Label: Sliptrick Records
Date: January 14th, 2020
Hyperia is a Canadian five-piece and “Insanitorium” is their debut full length. Just two years into the formation of the band… A year after their debut EP which already contained one track off the album. They’ve presented two more tracks from the album in the meantime. Finally, we have the whole “Insanitorium”. So, what do we have here?
Another record which does not leave a mark on the listener. One more where you cannot find a fault. Nor will you find anything exceptional. Hyperia is stuck in thrash metal milieu. Again, they are somewhere in between. You can notice the newer German influences, as well as the US (both coasts) one. With a bit of that Annihilator punch. There’s also a pinch of melodic death metal. With that being said, “Insanitorium” is quite technical, too. And it’s not like Hyperia are basing their tracks around their instrumental virtuosity. They are really not exaggerating. It is just floating around there as the backup for their arranging skills. Which are obviously there, there is no doubt about it. The tracks themselves do not drag into infinity. They have their natural flow, beginning, middle and the end. It all fits into place. Unfortunately, perhaps it fits too well.
None of these ten songs sticks to the listener. None of the well-developed riffs. None of the though out choruses. No rhythmical boosters help. “Insanitorium” is a pretty good head banger, but when these 42 minutes expire, there is nothing that will bring you back to this record. The word I’m looking for is probably mediocrity. Hyperia just needed a couple of clenched fists to hit you across the head with. Especially within a genre that is perfect just for that.
Now, I don’t find this problem only in Hyperia. There’s nothing personal about this review. This has long become a global issue. The question a whole lot of bands need to ask themselves is: “Why do people constantly return to “Alice in Hell”? Or any other classic thrash metal albums?” Not even the much bigger names can deliver a timeless song these days. Why is that? Who knows… Hyperia doesn’t. Hopefully, they will find out in the future. There’s still the excuse of a young band. But it won’t do for much longer.
