Review: Invictus – Nocturnal Visions

January 20, 2026

Death Metal from the Rising Sun

When it comes to death metal, Japan’s bedrock of bands can be an absolute blast. Bands in that country seem to execute the savagery of the genre really well and while it seems very simple, it’s really effective for making death metal that I would constantly keep in my rotation. Some of the best examples right now are Coffins who are very consistent in making death/doom that feels proper filthy, Intestine Baalism that makes melodic death metal feel gruesome and Kruelty who are killing it in the death metal/hardcore sub-genre lately, especially after a fantastic EP back in 2024. Another rising band in this scene is Nagano’s Invictus; after showing promise with a full-length from 2020 and two strong demos from 2024, they are now on their second album, titled Nocturnal Visions.

The band comes out swinging to begin the album with “Abyssal Earth Eradicates,” and the thrashy riffs blow the gates wide open. There are other strong moments in the opener thanks to the filthy vocals and bass followed by the guitarist performing a great solo that adds variety alongside the extremity. The momentum continues with “Altar of Devoted Slaughter,” which delivers a deliciously harsh wall of sound. Killer pacing is shown off with “Lucid Dream Trauma,” a song with some nice groove as well as stellar drumming and a really nice variety of riffing styles. It may have been a short track but “Persecution Madness” is a ferocious banger and includes another satisfying guitar solo which lifts the track up even more.

“Dragged Beneath the Grave” enters the fray with a bludgeoning, ruthless intro; the deep vocals on display during this song are perfect and I love again the fast guitar riffing throughout this track—a definite highlight. The following track, “Frozen Tomb,” has a crunchy tone that makes it stand out while still being ruthless and well-paced. The track also has a bit of a doomy feel but still keeps the fast pace that Invictus thrives in. The doomier feeling creeps up further in “Wandering Ashdream,” still keeping its dirty sound while being a lovely, well-made track. I also love the blistering sound of the drums on this song.

Finishing off this whirlwind death metal journey is the title track “Nocturnal Visions” that, while it’s the longest track at 8 minutes, delivers throughout without losing my interest. What I like the most in this closing track is the stompy feel you get with some of the riffs as well as the build-up throughout to an intensely frantic, insane and ruthless crescendo that concludes this highly enjoyable record.

It’s only the start of the new year and Invictus have really threw down the gauntlet already for death metal here. Nocturnal Visions is a really great album. While the band respects the vibes of old school death metal like Morbid Angel and Van Drunen-era Pestilence, they also adds a fresh lick of paint in the filthy tone it has especially in the vocals. This makes up to be such a memorable modern death metal record that I think it might be a very early contender for top albums of this genre for 2026 and it’s only January. It’s an absolute riot that thrives thanks to the fresh guitar riffing variety throughout as well as its intense pacing especially when it comes to their faster and thrashier moments. It feels like everyone in the band has their moments throughout like the bassist showing off in the opening track and their drummer just going ham in a couple of the tracks I mentioned. Invictus has followed upon the promising potential from the debut and recent demos to make another strong death metal album that I’ll be probably revisiting quite a bit during this year.