Goddamn! At first I was disappointed, because I thought to get the new CD of the Czech Death Metal band Hypnos… but the frustration did not last for a long time, cause the similar named HYPNOSIS deliver an interesting work – and it is typical for a French band to be complex and not easy to consume. I would characterize them as extravagant.
This variable cocktail consists of a huge part Death Metal and the way singer Pierre uses his voice, namely abyssal growling. Along the way he gets his guitar under control at best. He shares the vocal performance (and guitar work) with Cindy, who creates an interesting contrast with her clear and powerful voice. The music turns out to be slightly modern, based on a partly futuristic programmed rhythm fundament. The sound is quite cold and machine-like; the band often plays fast paced, but leaves some space for changes in speed and measure. HYPNOSIS takes care to hide many details in their long songs and so the album does not get boring even after the tenth listening session. Sometimes a band loses the plot and sounds too complex or artificial, but HYPNOSIS manages to avoid this implementation. Despite all bulkiness, the French horde fortunately attaches groovy parts with cool harmonies. One of these variable songs, namely Soul Mirror, gets a vanguard touch because of the off-key vocals. The following The Room starts with vocal experiments, ere an elegiac guitar chord directs the composition in a completely different mood. Impelling chords and fast rhythms cater for additional alternation. Sometimes HYPNOSIS throttles the speed completely and the bass sparsely steps to the foreground. The clear and transparent production takes care of a well-balanced tuning of all instruments and as a consequence Seeds Of Fate is recommendable in its entirety. The title track Seeds Of Fate as acoustic punch line shows HYPNOSIS’ interesting way of composing in cumulative manner: partly stamping, partly raging and forward dashing speeds are displaced by calm, hypnotic sound collages, which round off the album in relaxed mode.
This mixture sounds rather stressful, but at the same time demanding – and right, everyone has to be patient with Seeds Of Fate. A lot of convergence is necessary for these nearly sixty minutes, but after a short while of customization the CD appealed to me better and better. Maybe this is true for all other fans of Death Metal, who also acquire a taste for off-one’s-trolley music and progressive sounds.