This is a completely unknown band to me, I confess, and being told that the duo that makes up Hymn were in Buckaduzz, Tombstones and more recently Sâver doesn’t help because I’ve never heard of them. Hymn are from Norway, and have been around for fourteen years. This is their second album, and they also released a self-titled EP.
Well, there’s no doubting the intent. Deep and fuzzy stoner-sludge crawls in. Grey monoliths appear. Noise exudes from them. The vocalist sounds anguished. Hardly surprising as the sound is rough and tough, but in spite of having the undertone of bad things, it’s musically rich and reassuring. It’s got Yob and Neurosis written over it, Neurosis because of the way it progresses in that outer-worldly post metal way. Thus is the title track. “Exit Through Fire” has more of a rock n roll beginning but soon enough we are down in the depths of colourful sludge. The vocalist rants manically. “Exit Through Fire” has a welcome urgency about it. If they were painting pictures, it would be of terrified people trapped in scenes of violence and chaos. It’s a mobile tableau, as far from standing still, this fearful soundscape transforms and drives forward. Eerie haunting sounds creep in behind an exhilarating tense passage and a series of explosive bursts. At the end it’s like a march through alien barren lands. “Crimson” has a similar air of adventure about it, rumbling and juddering along before descending into a sea of noise and being invaded by impressively haunting vocal line appearing through the mists. These structures are thoughtful, and make for a very dark but also very interesting listening experience. The haunting vocal is like a melodic version of Ozzy Osbourne, and the sound certainly is reminiscent of Sabbath but Hymn have their own ideas and take us through a cosmic field. A distant scream signals the restart of warfare, and again we’re dragged through a terrifying mystical world. By “Can I Carry You”, the now childlike vocals have become more insane and are a portent of disaster and doom, with music to match. We’re in a world of insane psychedelia. I’m loving this. As the tension mounts, so the screams of the vocalist become more frenetic. Musically, this is pounding, solid and heavy. Hymn take us through the mill as they parade their musical dexterity with the darkest fare imaginable, yet it makes sense as they use layers of sound and noise to create expanse. The bass guitar does its thing to a drone in the background, but that’s just one of many intriguing sequences on this 14 minute track and indeed on the album as a whole.
“Breach Us” is uncompromisingly heavy but also highly imaginative, deep and cleverly constructed. Hymn paint grim pictures in a colourful way, in doing so extracting every last ounce of atmosphere. I really enjoyed this album.
(9/10 Andrew Doherty)
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