Hypno5e
Acid Mist Tomorrow

They are said to be sonic alchemists, the guys in french band Hypno5e. I guess when you are that experimental in the sonic area you can also afford to be the same coming to the area of spelling and writing which is just what they are with their name, although it might be the bulgarian spelling. With references to intrigue and dark ambiences worthy of Alex Proyas’ epic Dark City they debuted five years ago and now they have released their second album which is called Acid Mist Tomorrow and is said to be another strong, rewarding and challenging achievement by the frenchmen. It all sounds great, doesn’t it. Although then I suddenly remember that everything sounds great when the sales pitches are given, then it all of a sudden changes when you play those poor albums you get. Sure there are moments when the sales pitches are credible as well, but to be honest they are not that frequent. So, what about these guys? are they as good as they are being sold as?

If you think too hard about things it becomes very apparent that you overanalyse things and with an album like this having such an experimental and varied approach but it can be described as a very adventurous album exploring many different avenues of music that derides from an extreme metal approach. Sometimes it is very heavy, other times it is more dreamy and atmospheric, I would say that it is difficult to give an accurate description of how this album sounds as it is so varied and so complex. There is darkness and there is light, there is dynamics and there is monotony and everything is being held together by a production making it sound coherent despite the many layers and styles that are varied through the nine tracks and 54 minutes of music it offers.

The vocals is another thing that is highly varied and it is so by employing growls and normal singing and everything in between it would seem like. With all this variation it becomes an album that requires a bit from the listener, I would say that it is an album that requires its person. Another thing you can say is that the album has a lot of depth and with this atmosphere and ambience it certainly stands on a good foundation and from there the logical conclusion would be that the album is a good album. And sure enough it is a good album which has no real weaknesses as it is very well presented. Despite this I don’t find this album as good as I think it should have been.

Generally experimental albums are either really good or really poor but this one is in between. Everything about it indicates that it should be good, there is variation, there is dynamics, there is good performance and all the markers of a good album is there but still I remain quite neutral in my experience of this album. Sure it is a good album to listen to, an adventurous journey of 54 minutes, but for those to be really good they have to be really memorable and this album is not memorable so it ends up being a good album but really nothing more than that and on the face of it that is a bit of a disappointment.

This is music that’s going to leave jaws simply agape, made with no regard for potential audiences or genre classifications and boundaries. It’s that good! That is what the press info says, and this is what I say: I think that if you are interested in the genre you will probably find this good as well, and it is surely good enough to sit indoors one cold morning waiting for tomorrow’s acid mists to dissipate.