Noctiferia

Noctiferia is a Slovene metal group from Slovenia, active since 1992. The band develops a blend of death metal, industrial metal, melodic black metal and symphonic black metal, and is associated with the Slovenian extreme metal and black metal scene.

History

The band begins in the Ljubljana underground and builds its identity in the mid-1990s. Its early work starts with founding members Igor Nardin on guitars and Uros Lipovec on bass, who record demos and then the debut album Baptism at Savica Fall. That release draws attention for its mix of black pagan metal, flutes and thematic ideas that later become more common in extreme metal. It also receives a 4/5 review in Kerrang, which helps open doors for the band.

In this period Noctiferia tours with a range of international extreme metal acts, including Enslaved, Cannibal Corpse, Absu, Rotting Christ, Deicide, Dark Funeral and Marduk. The band also records various underground sessions.

Albums and stylistic changes

Noctiferia's second studio album, Per Aspera, marks a shift away from old-school pagan black metal towards a more technical extreme death metal style. By this stage Gianni Poposki is the main vocalist. The album is released in Slovenia and later worldwide through Arctic Music Group. Its single Fond Of Lies charts at number one on Slovenian National TV for eight weeks.

The band continues to tour in Europe with acts such as Marduk, Kataklysm and Immolation, and later with Malevolent Creation, Immolation and Aborted. Per Aspera is followed by Slovenska Morbida, an album that brings in female vocals, unusual sounds for metal and national instruments. Peter Tägtgren mixes the album at The Abyss studio in Sweden. Two videos are made for it, including Mara, which charts on MTV Adria. The album leads to tours and festival appearances across southern Europe, including two UK tours with Hypocrisy, shows with Cradle of Filth and Pain, appearances on the main stage at Metalcamp, a co-headline metal stage at Wave-Gotik-Treffen, a headlined metal stage at Exit festival, and support slots for In Flames and Dimmu Borgir.

A reissue of Baptism at Savica Fall with the complete demo collection appears in 2007 and sells out. After this period the line-up changes with drummer Mathias Gergeta joining, and the band combines elements of its earlier technical style with the sound of Slovenska Morbida.

Death Culture and later activity

Work on Death Culture begins in 2008. The band develops the material in Switzerland with Mass of Samael, then records in Slovenia with producer Dalibor Strniša before sending it to Peter Tägtgren at The Abyss for further work. Jonas Kjellgren masters the album at Black Lounge. Noctiferia signs a worldwide deal with Listenable Records, which releases the album in 2010. The record is nominated for Metal Storm's best industrial album of the year, where it places second among releases by Fear Factory, Killing Joke, The Young Gods and Triptykon.

In 2011 Noctiferia tours Europe as exclusive support for In Flames. The group also works with external companies and media projects: it signs with Artworx merchandising, contributes the song Slavedriver to a Castrol promotional video, and uses Demoncracy in the Slovenian film Exit and the English film The King's Men. In 2012 the band performs at Bloodstock festival in the UK and later at Cankarjev dom in Ljubljana for the National Athlete of the Year award ceremony, where it plays two songs live for the president of Slovenia and other official guests. In 2013 it appears at the VICTORJI annual ceremony, the Slovenian equivalent of the Grammy Awards.

Studio albums

Baptism at Savica Fall, Per Aspera, Slovenska Morbida and Death Culture make up the band’s listed studio albums. A fifth studio album is also mentioned as part of the band's later work.