This is the second album by Swedish black/death metallers Hyperion.
After a decade away, Hyperion have returned with the very ambitious Elysia. It’s a 74-minute epic, awash with talent and an undiminished ability to entertain and immerse. This is an expanded Hyperion, and it’s here to make an impact.
There is a lot going on here. As mentioned above, epic is the word. Elysia is an album of cinematic scope, leading the listener through an odyssey of black/death extremity that’s rich in melody and saturated in atmosphere. Ultimately you’d probably class this as extreme metal, as that covers a lot of bases, as Elysia does. The music combines the melodic strains of black and death metal, merging them together with skilful passion. Onto this has been grafted keyboard layers and orchestral symphonic elements, which add classical grandeur and reinforce the feeling of listening to something with a grand, sweeping arc.
Hyperion have clearly been storing their pent-up creativity over the last decade or so; Elysia is not short of ideas, which the band bring into focused reality remarkably well. An album like this could easily manifest as an over-ambitious mess, but Hyperion have put in the work, and the results speak for themselves. Elysia is absorbing, well-constructed, and very enjoyable.
The songs are long and well-developed. The band’s advanced songcraft is on full display, brimming with confidence and powerfully wrought. A great deal of technical depth sits behind much of the music, and the progressive textures deployed are weapons-grade, let alone the neoclassical flourishes. Yet, it’s all in service of the journey; Hyperion offer up a masterclass in captivating extreme metal worldbuilding, and it’s a dizzying experience. Importantly, Elysia just gets better with repeated spins.
As you’ve probably gathered, this is a damn good album. The primary message to take from all this though is one of enjoyment. Hyperion have put together a strong record that hides its complexity behind songs that demand replays. Elysia is built to last.
Essential listening.
