In widescreen-shot depiction of battling primordial deities calling upon the stars to rain down death Stockholm, Sweden-based melodic black/death metal quintet HYPERION craft an immersive epic on this decade-toiled sophomore full-length album. Built from a foundation of popular melodic black/death metal ideation and enriched by loftier storytelling goals the band’s work on ‘Elysia‘ represents a great leap beyond their debut and a step away from elder tradition where progressive and symphonic ideas highlight their vision. Though it’ll take a few passes to fully absorb the titanomachy at hand the end result is a serious maturation, in concept and execution, which is well worth delving into.

Hyperion formed circa 2007 by a group of (likely) teenagers who’d managed a sound similar the neoclassic edged stuff from earlier Sins of Omission on their 2010 released three-song demo ‘Blood of the Ancients‘, bouncier melodic death metal tropes with some dramatic flair applied to their black metal edged material. After securing a more consistent line-up around 2012 they’d spent a few years developing and recording their debut LP (‘Seraphical Euphony‘, 2016) which’d taken on a Naglfar-esque melodic black metal sound with the clumsier grooves of modern melodic death metal, a few keyboard lead tarantellas, and plenty of classical guitar interjection invoked throughout. At the time of release I’d felt it was a pretty average album in the greater context of blackened melodic death ideals. ‘Elysia‘ appears a decade beyond that point as a far less typical, far more ambitious conception which reeks of the many labors poured into the years between.

Whereas ‘Seraphical Euphony‘ followed a traditioned late 90’s/early 2000’s informed template or two in mild fusion ‘Elysia‘ offers a chaotic, sprawling narrative which finds its greatest points of focus within longer pieces recalling the ambitions of groups like Shylmagoghnar, a hint of Moonsorrow and even Cor Scorpii in passage. Aggressive arrangements are rushed through, spoken word narrates an arcing storyline, chorales/guest spots characterize the experience, and keyboards/synthesizers are now even more prominent in generating atmospheric scenery as the totality of what Hyperion‘ve developed over time appears as a storm of mythic conflict from a wide angle. In the process they’ve lost the bouncier trompe of melodic death past to some degree in favor of more erratic bursts of lead-driven melodic guitar work.

When faced with the ten pieces and ~73 minutes which comprise this ambitious double LP the task of plucking one singular highlight or standout piece from its total context is a reasonable ask but one which only offers partial meaning, and the same goes for summing its totality beyond a hyper-focused meloblack/death opera. The provided texts on Hyperion have rightfully described their work on this album as “myriad” to some degree, offering a barrage of forms in only modestly graceful fusion which suits their growing interest in wielding Scandinavian black metal traits but also presents a nigh progressive standard (see: “Epic of Tribulation”.)

Several pieces on ‘Elysia‘ speak to this (“Perennial Transcendence” esp.) but up front “Fides Novem” is the most inclusive of the greater stylistic swathe of their work and opener “Nefarious Sacrament of the Immortals” is comparatively a more thrilling contrast set between the major elements of the album. Even still, key single “Ilious Persis” informs the listener of the scope and prominence of the symphonic black metal pursuit found within ‘Elysia‘ as a key atmospheric feature on some pieces. Point being all of this resounds as broadly shot ouevre within an enormous dioramic chamber when enjoyed in full context rather than piecemeal cuts.

The patient and detail oriented ear, the type to read lyrics and such, should find certain reward in the process of scraping through this epic even if only concerned with its note-for-note action. That isn’t to say that it offers a mad challenge to the average progressive black metal tinted ear, nor that it showcases anything as intimate and emotionally driven as the old guard of the 90’s, but that it has great potential to captivate via a reasonably approachable vision presented with palpably cinematic quality. Hyperion‘s second effort might appear daunting on approach to those with brief attention spans but the blustering, sometimes erratic loft of ‘Elysia‘ that gives this appearance also provides these folks crucial leap in characterization beyond 2016. It is a fine work which is ultimately proportionate to the ~decade of consideration it’d birthed from. A high recommendation.

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