(written by Islander)
The Swedish metal band Hyperion have not been prolific, and they do not work quickly. They didn’t release their first demo until roughly three years after their formation, and six more years passed before they released their 2016 debut album Seraphical Euphony. But who would have guessed that a decade would drift by before a second full-length arrived?
Yet at last, a second full-length will be arriving on November 6th via Willowtip Records (who always seem to astutely know a good thing when they hear it). The name of Hyperion’s new album is Elysia.
Erik Molnar still leads the band, but the full lineup is different from the group that released Seraphical Euphony. After a decade of ideas gestating and work undertaken, it’s not surprising that the music has evolved as well, and we have a sign of that today in our premiere of a lyric video for Elysia’s second single, “Fides Novem“.
Band photos by Varghamne
At a high level, Elysia is an enormously ambitious hybrid of melodic death and black metal — big movements, big sounds, big ideas, a highly resourceful fusion of complexity and cohesion. The band’s own statement about the album acknowledges their ambitiousness:
“Elysia is an explosion of intensity in all kinds of directions. To call it an ambitious album would be an understatement. Hyperion never creates music with half measures and this is the ultimate statement of that. It is different from Seraphical Euphony, but still contains the vital elements that make us what we are. To make this album a reality has been a titanic effort and we are beyond excited to finally have it released to the world.”
Hyperion’s ambitions can be deduced from the track list of Elysia. It includes 10 songs, and with just a couple of exceptions those songs are lengthy, ranging from just shy of seven minutes to more than 12. “Fides Novem“, the third song on the album, nearly hits the nine-minute mark. Hyperion make use of that time as if they thought tomorrow would never come.
But the band’s ambitions extend beyond the music. As you will see through the video below, “Fides Novem” is part of a lyrical sci-fi epic, a narrative in the far future of nine enormous “space galleys” dispatched on a pilgrimage of conquest by their empire into the outskirts of the known galaxy.
As the space galleys “power up their plasma generators and set course at the ethereal heavens” Hyperion power up hard-charging drums, melodies of expansive magnificence, and rapidly swirling guitar arpeggios that are electrifying to hear. As scalding vocals begin hurling the words the band ratchet up the intensity further, with drums blasting and guitars maniacally roiling.
It’s an eye-popping experience, but the blaze isn’t too bright to obscure the nimbleness of the bass-work, which is one of many features in the music that will keep listeners on their toes. Without dialing back the intensity, Hyperion also launch hard-charging surges, but also shift into phases of rippling musical elegance. And as the space galley that’s the song’s focus encounters a colossal asteroid radiating malice, the music becomes mysterious and fearful — just before choral voices magnificently soar.
The tale becomes increasingly frightening, and so does the music. Hyperion rarely let us forget the cosmic splendor of the setting, as vast seas of orchestration and flashing fretwork pass through, but they also segue into mesmerizing melodies elegantly performed by acoustic guitar and piano, and they attack with vicious tremolo’d riffing, hyper-speed percussive fusillades, and wailing flute-like tones.
The music is melodically rich and atmospheric, technically impressive, and both wondrous and savage, both heart-bursting and distressing. Fair warning: There’s A LOT to take in here, not just in the music and the lyrics but in the the detailed and evocative narrative texts that pass by on the screen. So don’t be in a hurry when you begin… it will be worth all of your attention.
HYPERION is:
Erik Molnar: Guitars, Synthesizer Programming, Spoken Word
Joel Hagroth: Guitars, Spoken Word
Mikael Malm: Guitars
Raul Vicente: Bass
Mauritz Flodin: Drums, Orchestrations
Elysia was mixed and mastered in Wing Studios by Sverker Widgren. It includes fabulous cover art created by Khaos Diktator.
Willowtip will release Elysia on CD, 2xLP, and digital formats, and you can place your orders now. You can also check out (below) the previously released first single from the album, “Iliou Persis“, which includes guest vocals by Atterigner and a battle choir of Erik Molnar, Joel Hagroth, Mikael Malm, Mortuz Denatus, Johan Camling, and Henrik Edman.
PRE-ORDER:
https://hyperionswe.bandcamp.com/album/elysia
HYPERION:
https://www.hyperion.nu/
https://www.facebook.com/HyperionSwe/