The debut album from Nox is anything but your run of the mill death metal. In order to keep things interesting, the band incorporates elements of black metal in the vocal area, and there is a certain semi technical feel to the music. Not in the technical sense of being on par with the likes of Necrophagist. Far from that. So before all the tech-death purists come headhunting, let's clarify that.

There is just enough of a technical edge to Nox that allows them to stand apart from any generic death metal 101 type band. Add to that the fact that Nox is comprised of somewhat of a death metal all star line up (featuring current and former members of Centurian and Severe Torture), and it's only right that they would be musically seasoned enough to create an album that wouldn't easily be lumped in or lost in a sea of releases.

The overall sound of the band actually comes off as what could quite possibly be the best mixture of Morbid Angel, Deicide, and Cradle Of Filth. Musically, the speed and delivery of Morbid Angel is there, but vocally, it's more along the lines of Glen Benton than any of the vocalists that have fronted Morbid Angel. And when the dual and triple layered vocals come in, they're more along the lines of Dani Filth than Glen Benton. And being that the dual and triple vocals are not used consistently, it helps to keep things from becoming repetitive, and the band maintains an insane degree of intensity throughout the album's running time of just over half an hour.

'Ixaxaar' (pronounced 'ick-sack-sar') is a fully charged, mind numbing barrage of blackened death metal from the punishing machine known as Nox. While death metal mainstays like Deicide have had a renewed energy of sorts with the addition of new members, others like Morbid Angel have been rather quiet for some time now. And specifically because of the aforementioned unofficial hiatus, Nox is not only poised to fill the void left by Morbid Angel, they are also going to easily find themselves listed amongst the most Elite in Extreme Death metal, giving Hate Eternal a swift kick in the ass in the process.

Recommended for death metals more extreme legion of fans, this album will satisfy anyone who's into the likes of previously mentioned bands such as: Morbid Angel and Deicide, and of course fans of Centurian.