Album Reviews : Hypno5e – Acid Mist Tomorrow

There’s just something about France and music. Sure, every country has its fair share of great bands, but the amount of French bands that stand out as something truly special (Eryn Non Dae, Alcest, Celeste, The Algorithm, Year Of No Light, Peste Noire, Om Mani, Natural Snow Buildings, I’ll stop now…) is stunning. Add Hypno5e to that list.

Coming about five years after their debut album, Acid Mist Tomorrow sees the band really hone their writing and perfect the balance that their experimental, and rather unique, style of music needs. Every track here is an epic, flowing from monstrous Gojira-esque riffs through to eerie clean passages and back again in an abnormally natural way. The vocals range from harsh screams to beautiful cleans to almost-whispers, with spoken samples adding a whole extra layer of depth to it. There are piano parts, occasional strings, and some sort of flute thing. It has everything. Yet despite how vast their sound is, it all comes together as one, which is where they truly succeed.

A good chunk of the album is fairly mellow, so if you’re one of those metalheads who needs heaviness all the time, then this isn’t for you. Hypno5e thrive on contrasting styles, changing pace and attitude so many times that you lose track of what part of the album you’re up to. You get lost in the madness.

Despite saying that; Acid Mist Tomorrow is heavy. Insanely heavy. Not just in the purely brutal way that say Meshuggah or Cannibal Corpse are, but in the sense that there is just so much to take in that it is overwhelming. There is this dense layer of atmosphere throughout. It’s almost tiring to sit down and attempt to take in the whole fifty five minutes. It’s like trying to read the whole Lord of the Rings trilogy in one sitting. But it’s so worth it.

Hypno5e are one of the most exhilarating bands in the progressive metal world right now, and Acid Mist Tomorrow will see their popularity soar. Not for those with a short attention span. 9/10

Track listing:
1. Acid Mist Tomorrow
2. Six Fingers In One Hand She Holds The Dawn (Part I)
3. Six Fingers In One Hand She Holds The Dawn (Part II)
4. Story of the Eye
5. Gehenne (Part I)
6. Gehenne (Part II)
7. Gehenne (Part III)
8. Brume Unique Obscurité (Part I)
9. Brume Unique Obscurit é (Part II)