Hyperion
Into the Maelstrom

Hyperion goes into the maelstrom in an adventure that certainly would appear quite exciting from looking at the title and the great artwork. It is a bit of a shame that it doesn’t come in vinyl format so that we get a record that really does justice to the art, then again, it would be pointless to buy records just because they look good. Especially if something boring hides behind that great art, fortunately it isn’t so as the Italian quartet’s second album offers some hit potential and some fresh ideas.

It is built from a pretty classic heavy metal foundation and lends itself to comparison with a legion of bands like Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, Megadeth, Danger Zone, Metallica, Scanner, Helloween, Manowar, Gamma Ray, Iron Savior, to name just the first that came to mind when I thought about the similar bands, they don’t really differ from the mainstream. But they do dare to near the maelstrom at times with some atypical touches that spice it up somewhat, although not enough to really set them aside from most stuff in this genre.

They keep playing time sensible and dynamic enough, and while some surprises and more explorations of the small adventurous ideas would have been great, it is still strong enough to enjoy for a while. I think the singer is pretty good despite his slight Italian accent, I also like the somewhat gruff production that gives them a powerful feel. It is a fairly enjoyable album overall, but it doesn’t really stand out in any way, the small touches of novelty help but it doesn’t feel fresh or novel enough to really stand out.

Fans of the classic heavy metal will like this album; it should press the right buttons for them. For me it isn’t memorable enough to make a really powerful impression, but there are things that I really like, and it has not been a waste to play through Into the Maelstrom a couple of times.

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