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Album Reviews : Hybrid Nightmares – The First Age

By on March 10, 2015

a2767990931_10“Satya” lulls you into a bubble of acoustic craftsmanship. Just the beginning of a whirlwind of an EP that can’t be tamed. Likening it to other bands will ultimately leave you confused and unwilling to accept this recording for what it is. Hybrid Nightmares are on the cusp of something big; cracking a sound that has never assaulted your ears.

As it gently draws you in, a permeating menace starts to creep in as “Satya” fades. That menace teases at the threads of duality and pulls at the darker seams. Agonised vocals intermingle with each unique riff. Drum beats hint at the grandeur of what is to come. They grow doggedly persistent within “Illusion” until all collide. Visions of a looming Black Forest on fire or metropolitan city crumbling in flames are thrust into your mind. Nothing can be done to save either. Both visions end the same: ashes and dust left to the mercy of the wind.

You are left to wander through the dust storm in “Black Heart”. Sky and earth are obscured so that one cannot be determined from the other. The hope and desperation mounts as you search for a mere glimpse of sky, if only to ease the confusion. All that can be done is to trek on.

I could carry on to illustrate this album, to try and give you a sense of the ‘feel’, so to speak, but I will let you feel the rest for yourself. A few words before I go. Hybrid Nightmares, with this first offering, have given us a taste of what they are capable of. I am excited to hear this tale unfold as they showcase their musicianship and push the boundaries of those genres. Those genres, however, won’t be named here because to do so will stifle my experience.

Band: Hybrid Nightmares
Album: The First Age
Year: 2015
Genre: Extreme metal
Label: Independent
Origin: Melbourne, Australia
http://hybridnightmares.bandcamp.com

Track list:
1. Satya
2. Illumination
3. Black Heart
4. Dead Star Goddess
5. Inside