The band was formed by Browning, former Incubus guitarist Gino Marino and former Agent Steel bassist Richard Bateman.
[1] In 1989, thanks in large part to Mike Davis's friendship with Morbid Angel guitarist Trey Azagthoth, the band signed to Earache Records.
Musically, the album was less unrelenting and more diverse than The Key, including an instrumental track ("Nocturne in Bm"), employment of acoustic guitars ("Arctic Crypt"), and exotic percussion ("Tribal Voudon").
This culminated in Sean McNenney and Louis Panzer, behind Brownings back, ensuring rights to the bandname "Nocturnus", which they also signed Mike Davis onto, but not Izzo or Mowery.
The new Nocturnus lineup began recording new songs for a third album, including "Mummified", "The Invertebrate Plague", "The Great Spot", and "Orbital Decay", all of which were written by Davis/McNenney/Panzer.
During this time most of the band members effectively fell off the musical grid, with the exception of Mike Davis's work on a project with Trey Azagthoth which was never released.
[citation needed] In the late 1990s, Sean McNenney and Louis Panzer began playing together again, writing ambient metal riffs.
Eventually deciding that these new ideas could work as new Nocturnus material, Mike Davis and Emo Mowery were readded to the fold, along with new drummer Rick Bizarro.
At a certain point Louis Panzer reformed an old band called Cry Blue, which Mike Browning described as "Sting type music", though he was known to be involved in the software industry and living in North Carolina.
In late 2008 Browning toured with his own band After Death under the Nocturnus name for two exclusive UK dates one at BUSK in Birmingham and the other in London plus some European gigs.
[3] In May 2013, Earache Records began a Kickstarter campaign to gather pledges for Thresholds to be re-released for the first time since its official release date in 1992 using the original DAT master tape, successfully reaching its goal in July.
The band's lyrics were said to "[offer] a refreshing alternative to death metal’s prevailing preoccupations with Satan and gore during those early years."