NOCTIVAGUS
AFTER THE CURSE
Floyd Records

You may recall I reviewed their glorious 'Transmission' cover
recently and suddenly along comes their previous CD forinspection. Being old it hasn't quite got the verve they have discovered, and is more traditional guitar Goth which must make them very strange in Portugal, but puts them on a par with many other Europeans because the styling is authentic, the sentiments clearly heartfelt, when not intentionally chasing theatrics, and it's powerful stuff.

There's only six tracks, with a natural modicum of variety so that it gels. 'Flames From The Soul' shows how they're always maintaining a steady rhythmical axis, and there's low flickering guitar riding shotgun with committed, warbling vocals. The unspectacular chorus works well, which only struck me as odd after a few listens. It's because the song is so smooth that this interlude stands out. The bristling guitar histrionics at the end are kept sensibly in check and they carve 'Bad Dreams' more neatly, with chunkier guitar and increased vocal agitation. It's grumpy Goth, with a nice little break midway, and all over in a trice! 'Cold Mind' pulls taut, with little falling sounds stitched in. A slow boiler, this has a serious tone, nothing flashy, and some added vocal boosting rings out which is their own distinctive touch, because you never know when it'll happen.They guitar gets heavier, and they grow rockier.Groo! Rasping like a madman our vocalist almost sounds a cliché during 'I'm Not Living' but is offset by a set of conventional vocals, and as the songs hares along with flat,rumbling purpose they cross from gross noises to cute, with bright, itchy guitar, then into the best song, 'Corta-me a Cabeca.' Starker and faster, it's all worked up with plenty of dark wiggling guitar, a veritable Bouncy Goth Castle.
'Last Night' closes, and is a Zoltar song, not that I actually know who they are, which necessitates a far slower, twinklier sound and they manage this form of music just as well, keeping it upright and dancey with some furiously scrabbling guitar.
They're okay, this lot. More than okay. It'll be interesting to see what they opt for when tackling a full length debut.

Mick Mercer 15 March/April 2005katzkab.free.fr/site/Press/Itw/the_mick _15.pdf

I have to confess to knowing very little about the Portuguese goth scene, from whence hail Noctivagus. A five piece at the time of the production of this album in 2003, the band appears from their biography to have had some sort of Spinal Tap-esque history in terms of members joining and leaving over the years since their formation in 1994.

In terms of sound, the band peddles a brand of slightly punked-up, traditional goth rock. This is a sound reminiscent of classic UK goth band Red Lorry Yellow Lorry, including doom n gloom, operatic vocals.

Album highlights are the Flames from the Soul, and Corta-me a cabeca, both twin guitar assaults, the latter featuring tribal drumming and a hooky chorus. I just wish I could speak Portuguese to sing along to this track!

These guitar-driven, fast-paced tracks are where Noctivagus seem to excel. Slower paced numbers, such as Cold Mind dont seem to live up to expectations, and Last Night with its drum machine driven sound and thin synth parts is really out of keeping with the rest of the songs.

Noctivagus should stick to their guitars its what theyre best at. Their name has been popping up on a few DJ playlists recently coming soon to a dancefloor near you perhaps?

http://www.graveconcernsezine.com

Dopo Lussemburgo (Pronoian Made), Germania (Cream VIII) e Belgio (Erato) il mio viaggio tra i gruppi "culto" della scena gothic rock europea fa tappa in Portogallo, paese natale dei Noctìvagus. La band è attiva da undici lunghi anni, anni passati promulgando il verbo gotico in terra lusitana attraverso i demos autoprodotti "Almas Ocultas" ('95) ed "Imenso" ('98) quindi, firmando per Floyd Records, con l'Ep "After the curse" che mi accingo a presentare. Il lavoro si concentra in cinque massicce canzoni gothic rock che brillano di luce propria, trovando da subito, nell'iniziale "Flames from the soul", un suono autentico e schietto senza facili ruffianerie pop o modernismi "industriali" tanto di moda in Inghilterra. Durante "Bed dreams", di cui è stato girato un video e che si può considerare la hit dell'Ep, i più smaliziati ascoltatori ritrovano quel riff tipico alla Profondo Rosso (il cui successo si deve ad "Alice" dei Sisters of Mercy) proposto dai Noctìvagus in modo più veloce (vedi Scats or Devil's Eyes" dei Children On Stun) ma, e qui stà la novità, sempre in secondo piano soverchiato dal resto degli strumenti e dai gorgheggi vocali di Lino Atila. Il momento più adrenalinico del lavoro, sconsigliabile ai malati di cuore, è senza dubbio "Corta-me a Cabeça", traccia cantata totalmente in lingua portoghese che evienzia le qualità dei musicisti (soprattutto del batterista David "Frog" Pereira) e che non ha nulla da invidiare alle più energiche hit dei Dronning MaudLand. L'Ep si chiude con "Last Night", sesta traccia musicata dall'ex tastierista Zoltar (Piry), leggermente differente dal resto del compact per la presenza della drum-machine e di una sezione elettronica unita al classico incedere goth del gruppo. In conclusione che dire: quattro parole inglesi per riassumere il suono dei Noctìvagus? Goth Rock With Balls! [Mr.Moonlight ]