black metal / death metal
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Time to head into extremes again, this time with Swedish debutants Hyperion. However, 'debutants' might not exactly be true. The band has been around since 2007 but faced a number of line-up changes before this album could finally see the light of day. After the release of their first four track demo, all the band members left, except Erik Molnar. He found some new members to record the demo 'Blood Of The Ancients' and from then on, the ball started rolling.
Influenced by the extreme metal scene of the Scandinavian countries, Hyperion blasts out some fierce but melodic blackened death metal, or vice versa. After an intro, flashes of anything between At The Gates, In Flames, Emperor and Dark Tranquility appear, resulting in something brutal and epic. 'Novo Ordo Seclorum' is a classic piece of the massive sound of that era and certainly one of the highlights on this album.
From then on, Hyperion rages on with sheer intensity and brutal power. Yet, they always seem to have a flair for melody and atmosphere. They continuously alternate between fierce, blast-beats driven black metal and up-tempo atmospheric metal, complete with keyboards and unexpected hooks. Those elements make a song like title track 'Seraphical Euphony' a masterpiece it its genre.
It's not the only one by the way. This album, which basically is a collection of new songs and re-recorded tracks from the 'Blood Of The Ancients' demo, is full of highly varied, well-written songs. Even classical music has its place, resulting in a nice piece of work in the beginning of 'Moral Evasion'. The rest of this song is pure headbanging bliss by the way. These guys certainly are skilled musicians.
If you're a fan of the bands I mentioned in this review, plus perhaps acts like Children Of Bodom, Kalmah or Norther, you surely need to check this one out. I'm positive that this band will appear on the European stages a lot from now on. If they can maintain this level of quality and intensity on stage, they can convince any headbanging audience.
​Serge
Influenced by the extreme metal scene of the Scandinavian countries, Hyperion blasts out some fierce but melodic blackened death metal, or vice versa. After an intro, flashes of anything between At The Gates, In Flames, Emperor and Dark Tranquility appear, resulting in something brutal and epic. 'Novo Ordo Seclorum' is a classic piece of the massive sound of that era and certainly one of the highlights on this album.
From then on, Hyperion rages on with sheer intensity and brutal power. Yet, they always seem to have a flair for melody and atmosphere. They continuously alternate between fierce, blast-beats driven black metal and up-tempo atmospheric metal, complete with keyboards and unexpected hooks. Those elements make a song like title track 'Seraphical Euphony' a masterpiece it its genre.
It's not the only one by the way. This album, which basically is a collection of new songs and re-recorded tracks from the 'Blood Of The Ancients' demo, is full of highly varied, well-written songs. Even classical music has its place, resulting in a nice piece of work in the beginning of 'Moral Evasion'. The rest of this song is pure headbanging bliss by the way. These guys certainly are skilled musicians.
If you're a fan of the bands I mentioned in this review, plus perhaps acts like Children Of Bodom, Kalmah or Norther, you surely need to check this one out. I'm positive that this band will appear on the European stages a lot from now on. If they can maintain this level of quality and intensity on stage, they can convince any headbanging audience.
​Serge