Hippotraktor: Humanity And The Fear It Brings
“I always believed and hoped that I would be a part of HIPPOTRAKTOR,” says Stefan De Graef with a smile. He has just relayed the tale of how his tenure in the band came to be, how he and HIPPOTRAKTOR founder Chiaran Verheyden had eluded one another artistically despite sharing over a decade of friendship.
HIPPOTRAKTOR, this rising behemoth of sludge-laden progressive metal, was founded as an instrumental outfit but, after what Verheyden admits was a tumultuous period of trialling vocalists, De Graef was recruited to lend his talents. Having already proven his mixture of terrifying and sonorous deliveries on fellow Pelagic Records moniker PSYCHONAUT, De Graef was the final piece in the band’s puzzle and, in 2021, the band’s debut Meridian released to vindicate tireless dedication from the quartet. It was an album of high ambition and found no trouble in seeing such aspirations through, setting the bar far beyond the reach of most. How could they follow this up? On a quiet Monday evening, with D-Day looming ominously on the group’s second full-length, Stasis, we sat down to discover just that.
For those familiar with the band’s work, it will come as no surprise that HIPPOTRAKTOR have indeed delivered. Stasis is, first and foremost, a breathtaking piece of art; it is truly magical. Yet, much like similar bands of the same progressive ilk, it isn’t enough to simply listen. You have to dig deeper.
Despite its legacy as an instrumental project, HIPPOTRAKTOR is a very narrative-driven band, thanks to De Graef. The story of Meridian was written from the Belgian’s first visual impression of Verheyden’s demos and, as he puts it, is “a story about a person growing up alone, outside of humanity, who is forced to create his own truths about the world around him.” This pensive concept is, like many things, taken beyond its boundaries in Stasis. De Graef continues, “we wanted to create an album about the ambivalence of the human being but this is a concept so grounded in reality that we would have to create an entirely new character from the protagonist of Meridian.”
“I didn’t like this idea and the simple solution was a case of saying ‘okay let’s re-use this character and just drop him into our world, let’s introduce him to humans, corruption, the ugly side of humanity, and tell his experiences of living through it for the first time’.” It’s a fascinating concept that allows the band’s visceral performances to take on greater menace, anchoring themselves in real-world strife and malice.
Interestingly, despite the lyrical content transforming with such fluidity, Verhedyden, a true man of modesty, admits the instrumentation has remained consistent since the band’s inception. This is by no means a bad thing. HIPPOTRAKTOR plays complex, moving prog metal that fills the space of sprawling compositions and beautifully produced soundscapes. Gods would sit happily to the soundtrack of Stasis. Yet, as our chat delves further into the more personal side of the band’s latest work, we’re reminded that the gods that forged such divine art are mortal still.
“It’s very challenging music to play live,” De Graef begins, “far harder than the songs on Meridian and, in fact, it’s made us better musicians from playing them alone. Verheyden nods in agreement and continues. “I was actually really anxious the first time we took Stasis tracks to a live audience because of how hard it is to play. With Meridian, I’ve made almost every mistake possible but the new material is totally uncharted territory and you have no clue if you’re going to pull it off or not.”
This apprehension, however, is easily overcome by the bolt-tight unity between these creative giants. More than a decade of friendship has served them well and their working relationship is something to admire. In particular, Verheyden’s previous plights with marrying vocals to his wordless creations and how De Graef so effortlessly allayed such incongruence deserve its own recognition. “Stefan just ‘gets’ what I want to say,” Verheyden says with a proud grin, “the way a vocalist adds colour to a piece really impacts how you as a listener will interpret what I have written so in the past my experiences with other vocalists have started to change my original intentions with the music.
“With Stefan, it’s just so great to have someone who can come in and pick up where I leave off – the extra dimension he adds is just beautiful.”
The results speak for themselves. With Stasis at their hip, Pelagic Records have gained another hallowed entry into their already encumbered roster of creative titans in HIPPOTRAKTOR. This is a band that, even to the point of writing beyond their practicable limits, will stop at nothing to uphold the very fabric of the genre’s creative spirit. Few bands that wear the progressive moniker can honestly live up to its core ideology but with the combined forces of this monolith of talent, Stasis reminds listeners what it means to evolve, to progress. Inspired, challenging, and often times profound, the end product is quite something to behold. Bravo.
Stasis is out now via Pelagic Records.
Like HIPPOTRAKTOR on Facebook.