From the ashes of two storied French death metal bands, Catacomb and Affliction Gate, a hellish new formation has arisen under the name Nox Irae. The combined experience of these veteran members, as well as the range of their interests, is lividly on display in the band’s new EP, Here the Dead Live, which will be released by Transcending Obscurity Records on November 15th.

Transcending Obscurity has an extensive list of references as a jumping-off point for the music, dropping such names as Morgoth and Death, Demolition Hammer and Kreator, Asphyx and Bolt Thrower, among others. And it turns out to be a useful list once you listen to the music, including the song we’re premiering today. As “Knife Under Throat” proves, Nox Irae‘s song-writing talents are formidable, capable of creating music that’s bone-breaking in its heaviness, crazed in its savagery, ghoulish and sinister in its atmosphere, and highly contagious in the catchiness of its riffs. Continue reading »