Nocturnus

***Although he played a pivotal role in the emergence of the early U.S. death metal movement as both a co-founder of MORBID ANGEL and a member of INCUBUS in the mid-to-late-1980s, MIKE BROWNING's legacy is most inextricably tied to his involvement in NOCTURNUS in the late-'80s and early-'90s. In 1990, Nocturnus revolutionized death metal with the release of its first full-length album, The Key, which for the first time in the history of the sub-genre incorporated keyboards as an essential element of a death metal band's sound. During a critical three-year period prior to the release of this album, Nocturnus developed this unique sound, as documented by two demo recordings, entitled Nocturnus and The Science of Horror, which were disseminated on cassette format in typically limited numbers in 1987 and 1988, respectively. The second of these demos, in particular, contains embryonic versions of several songs that would eventually be re-recorded for inclusion on The Key. However, as tends to be the case with demo recordings, these versions represent a significantly more primitive musical vision, as compared to the more polished recordings on the ensuing album. This new reissue includes both the Nocturnus and The Science of Horror demos and updated original artwork from the renowned ZBIGNIEW BIELAK.