HYPNO5E have now punched me in the face two times in three years. The first time was when I reviewed Shores of the Abstract Line and was caught unawares by its heady, intellectual, and heavy as all hell brand of post-metal. The second time was when I reviewed Alba – Les Ombres Errantes and was completely taken in by its stripped back, melancholic air. And now, it appears that the band are warming up to sock me in the face once again, as they unveil “Tauca, Pt. 2 – Nowhere” right here with us today, an emotionally cavernous track that sets you up beautifully for its explosive end. Scroll down below to hear it for the first time and be prepared; we’ll talk more once you’ve recovered.
I think, like me, the main question running through the heads of fans today is whether the band’s next release will take more after their melancholic, stripped back recent efforts (which also include work as a somber side-project) or after their heavier efforts of yesteryear. The answer to that is sordid laughter, mocking you for trying to predict the trajectory of one of the more unpredictable bands in the field. You see, this new track opens somberly enough, with emotion-drenched strings and heartfelt vocals leading the way into a core of darkness and melancholy. But near the end of the track, it blows up with furious blastbeats and massive guitars, laying waste to your expectations in a second.
But all of that is something that the band have done before; what’s to come is even more surprising and effective in a raw, visceral ways. The vocals that arrive after the heavier section, with the strings back and playing a grotesque revisiting of their previous theme, are scrapped screeches which remind us of Ihsahn‘s work on Leprous‘ “Contaminate Me” or other such voices from the bowls of black metal. This style works brilliantly well here, taking the brooding aesthetic of the track and shoving it right into your heart like a stake made of rotting wood. The video does much to amplify this affect, focusing as it does on the face of the human singing these vocals and not much else, driving our attention towards empathy and the emotions being expressed on this track.
If you’re as excited for A Distant (Dark) Source as I am, the upcoming album this track is from, you can pre-order it from multiple locations. It releases through the always-excellent Pelagic Records on November 22nd. Get ready folks; HYPNO5E are going to blow us away again.