The Key
by Nocturnus
Nocturnus bestography
The Key is ranked as the best album by Nocturnus.
(N.B. Bestographies include all albums by an artist (and their variations), but do not include albums ranked outside the top 100,000).
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Listen to The Key on YouTube
The Key track list
The tracks on this album have an average rating of 78 out of 100 (all tracks have been rated).
The Key rankings
| Year | Source | Chart | Rank | Rank Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 |  AAL2014 | Top 42 Music Albums of 1990 | 27/42 | 2 |
| 2025 |  LedZep | Metal albums not in BEA's top 10000 | 43/99 | - |
| 2025 | Andras | Top 66 Music Albums of the 1990s | 16/66 | 15 |
| 2025 | Johnnyo | Albums of the year 1990 by Metal Storm | 10/20 | - |
| 2024 |  btener11 | Best Ever Death Metal | 34/100 | - |
| 2024 | LosWochos | Top 100 Music Albums of 1990 | 96/100 | 0 |
| 2024 | AAL2014 | Metal (Heavy, Thrash, Death, Black, Nu, Grind, etc…) | 61/81 | - |
| 2022 |  NoisyBeast | Top 1000 Albums of the 1990s... # 401 - 500 | 41/100 | - |
| 2020 | panapsal | Top 99 Music Albums of 1990 | 73/99 | 1 |
| 2020 |  Tha1ChiefRocka | Bestever Metal Albums | 28/79 | - |
| 2018 | NoisyBeast | Top 100 Music Albums of 1990 | 79/100 | 1 |
| 2015 | sonicdiscourse | 1990 To-Do List | 44/94 | - |
| Total Charts: The total number of charts that this album has appeared in. | 12 | |||
| Total Rank Score: The total rank score. | 20 | |||
The Key collection
Showing all 2 members who have this album in their collection
The Key ratings
Average Rating = (n ÷ (n + m)) × av + (m ÷ (n + m)) × AVwhere:
av = trimmed mean average rating an item has currently received.
n = number of ratings an item has currently received.
m = minimum number of ratings required for an item to appear in a 'top-rated' chart (currently 10).
AV = the site mean average rating.
Showing latest 5 ratings for this album. | Show all 12 ratings for this album.
| Rating | Date updated | Member | Album ratings | Avg. album rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ! | 03/10/2025 20:07 | TonySayers61 | 23,466 | 64/100 |
| ! | 08/31/2024 16:10 |  nmte | 332 | 56/100 |
| ! | 04/18/2024 13:34 | LosWochos | 46,769 | 75/100 |
| ! | 06/12/2023 22:31 | LedZep | 4,895 | 79/100 |
| ! | 09/28/2020 20:19 |  FreakWolfenstein | 3,973 | 71/100 |
Rating metrics:
Outliers can be removed when calculating a mean average to dampen the effects of ratings outside the normal distribution. This figure is provided as the trimmed mean. A high standard deviation can be legitimate, but can sometimes indicate 'gaming' is occurring. Consider a simplified example* of an item receiving ratings of 100, 50, & 0. The mean average rating would be 50. However, ratings of 55, 50 & 45 could also result in the same average. The second average might be more trusted because there is more consensus around a particular rating (a lower deviation).
(*In practice, some albums can have several thousand ratings)
This album is rated in the top 5% of all albums on BestEverAlbums.com. This album has a Bayesian average rating of 76.3/100, a mean average of 79.6/100, and a trimmed mean (excluding outliers) of 79.6/100. The standard deviation for this album is 10.5.
The Key favourites
Showing all 3 members who have added this album as a favourite
The Key comments
Showing all 1 comments |
Most Helpful First | Newest First | Positive Sentiment First |
Longest Comments First
(Only showing comments with -2 votes or higher. You can alter this threshold from your profile page. Manage Profile)
AAL2014 05/06/2020 23:08 | #251010
I had never really heard keyboard be used with this type of metal the way they did it as early as they did it. It adds an interesting progressive depth, and is used as a tool rather than a regular asset of the band. Granted it isn't the least dated keyboard sound, but it gives this record an interesting edge. There are some really solid proggy moments of unison rhythms and manic tempo changes to go alongside some crushing riffs and the album's notable narrative. This is a standout of its kind.
I love the sound of those high toms, they really help melodically guide what's going on in a sense, and the kick drum rolls are deranged and sound great.
Your feedback for The Key
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