Perhaps the most beautiful sub-subgenre ever devised in the metal community, melodic doom/death is a style of music that has really grown on me over the past year or so because of its combination of gothic melodies and slow, intense instrumentation. Nox Aurea is the latest up-and-comer in the scene, and one that shows quite a bit of promise; Originally releasing their debut Via Gnosis on Solitude Productions (THE go-to label for the more down-tempo varieties of metal), they have now signed to Napalm Records to release their sophomore effort, Ascending in Triumph - and less than a year after their debut at that. An unusually short time between albums, yes; but unlike many other bands (Here’s looking at you, Striborg), Nox Aurea expels any doubts one may have about this quickly put-together follow-up, as it feels carefully crafted and is a surprisingly diverse record.

Featuring an incredible piece of cover art (probably my favorite so far this year) that is oddly flashy when you take into consideration the nature of Nox Aurea’s genre, Ascending in Triumph begins in a bombastic way with the title track; while most bands toy with keyboard effects or acoustic passages at the beginning of an album, Nox Aurea instead starts with all instruments at full volume, big, broad riffs leading the way for slow drums and majestic keyboards. One thing that I really like about Ascending in Trumph is the fact that it goes places that other doom/death bands don’t often tread; Nox Aurea actually speeds UP occasionally, making for surprisingly headbang-y moments throughout the somber landscape. Many songs have multiple tempo changes, whether they be for the faster or slower, and since most of the band’s peers stick to one tempo for a whole song, this gives Nox Aurea a good sense of technicality; a good thing for sure, since most tracks last at least eight minutes.

As Ascending in Triumph carves through its hour running time, the music gets deeper and the melodies get better, which makes the album flow beautifully; it feels like a journey put to music. Nox Aurea employs several tactics to ensure that the album doesn’t grow stale; there are no less than three male “Harsh” vocalists that are used at different points throughout the album, and the wonderful clean female vocals are used more and more as Ascending in Triumph carries on. I typically don’t care for female singers in metal, but when it comes to doom/death, they’re a must for me. Also, for more variety, Nox Aurea delivers a couple of depressing songs where the style almost leans more towards funeral doom than doom/death (Ex: To the Grave I Belong). But the real star here is Mother Alethia Chapter II, a continuation of the original Mother Alethia from the band’s debut. While I can’t compare the two as I’m not as familiar with Via Gnosis, Chapter II is undoubtedly the best song featured here, nearly ten minutes in length and featuring some of the most incredible melodies on the album. Female vocals are used just as much as the harsh vocals, and the music gets more bombastic as it weaves its way to the track’s end; this song is truly a masterpiece of the genre. And let’s not forget the atmospheric and dominating track My Voyage Through Galactic Aeons, a song that is utterly epic and that will completely absorb you in its atmosphere.

Quite simply, if you’re a fan of melodic doom/death, Ascending in Triumph is an album that you must own. Many albums from this genre are slow and depressing to the point where it’s difficult to listen to them at first, but Nox Aurea does a great job of making this album both deep and accessible; if you’ve tried doom/death before and couldn’t get into it, then perhaps you should try again with Ascending in Triumph. Beautiful, diverse, and easy to get sucked into, Nox Aurea has created a near-masterpiece here that I recommend highly, and that is sure to be a go-to album for me in the future when I’m in need of some doom/death.