Photo by Cyrielle Thélot
French avant-garde metal outfit HYPNO5E today unveils their new video for “Lava From The Sky.” The track comes by way of the band’s sixth studio album, Sheol, set for release on February 24th via Pelagic Records.
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.”
Watch HYPNO5E’s “Lava From The Sky” video at THIS LOCATION.
View the band’s previously released video for “Sheol Part II” at THIS LOCATION.
HYPNO5E’s Sheol will be released on CD, LP, and digital formats. Find preorders at THIS LOCATION.
Since 2006, HYPNO5E has 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 filter 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 A Distant (Dark) Source (2018), 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 sees the band sounding warmer and brighter than anywhere else in their storied discography, and the arrival of new drummer Pierre Rettien and bass player Charles Villanueva adds a fresh touch the classic HYPNO5E sound. The sweeping finales of “Lands Of Haze” and “The Dreamer And His Dream” as well as the pastoral qualities of the quiet finger-picked parts on “Bone Dust” and “Lava From The Sky” hearken back to the old prog rock records of the ‘70s, albeit with an updated sonic palette and modern production parameters. Besides, these eight tracks also see the band carefully exploring new patterns, shapes, and forms within their own musical universe: from the alternating use of ritardando and accelerando on the aforementioned rim-clicks to the increased employment of string sections and vocal harmonies.
With the addition of a whole new palette of warmer and brighter tones, HYPNO5E superbly bridges the sounds of the modern progressive metal and retro prog-movements creating an evocative sonic experience. Sheol is undoubtedly the band’s best work to date as it gives evidence of an undeniable strength in artistic vision.
HYPNO5E:
Emmanuel Jessua – guitar, piano, charango, Portuguese guitar, vocals
Jonathan Maurois – guitars
Pierre Rettien – drums
Charles Villanueva – bass
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