Cinematic prog metallers HYPNO5E will release their sixth studio album “Sheol” via Pelagic Records on February 24, and today they unveil their new video for “Lava From The Sky.”
Once more, these four visionary musicians and cinematographers take us back to the lost shores of the Paleolithic Lake Tauca, where we dive deeper into its dark source to find vibrant visions of a memory both distant and hazy as well as warm and evocative. Sheol shows HYPNO5E at the top of their game, revealing the epitome of their idiosyncratic sound while also exploring new and exciting aspects of their artistic identity.
Elaborates main songwriter Emmanuel Jessua on “Lava From The Sky:” “For this second single of the album, I wanted to come back to being more hands-on with making the music video, as I’ve always been, and to create it entirely on my own. I also wanted to build a new visual universe and esthetic, something fresh that I hadn’t done before. To do so, I used visuals I directed together with Mickaël Pinelli, an amazing actor I’ve collaborated many times with before and of the members of the band, that I layered with paintings and drawings by my father, which also inspired the artwork for the upcoming album, Sheol.
“The video is like a dream with vintage touches of colors, oneiric visuals and editing style. It’s the first time I worked with this kind of process, and I really enjoyed it. It was almost like creating an animated film! ‘Lava From The Sky’ is the central song in the album and it includes all the new things we’ve wanted to achieve with this next opus, esthetic wise. This is why I also wanted the music video to be very special and impactful.”
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.
“Sheol” Album Artwork
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
