Review: Caratucay – Nocturnes of the Incarcerated

Style: Progressive Death Metal, Technical Death Metal (Mixed vocals)
Recommended for fans of: Opeth, Psycroptic, Nevermore riffs
Review by: Christopher
Country: Germany
Release date: 10 February, 2023

February: the last vestiges of winter keep their icy grip around the northern hemisphere; exactly the time of year for prog death and fortunately we have some for you today. Following up from their debut album Deranged Serenades come Caratucay with Nocturnes of the Incarcerated. A compromise between Opethian prog death whilst leaning on somewhat techier influences such as Psycroptic or First Fragment, this German five-piece have crafted a dense and fulfilling work that’s a credit to their genre.

Vocalist, Phil, has varied harshes from guttural bellows to higher-toned screams to creaturely gnashes. Occasionally, low cleans accompany the album’s rarer, melodic sections which provide moments of stark relief. Bassist, Lutz, noodles away in the background, cradled by a generous mix with a range of satisfying, bendy licks, while the guitarists, Joscha and Tjark, deliver a constant onslaught of weedily licks and punishing blackened tremolo riffs.

There are moments where the songs move from cleaner melodies into utter discord with a compelling take on dissonance, such as in “Psychotorture” where the lead guitar and clean vocal melodies work in contrapuntal harmony, both vying for supremacy as the track collapses into chaos. The middle of “Plethora”, meanwhile, is so busy—the bass sliding maniacally hither and thither beneath crashing cymbal work and unrepentant vocals—it’s almost overwhelming. Caratucay are happy to lose you in their sonic labyrinth but they’ll always find you again with a hook, a guitar lick, or acoustic melody of startling clarity, as in the almost choral clean section that follows the aforementioned pandemonium in “Plethora” or the Opethian acoustic melody which opens “Hiraeth” before being carried away at full gallop.

Instrumental tracks rarely win me over, but “From Abyss to Kingdom Come” is a dynamic interplay between that ever-engagingly eerie bass work, sublime acoustic guitar pluckings, and an epic crescendo. That acoustic dynamic returns on closing epic “Moonlight”, hitting an Opethian stride in the classical guitar style intro, and on the outro where the bass waltzes arm in arm with a piano lament. Caratucay know how to let their songs breathe, bolstering the unrelenting heaviness with these more melodic interludes that elevate every composition. 

Every member delivers incredibly, but in an album of stand out performances, bassist Lutz may well shine brightest. His noodly bass work (which our resident tech-death expert Zach assures me isn’t fretless even though it really sounds like it [EDIT: Caratucay were kind enough to get in touch to say that there is indeed fretless bass on the tracks “Plethora”, “Sunken” and “Moonlight”. We’re all very disappointed in you, Zach]) glides underneath the compositions, its tense timbre adding yet another layer of complexity. The only real criticism I have to administer is that of length; at sixty-eight minutes the album begins to outstay its welcome; I couldn’t pinpoint a single track for the chopping block, but the prodigious length makes it harder for the many brilliant moments to stand out amidst the glut. 

Nocturnes of the Incarcerated is an impressive work of progressive death metal from a young band for whom the sky’s the limit. Caratucay wield their potential like a weapon, and one can see them delivering a true masterpiece with continued honing of their collective skills; for now they’ve crafted a deeply satisfying record that should appeal to progressive death metal fans everywhere.

Recommended tracks: Psychotorture, Plethora, Pathfinder
You may also like: Lamentations, An Abstract Illusion, Stortregn
Final verdict: 7.5/10

Related links: Bandcamp | Spotify | YouTube | Facebook | Instagram | Metal-Archives page

Label: Independent

Caratucay is:
– Phil (vocals)
– Lutz (bass) 
– Jim (drums) 
– Joscha (guitars)
– Tjark (guitars)