctic Crypt", at times even melodic, while the more progressive songs used more odd time signatures and frequent changes), with Davis and McNenney not playing as many non-stop solos as they did on The Key (the solos, while still high-speed shredding, were also generally more melodic and longer). The album did not sell quite as well as The Key, perhaps due to the bands more mature direction. However, it was still successful and the band shot a video for "Alter Reality", which became a metal hit in Europe. The band also got a new permanent bassist Emo Mowery (formely of Malediction) and had a successful European tour for Thresholds.

It was actually a secret about the band at the time that the Nocturnus name was not actually copyrighted by Mike Browning.

One theory is that after the 1992 Thresholds tour, Louis Panzer, Sean McNenney and Mike Davis went behind Brownings back and copyrighted the name Nocturnus for themselves, apparently so they could "make Nocturnus all about sci-fi and sell more albums". The ironic thing was, Mike Davis did not know about what he was signing when Mcnenney and Panzer copyrighted the name (he would later ever regret doing such, and said that if he ever knew what would happen if he signed the papers, he would never have. He actually was willing to compromise with Mike Browning on writing more occult themed lyrics and less sci fi themed ones). Shocked and angered, Browning was fired from Nocturnus shortly after this.

Another theory is that Panzer, McNenny, and Davis all agreed to copyright Nocturnus' name and keep Browning out of it because Browning was into practicing extreme Satanism, and none of the members of the band wanted any sort of affiliation with his activities. By signing a copyright without Browning, it allowed the 3 to kick him out of the band and suffer no payouts from royalties to him in the future.

In any case, hee was replaced by James Marcinek. This has led to bad blood between Panzer/McNenney and Browning to this day, although Mike Davis has apparently made up with Browning since then (Davis apparently is also no longer friendly with McNenney or Panzer).

The new Nocturnus lineup began recording new songs for a 3rd album, including "Mummified", "The Invertebrate Plague", "The Great Spot", and "Orbital Decay", all of which were written by Davis/McNenney/Panzer, were highly technical and featured sci-themed lyrics. However around this time the band began to lose label support from Earache as their contract was dropped. The new lineup put out a two song self-titled EP in 1993, which featured a recycled ealry song "Possess The Priest" and the brand new "Mummified". However Panzer, McNenney, and Marcinek all departed the band after this. Davis and Mowery formed a new band under a different name. Davis also began working on a project with Trey Azagthoth that was eventually scratched.

In 2000 Mowery and Davis reunited with McNenney and Panzer, along with new drummer Rick Bizarro and released their comeback album Ethereal Tomb. The album was met with good reception from old Nocturnus fans and even briefly sparked a new interest in the band in the death metal scene. However in 2002 the band finally split up for good.

Since breaking up Mowery is now in the band Leash Law. Mike Davis has given up music and moved on to a stable job and family life, managing his own computer buinsness. Louis Panzer reformed an old band called Cry Blue, which Mike Browning described as "Sting type music". Browning has been involved in a wide variety of projects, currently After Death, which bares a style similar to a less technical Nocturnus.

Post-breakup the band has made two releases, The Nocturnus Demos, a collection of the bands pre-Earache recordings, and Farewell To Planet Earth, a DVD of live shows from various periods.

[edit] Members

[edit] Last Known Lineup

  • Mike Davis - lead/rhythm guitars (1988–1993, 2000–2002)
  • Sean McNenney - lead/rhythm guitars (1989–1993, 2000–2002)
  • Louis Panzer - keyboards (1988–1993, 2000–2002)
  • Emo Mowery - bass guitar/vocals (1992–1993, 2000–2002)

[edit] Former Members

Vocals

  • Dan Izzo (1992–1993)
  • Browning was vocalist from 1987 to 1992
  • Mowery was vocalist from 2000 to 2002

Guitars

  • Gino Marino (1987–1989)
  • Vincent Crowley (1987)

Bass

  • Richard Bateman (1987)
  • Jeff Estes (1989–1991)
  • Jim O' Sullivan (1991)
  • Chris Anderson (1992) (session only)

Drums

  • Mike Browning (1987–1992)
  • James Marcinek (1992–1993)
  • Rick Bizarro (2000)

(the band may have also had drummers after Bizarro whose names are not known)

[edit] Discography

[edit] External links