The time will probably come when I begin to regard the experimental re-cycling and fusion of musical form as mundane, but it hasn’t happened yet. It was therefore encouraging to read that “Hybrid was born in 2004 with the intention of setting up an unorthodox extreme project without self-imposed limits”. So not being so far gone that my immune system might regard this intention as humdrum and everyday, I picked up “Angst”, the band’s second full work, with enthusiasm.
With a good production team, “Angst” is what you might expect: a psychological musical challenge. Directions change, but what is important is that there is a clear platform. The platform is extreme deathcore with thunderous bass and murderous screams but wait … a fantasy-based, sophisticated guitar piece intervenes … but only as a momentary and almost illusory interlude before the return to the chugging violent brutality. There’s more faint subtlety to taunt us but the onslaught won’t go away. The punch is power-packed. Again the extremity gives way to an exotic piece which could be part of a theme tune to a television series set by a beach. “Flesh Fusion Threshold” ends. Drums, screams and chaos are once more abundant as we “Enter the Void”. The tempo is controlled to perfection. A sinister spoken part precedes momentary reflection. There are a lot of “moments” in this. Turn up the switch and brutal hardcore re-appears, first at break neck speed, then slowing down for a few seconds. Are you keeping up with all this? Hybrid had me in their anarchic world. I’m loving it. What I love is all this movement, and the swinging between violent hardcore and sophisticated metal and other forms which shouldn’t by normal standards be here, but are, often all at the same time. It’s a juggernaut but not a constant one.
“Tasting your own insanity”, whispers a voice scarily from the depths of more metal mayhem and carnage. This line from “Collapse to None” comes before a moment of distorted jazz. It could drive you insane but the energy drives it along, and we’re in the slipstream. Raucous screams, belting drums, anarchic guitar work: they’re all here. There is no pattern yet there is because the force and energy of this metal blast are like a hurricane ad they make sure there is flow. The whispering voice returns. “Self-Implosion” begins. Eeriness precedes the customary mayhem. The sense of lingering death is taken over by violent blasts. The vocalist is as manic as Mr Lurusso on Ephel Duath’s “Pain Necessary to Know”. Yet a harmonious voice appears. This comes from all angles. The anarchy continues unabated. The pace changes. The level of power doesn’t. A faint jazz touch is again submerged by thunderous deathly metal.
I knew it was coming. The tension has been heightening over the first four tracks. The skill is evident. Deep bass and an Opeth like atmosphere start it off. There’s the sound of a whistling wind instrument. Drums roll and a guitar rhythm develops which delivers the promise that’s been there all along. This is “Cuando El Destino Nos Alcance” (“When We Reach the Destination”). Heaviness prevails but the whole work has now been transformed into majesty. I can’t say I was surprised. The instrumental talents are supreme and have been threatening to shine through from the beginning, like the sun appearing from behind the brutal clouds. So now to “Angst-Ridden Intertia” and its subtle guitar work which is like a dripping tap. Of course it cranks up into incomparable heaviness and screams, but in a controlled way, before becoming faster, harder, drum-led and frantic. A lay speaks in the middle of this dark scene. “Doomed to Failures” evokes more images of Ephel Duath. The music slows down and my vision was of maggots crawling – musical shades of Aeternus and Farsot come to mind – but helped in their progress by a chunky rhythm. Cosmic sounds take us to a bewitching sitar sound. The East meets heavy metal. To a rumbling backdrop, the Eastern rhythm shines through as if a reincarnate Ravi Shankar has invaded the impenetrably dark scene. Hypnotic guitar work and the spoken word are both beautiful and unsettling.
I enjoyed every second of “Angst”. Never have an album title and band name been conveyed more effectively. This work is not just creative. It has an air of genius in the way that the air of uncertainty and completely conflicting moods come together musically. If you want regularity and traditionally-constructed songs, don’t look here. If you want breathless activity, ephemeral images and transforming atmospheres in an ultra dark landscape, this is the place to be. Personally, I felt totally connected to this absorbing album and recommend it highly.
(9/10 Andrew Doherty)
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