Subtlety is not a trait highly prized by Germany’s Nocturnal. With a website address of www.unholythrashmetal.de.vu (not to be confused with holythrashmetal), and a roster made up of, (and I quote) Evil Avenger-Hellsaw, Hellbastard-Barbaric Artillery Devastation, Metallic Mayhem-Vokills, and Vomitor-Basslaughter, these dudes are about as subtle as a fart in church. Of course, metal doesn’t exactly require or even encourage subtlety. Normally, this kind of jackassery would have me cackling like a mental patient, and honestly I did chuckle a little at first. However, as you might have guessed, Nocturnal mean what they say and they say what they mean, and Arrival of the Carnivore is a straight up, no frills, old school thrash album, and for all its single mindedness and lack of innovation, this album succeeds, in large part, because it’s fun. Nocturnal’s heavy but loose thrash is the kind of stuff you can crank up and sing along to with your buddies after downing a case of beer. We need those kinds of albums.

While Nocturnal are essentially playing 80’s style German thrash in the vein of Kreator, they also incorporate some fast and loose Motorhead style riffing which gives the band a thrash ‘n’ roll sound. Mostly thrash, to be sure, but the roll is there too, and it’s that ingredient that gives Nocturnal the barroom metal vibe that makes this album worthwhile. The Motorhead connection is most clearly evidenced on tracks like “Burn This Town”, and I can almost feel the beer spilling on my shoes during the sing along chorus that is sure to have a bar full of drunken headbangers raising their steins over their heads and screaming along.

Arrival of the Carnivore stumbles coming out the gate, with the lame intro of “Coven of Darkness”, which is essentially just some storm sounds and a silly echoing synth sound. The track picks up towards the end though, and moves toward a “Hell Awaits” styled intro, which leads right into the second track, “Temples of Sin.” Like the rest of the album, that song is full of riffs that aren’t always complex, but are catchy and in large supply. The band does well by frequently using tempo changes, and although they usually just alternate between a gallop and a slow down to half time, it helps keep your interest and the album moving. The songs are all about three minutes long and the entire album only runs about thirty-three minutes, which is just about right for this kind of affair.

They’re not innovators, they’re not subtle, and they’re not exactly complex, but boy are they sure fun at a party. And sometimes that’s more important than anything else. If you’re looking for contemporary thrash band who play old school metal without any unwelcome contemporary elements, Nocturnal's Arrival of the Carnivore is sure to scratch your itch for unholythrashmetal.