French Avant-Garde Metal outfit Hypno5e today presents their latest video, the moving “Slow Steams Of Darkness.” The track appears on the band’s stunning sixth studio album “Sheol,” set for release on February 24th via Pelagic Records. Watch the video through the YouTube player below:
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 principal songwriter Emmanuel Jessua: “For the new album, I really wanted to explore the natural link between my music and its visualization. Film and video are key in the way I imagine my music, and I really see them going hand in hand. I’ve always created the music videos for HYPNO5E myself, but for Sheol, I wanted to dig deeper and really give full freedom to my visual creativity to build a totally new visual world for the album. So, this music video for ‘Slow Steams Of Darkness’ is built as part this global visual artwork around the album. Just like the previous video for ‘Lava From The Sky,’ it is a poetic visual interpretation of the song. I tried to build an abstract vision of the music, an introspection of the character that we follow from song to song, video to video, in a dark, lonesome space. This time, I wanted the music video to ‘take its time,’ maintaining a slow rhythm throughout the twelve minutes, to let the song and the visuals take us in a slow visual travel. ‘Slow Steams Of Darkness’ is the closing track from our new album Sheol, to be released next week, and the images were shot in France, Bolivia, and Armenia.”
View the band’s previously released video for “Sheol Part II” at THIS LOCATION and “Lava From The Sky” at THIS LOCATION.
Hypno5e’s “Sheol” will be released on CD, LP, and digital formats. Find pre-orders here: https://listen.pelagic-records.com/hypno5e
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.
“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.
Pre-order and Stream the album here: https://listen.pelagic-records.com/hypno5e
Tracklist:
1. Sheol – Part I – Nowhere
2. Sheol – Part II – Lands of Haze
3. Bone Dust
4. Tauca – Part I – Another
5. Lava from the Sky
6. The Dreamer and his Dream
7. Slow Steams of Darkness – Part I – Milluni
8. Slow Steams of Darkness – Part II – Solar Mist