Hypermass announce new EP ‘Apparition Day’

February 8, 2025 James Weaver

HYPERMASS have announced a new EP!

Titled Apparition Day, the upcoming EP from the Norwegian progressive metal band is the follow-up to 2023’s Empyrean, and is scheduled to be released in March this year, via Seek & Strike.

The upcoming EP was mixed by Dave Otero [ABORTED, CATTLE DECAPITATION]. Speaking about the upcoming new EP, the band shares, “our new EP, Apparition Day, has been in the works for quite some time and we are truly excited to bring it to life and show you all what we have been working so hard on. Musically, it is more of everything that defines our style. The grooves, the melodies and the variety have all been kicked up a notch from our last output. while we also delve into some previously unexplored territory.

On this release, we incorporate elements from genres such as jazz, blues, electronic, etc. Our main goal is to always push our music forward no matter what, and it’s important to us that we keep things fresh while maintaining our signature sound. Lyrically, the EP is a natural step forward from our debut album, Empyrean, as we explore a lot of the same themes throughout. On this EP we wrote about the human condition in the modern world, and how our craving for convenience trumps our social and creative needs. With the rise of artificial intelligence, we see a lot of people embracing it with open arms without a shred of critical thinking as to what is going to happen if we let it. There are a lot more themes throughout, but that would give you an idea of what to expect. As our last album was more conceptual, this has five stand-alone songs with each song having its own clear identity both lyrically and musically.”

Alongside the announcement of the new EP, HYPERMASS have released a new music video for a new song lifted from the upcoming album; Headcase.

Speaking about the new song, the band shares, “the EP’s first single, Headcase, was actually the last song we wrote for the EP. As I mentioned previously, we dug into some old ideas and decided to expand on a medley that had a real fun progressive, punky kind of vibe to it. It’s something we’ve never done before and we were very happy with the way it came out. Lyrically, it’s maybe the most simple, straight-forward song we have ever written, as we felt that it would fit nicely with the instrumentals. It’s about a guy going insane, and there are no ‘read-between-the-lines’ kind of lyrics here. What you hear is what you get. We thought that this as a first single would turn some heads, mostly by just how catchy it is. It’s also kind of reminiscent of old 90s metal like PANTERA, but with a few other elements thrown in there. That’s why we also wanted the music video to have that same vibe.

The coalescing of styles has resulted in our signature sound. While a lot of modern metal bands seem to prioritize either heavy breakdowns or lightning-speed shredding, the most important thing to us is the riffs and the grooves. Our main goal while writing each song is to find new and exciting ways for it to groove. That has always been the centerpiece of our music, and we find ways to work around that to make it as interesting as possible using different layers and atmospheres. A lot of the time the vibe of our music is actually quite uplifting as well, unlike a lot of other bands within our genre.

As the themes explore a lot of dark sides of the human psyche, we always feel it is best to balance that with a more upbeat approach to the music. We always love it when bands and artists have a contrast between the music and lyrics, as it makes the experience more multilayered and interesting. The most important thing to us is to keep the music fun and engaging, and if people wish, they can delve more into the themes of the lyrics on their own.”

Watch the official music video for Headcase here: