Produced by Dan Mazzarol
Released: 2007
Perth has a deserved reputation among Australian metal critics for spawning great bands. It's also a rather incestuous scene where seemingly every notable band features a member of some other notable band. Both these observations prove true for Noctis. With musicians that have played or continue to play with groups including Vespers Descent, Pathogen, Chaos Divine, Psychonaut, Bereavement and Voyager, this young band already has a formidable amount of experience behind it and 'For Future's Past' bears this out.
With such a disparate list of bands in their collective resume (melodic death, groove, prog, black) it would be hard to pinpoint what Noctis might sound like if the cover art didn't give it away, and yes, this is expansive doom/death in the vein of 90s masters Katatonia and Amorphis with a hint of early Opeth thrown in for good measure. There's certainly no doubt that these guys knew where to look for influences. As a colleague has pointed out in his review of this EP, Noctis often sound rather too much like the bands they were inspired by, but this would only really be a major criticism if Noctis weren't any good. Because they are, you get the feeling that they will shake off their sound-alike aspects as they progress. So essentially, 'For Future's Past' is nothing original, but Noctis nails the sombre atmospherics and mournful darkness of their chosen field expertly, weaving in snatches of orchestration and delicate melodic vocals and making them work rather than adding them just for the sake of it. The EP seems to build to a climax too with the final track "The Meaning Dies Within" dominating the set with its extended running time and elaborate arrangement. No, it isn't breaking any new ground, but it's very good indeed.
- Time
- Remembrance of Death
- Of Emptiness
- Eternity's Worth
- Nostalgia
- The Meaning Dies Within
Rating: 82%
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