ALBUM REVIEW: Hissing – Hypervirulence Architecture

HISSING are one of the most inventive Death Metal bands of recent years, so it was a very pleasant surprise to see a 2nd album is not only coming, but imminent. Out via Profound Lore Records on July 15th.

Scathing riffs launch into a bestial array of pulverising extremity with hammered drums and inhuman vocals to complete the raw and instantly hostile sound. The dissonant spasming warps into a ferocious array of cascading depravity with the blast-beats and tremolo-picked guitars utilising a mix of pure bestial Black-Death Metal artillery, stop-start grooves and pure grinding mayhem. This blend offers only the most unwelcoming, scathing and abrasive soundscapes of Extreme Metal’s darkest depths, tied together by a reverberate, cavernous production. Pulsating bass-lines give a chunky groove to the sound while almost jazzy flares accentuate the discordance, truly a volatile and nightmarish sound. Hissing mastered the claustrophobic style of songwriting on their previous work and clearly have not lost their ability, the opening tracks of this new offering are violent, chaotic and yet remorselessly unfaltering with their delivery.

Burgeoning ferocity and filthy sonic swarms of malice continue to unfurl like a pestilence as the record continues. The sheer malevolence and aggressive in the handling of the instruments is palpable, as is the barbaric vocal delivery. This is a band whose dauntingly excellent skills in writing frightful music have grown from strength to strength. Interestingly, aside from the caustic glare of noisy Black-Death Metal traditions that one might expect, there is a booming and sometimes even anthemic touch to the songs which gives the groovier moments even more impact. Not in the sense of say Power Metal, but another band that has achieved this in similar veins would be Antichrist Siege Machine, giving the songs a definitive headbang-ability. Contrasting this is the sheerly insane bouts of riffing that jump through realms of desolate abyssal depravity and unwelcoming metallic scolds just as effectively. The balance on display showcases a band in its prime delivering truly truculent and militant music.

Taking comparable elements from truly unique bands across the Metal genre from Conqueror to Voivod to Portal to Teitanblood, this is certainly not a faint or subtle release and yet it has so much beneath the surface of boiling venom. A frenzied, feverish and somehow opulent soundtrack to existential panic and despair that bludgeons sheer dread into the psyche with no respite. Though experimental as the “Hypervirulence” interlude among frequent oddities to be found in most tracks will substantiate, there is also a classiness that feels somehow familiar to Hissing’s sound too. For some truly die-hard underground Extreme Metal maniacs with an open mind, this will be an easy sell. For others, they will just as instantaneously dismiss it. Perhaps on many it will grow if treated with patience. Regardless, I can promise a truly intense and febrile experience like no other for those who stick it out. As a huge fan of their previous album, I have to say this is just as excellent.

Hissing’s new opus is one of extremely violent and belligerent Black-Death Metal that is dissonant yet refined in a manner that could splinter bones as easily as reduce skulls to powder. Mesmerising songwriting that can be hypnotic and destructive while never too meandering retains ones attention, propelling the listener through various layers of unfathomably punishing hell-scapes. Neither and easy listen nor a welcoming one, yet this album is impossible to stop once you begin its descent into the most malformed cavernous realms of sound it has to offer.