By: Anders

Posted: Jul 15, 2005

The only thing I remember to have heard from this Czech band, are a couple of tracks on various samplers in the past. Not anything that must have impressed me, due to me not checking it further out. Though isn't it often seen that listening through a full length album often does wonders, or the other way around? I have now given this new full length album from Hypnös several spins, and even after being frightened by the Vader-like opening riffs on 'Drowned In Burial Mud', the album turned out to be pretty good.

The band delivers varied and very atmospheric death metal. There is a great display of all from slow to mid-tempo bashers, to fast forward extremism. Though it is seldom that a track is kept in one pace. The band stands forward and shows themselves as good songwriters, who knows how to work with many different elements and still keeping it structured.

There is plenty of good guitar work on the album, thrashy main riffs, heavy and punishing. There are some good leads here and there, and some of the solos are okay as well, even though there are a couple of boring ones as well. Both the drums and the bass are very solid, together with delivering some great details. The vocals are dark and deep, spitting forth bile and hate towards religion and the lack of moral and ethic in today's society. The clean vocals, delivered by Ladislav Svanyga in the tracks 'Black Nymph Reveals' and 'At Death's Door', are really suiting and fits the dark atmosphere of the tracks really good, and creates a nice contrast to the growls.

I am really surprised over the quality of this recording. Hypnös delivers a really strong and interesting death metal album, with much atmosphere incorporated. It is very varied, but still hard hitting and brutal. Another band to keep an eye for in the future, matured and ready to conquer the death metal scene, this should be checked out by all fans of death metal. Besides all this, the first edition of the album comes with a multimedia part with videos of 'Drowned In Burial Mud' and 'Cleansing Extrema', so you better act fast.

Rating: 8/10

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