Hailing from the darkened depths of old Melbourne town Hybrid Nightmares have returned to the surface yet again to spread their wings once more with an unrelenting five track release entitled Obelisk.
Opener “Star Fortress” grips the heart tight with its moody beginning and deep layers, though this is short lived as the track grows into an all-out flurry of classic progressive extreme metal. There is a sense of dark beauty throughout Star Fortress with lyrics such as “a cosmic beast is about to be released from the heart of a dying star, almighty Obelisk destroyer of humanity, death by insanity, your wish is my command” being just a sample of extreme story telling that is truly captivating! The main lead guitar later in this track is strangely uplifting, the quintet have managed to create a light within darkness type vibe on this track!
With carefully crafted dual vocals the story telling continues on “Drink of the Waters” and adding to the effects of said vocals is the musicianship as it takes one on a rollercoaster ride consisting of grounding broken down sections that are complimented with extreme paced percussive wizardry and distorted fury throughout. Yet again the lyrics shine and shine brightest when “where is the light?” repeats over and over helping close the track with mega amounts of conviction.
Extreme black metal has a certain ingredients that makes it what it is, anyone who is a fan of this genre knows what I’m banging on about here! Fans will be delighted due to the fact that Hybrid Nightmares have managed to deliver a scrumptious blood pudding with track three “Ex Mortis”, its rhythmic balance and progression oozes everything that is good about this type of metal!
Now I know I may be drawn and quartered for saying this but the evidence is in the music, “Portals” manages to fit classic black metal with splashes of math metal with flares of off kilter guitar licks midway through the track. Proof of the bands technical musicianship is that it works really well and dare I say I found it bloody refreshing!! Be sure to take the time to pull this track apart and put it back together again (in your head that is), trust me it’s an engine worth exploring.
Closer “The Mystic” is equally as impressive as its previous collections of sound bites. Another quality track that offers what is now to be expected from this extremely talented five piece. Hybrid Nightmares really do have an originality about them and from a writing and recording prospective the band have out done their previous releases. The shear clarity of each member’s instruments is what really sets Obelisk apart from all previous releases as well, the sonic balance of it captures the chaos and madness really well!
Obelisk shows true signs of growth and should be placed among any metal lovers collection of extreme metal goodness!
