Akerthorpe, June 5th, 2012

I received this demo with the anticipation of hearing a possible Entombed/Dismember-influenced band, but I am happy to say that this demo exceeded my expectations 10 fold. While the above mentioned bands' influence is evident in these 3 tracks, other influences some to mind, such as early In Flames, early Desultory, and might I even say The Crown. The band seems to take a more melodic approach to their delivery while at the same time retaining that element of a metal beast ripping and shredding and laying everything to waste. While keeping true to the Stockholm sound, Hyperion have breathed a breath of fresh air into the Swedish death metal scene. With that being said, lets get down to business.

"Moral Evasion" starts off with a little intro reminiscent of something off of Cradle of Filth's "Dusk and Her Embrace". As the track progresses you will notice that this fits perfectly. The beginning riff that starts things off is simple, yet is a nice segway into the chaos ahead. Musically, I would say that this is where the In Flames influence comes in, but it seems that it's a little more "unpolished"-sounding and even though this is the case, the style and production here fit near perfectly. Not sure if this was the feeling the band was going for, but they hit the nail on the head here in terms of "melodic brutality". The vocals on this track remind me of those on Desultory's "Into Eternity" album. My only complain here is that it sounds like the vocalist has his mouth right on the microphone. He could have lowered his voice a tad bit and had the vocal level raised in the production and it might have sounded better, but by no means does this ruin the song. All in all, this was a damn fine way to start off this demo.

"Primal Cosmic Ascendancy" starts off with a nice little acoustic intro. I love it when bands do stuff like this. It really adds to the overall feel of the song and in my opinion adds a great deal of emotion to the track. Now, with one simple pause this track continues on to rip your fucking face off. Thins song almost has a black metal feel to it as far as the music goes. The riffs are a bit more brutal and the drumwork carries it all along. A great nod to the old school here. The solo at about the 3:30 mark really sets this track off. Musically, I would say there is a slight Emperor influence mixed with other influences, ranging from newer Dismember to late '90s-era Unleashed. This track is even better than the first.

"Blood of the Ancients " also has a slight black metal vibe to it. The double bass drumming that is laid down with the riffing on top of it is an excellent way to start this track off, then - BAM - out of nowhere comes another acoustic riff with clean vocal singing to go along with it. Then, - BAM - again the ass kicking begins. After that, once again, another acoustic riff with more clean singing. Then chaos ensues once again. These guys have a fucking masterpiece with this track. This is without a doubt the best track on the demo. Early on in the track there is a God Dethroned-type of vibe and later on in the song the In Flames influence returns. There is so much going on here you cannot pin it down. The solo at about the 5:17 mark is the icing on the cake for me. This, combined with the unique vocal stylings, have sold me on this band. This is the perfect way to end this demo. You just cannot go wrong here.

After hearing this demo I am highly anticipating another demo or even a full length cd.There are not enough bands like this around anymore, true to the sound of Swedish death metal, yet innovative enough to carve their own niche into the world of extreme music. Contact these guys and get this demo. It's is a cdr demo, but once you put it in you won't care.

slayrrr666, March 16th, 2017
Written based on this version: 2016, CD, Black Lion Records (CD-R, Limited edition)

Formed in late 2007, the Swedish melodic black/death metal outfit utilizing Hyperion have always been quite adept at featuring their old-school black and metal influences carried through their ancestral country-mates that cultivated their sound in the early 90s. With the group rounded out to a sextet with the addition of third guitarist Joel Hagroth, this sophomore album was originally released February 6, 2016 on Black Lion Records.

Once the album gets going, it’s really easy to see where the band has taken its influences from as there’s a rather obvious attack surging throughout here. This one goes for a pronounced and distinctive element of striking tremolo-pitched riffing and deep, swirling chugging, giving this the atmospheric and blistering take founded in the early days of the genre where the sparkling melodic leads over the thumping patterns created a heavy and yet still highly melodic attack. Given that majority of the album utilizes these efforts to oftentimes epic stature here, it’s all nicely balanced out by the fine addition of more relaxed, charging mid-tempo paces which go for a streamlined, swirling tremolo attack and sterling keyboard work which carries this one along into the melodic realm rather than the faster, more frantic efforts which is quite appealing. This dueling approach gives it a fine mixture of both charging, fiery intensity as well as breath-taking melodic interjections featured alongside each other, and the end result is inherently dynamic and well-crafted material. This does result in several tracks where it really feels it’s length and the epic quality does run against it, though since it’s a rare occurrence this isn’t all too detrimental and doesn’t really hold this one back all that much.

Without a whole lot of really big, detrimental issues to be found here, the fact that this one comes out of the gate with such a strong, impressive attack makes this a worthwhile act to follow in the future and is heartily recommended for all fans of the old-school melodic black/death sound or melodic black metal in general.

MisterSamhain, February 17th, 2016
Written based on this version: 2016, Digital, Black Lion Records

There’s so much to enjoy within the black metal sub-genre and one aspect that has sort of been missing is a really badass melodic black metal act. Filling that dark, empty void could be Sweden’s Hyperion with their debut album Seraphical Euphony.

Raw and Cascadian black metal (from where I sit) are what’s “in” right now in black metal. I have no complaints about it either, but it has become harder to really separate newer bands with similar sounds. Enter Hyperion who have basically nailed a classic sound with the melodic black metal I -and others- have come to love from Dissection and Emperor, two titans of black metal.

With neither of those groups around any longer, Hyperion could corner the market where a Dimmu Borgir is far too symphonic, commercial and polished for many.

After a good classical intro, no time is wasted letting loose on “Novo Ordo Seclorum” and you can feel that you’re in for a heavy dose of ripping melodic black metal a couple minutes in with a dash of death metal thrown in for good measure. I don’t want to spend too much time doing a back and forth comparison of Hyperion to Dissection, but the title track could have been on either of Dissection’s classic albums Storm of the Light’s Bane or The Somberlain. I hear those albums in “Seraphical Euphony.”

The sound is very textured with six different guys making up the whole of the music. The riffs are furious and benefits from having four guitarists. Anders Peterson’s drumming across eight tracks of beautiful black metal is relentless and really drives it forward. He even did the symphony piece on the intro track … and the album’s keyboards, that’s one busy guy. Then there is vocalist Harry Lauraéus who has the rapid fire, black metal raspy vocals and screams down. He is more than sufficient for this style of black metal.

Don't sleep on this amazing album.

Favorite track: "Primal Cosmic Ascendancy"

(Originally written for Kvlt of Brewtality www.kvltofbrewtality.wordpress.com)