ALBUM REVIEW: Hypervirulence Architecture – Hissing
Metal is always at its best when it feels dangerous and innovative. It takes a certain kind of band to ride the waves of brutality and chaotic structures whilst still feeling like there is a purpose behind every blast beat and dissonant note. Enter HISSING. Since the trio formed back on 2014, they have set out to explore the very far reaches of metal’s musical limits whilst still managing to stick a cohesive and driven musical identity. With each release the boys have pushed the limits of not only their own abilities, but also their audience’s will to endure the sonic battery and now in 2022 they stand atop possibly their most ambitious release to date in Hypervirulence Architecture.
From the very beginning of Cells Of Nonbeing the band set about doing what they always do: unloading a neck-shredding concoction of schizophrenic rhythmical shifts, frantic riffs and vocals that cover more ground in one song then most bands do in their entire back catalogue.
The musical ground that the band cover per song is something to truly step back and admire. There are sections in the ten-minute opus Operant Extinction that seamlessly shift between pulverising grindcore to blackened death and even some chugging death-doom moments without it ever feeling forced or disconnected in any way, shape or form. Even when they throw in a strange, industrial dark synth interlude it seems to fit their agenda. They make sure that you never feel at ease at any point for fear of the next shift in direction smacking in you in the face and leaving you wondering what in the hell just happened.
One of the highlights of the album has to be Intrusion. The band shift from a dark, brooding introduction to visceral blast beats and chugging riffs that are as undeniably heavy as they are calculated and well-executed. This is extreme music at its finest, giving off shades of prime NAPALM DEATH and modern day FULL OF HELL whilst still managing to feel entirely original and unique. The blackened guitar lines and demonic vocals on Meltdown take the band in a more blackened death metal direction and harks back to The Apostasy-era BEHEMOTH. The drums sound like heavy artillery and drive the high velocity tremolo riffs home with the barking vocals soaring over the top. This is evil sounding music done properly and is bound to cause mass hysteria in live settings the world over.
One of the main selling points for a band of this nature is the way in which an album is mixed. If it’s too clean, it feels like you are diluting their rawness and savagery of the product, and on the flip side if it is too raw you risk losing the subtle nuances and textures that make the art feel whole. Thankfully, with Hypervirulence Architecture this is not the case. The production team of Detto and Dan Lowndes have done a splendid job of harnessing the visceral, maniacal side of HISSING’s sound and wrestling it into the perfect mix, ensuring that everything is heard in just the way that it is meant to be.
This album is a triumph for a band that have progressively stepped up their game from release to release and if they are this good on just their third release, imagine how impressive the next one will be.
Rating: 9/10
Hypervirulence Architecture is set for release on July 15th via Profound Lore Records.
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