Cinematic prog metallers HYPNO5E will release their sixth studio album “Sheol” via Pelagic Records on February 24, and they have shared both Part 1 and Part 2 of the album title track. Watch the official music video for Part 2 below and stream both parts further down.
The eight-track concept album explores the different shades of the band’s atmospheric sound. Lyrically, it picks up from 2018’s “A Distant (Dark) Source,” which explored the story of a man looking for a woman he’d lost by the “dark source” of Lake Tauca – a prehistoric lake in Bolivia where singer and guitarist Emmanuel Jessua grew up.
“In the Hebrew Bible, Sheol is the place where all souls meet after their death, to remain in silence and to turn to dust once more,” explains Jessua. “Sheol is the story of what was before that night. The two albums are built, like the myth of Sisyphus, in a cycle. Sheol begins where A Distant (Dark) Source stops and A Distant (Dark) Source ends where Sheol begins.”
Pre-order “Sheol” HERE.
Since 2006 HYPNO5E have been taking grand strides in honing their brand of cinematographic metal, with each of their albums developing elements that would become essential building blocks to their sound. Their 2007 debut album “Des Deux l’Une Est l’Autre” harnessed a raw, chaotic energy, while the following “Acid Mist Tomorrow” (2012) saw them apply a hazy flter to their ferocious sound. On “Shores of the Abstract Line” (2015) HYPNO5E already transformed into the true modern metal grandmasters they are today, while the special soundtrack album “Alba – Les Ombres Errantes” explored a more subdued acoustic side of the band.
In many ways, “Sheol” refers to the band’s previous album, but this record sees them take their musical endeavors one step further in terms of consistency and musical density. Once more, the band delivers drawn-out compositions that marry angular modern metal riffs with massive grooves and layers of evocative vocals. Once more, the music is haunted by hair-raising string sections (this time provided by a veritable string trio) and bloodcurdling percussive rim-clicks. Once more, the band revels in a superbly curated selection of poets reading excerpts of their own work —most notably César Vallejo, Jean Cocteau and Anne Sexton. “Tauca Pt. 1 – Another” shakes your hand like an old friend while album opener “Nowhere” hearkens back to “A Distant Dark Source Pt. 1” with its eerie high guitar leads.
“Sheol” tracklisting:
1. Sheol – Part I – Late Sorrow
2. Sheol – Part II – Lands of Haze
3. Bone Dust
4. Tauca – Part I – Another
5. Lava From The Sky
6. The Dreamer and His Dream
7. Slow Steams of Darkness – Part I – Sacred Woods
8. Slow Steams of Darkness – Part II: Solar Mist
