Friday 17 April 2015

Hybrid Nightmares - The Second Age (CD Review)


01.Lost
02.In The Labyrinth
03.Only The Dead Know
04.What It Means To Die
05.And Reach The Stars


Loki (Vocals)
Ben (Guitars)
Gummers (Guitars)
Jonny (Bass)
Batman (Drums)



Formed in 2008 this quintet has earned a reputation as one of Melbourne's best live acts through a chaotic, relentless and above all, entertaining live show. Taking influence from black, death, groove, folk and classic heavy metal, the 'Nightmare' sound is a sonic maelstrom that defies any categorization other than 'extreme'. Not content with simply playing to an Australian audience, Hybrid Nightmares are looking to the global metal scene and will bring their worship of the Cult of The Obelisk worldwide.


'The Ages' is a 4 CD collection that explores the rise and fall, evolution and extinction of mankind across four eras of existence, 'The First Age' was released last year.


About The Second Age: “After creation, there was an era of peace. Death and disease were unknown – everything existed in perfect order and harmony across the cosmos. It all ended, however, as we experienced death for the first time and with it, the first vestiges of chaos corrupted our society and heralded the dawning of a new age - 'The Second Age'. We as man are becoming more and more frightened of losing what we have, conflicts are breaking out. What will follow is an age where the corrupting influence  of power seeks to undermine the good in the hearts of man. The fear of death permeates the psyche of all men and where once a selfless and civil society lived in harmony, now a cancer grows at it's heart, gnawing away at the morals and ideals that created an Eden in the age before. This in an age of doubt, an age of uncertainty and fear. At the end of this age, we will see a rapid decay that can only lead to outright war as humanity struggles to maintain it's tenuous grasp on the principles that bind us together and allow us to progress. Every age has its story, and every story has its teller...Soon, the stories of ’The Second Age' will be told.”



'Lost'seems to be a 2 minute intro that pretty much goes right into the first song 'In The Labyrinth', which is just a straight forward metal song, lots of harmony with the guitars, a few timing changes, but essentially its more like blackend power metal.

The track then goes straight into a little acoustic folk song, really good as well, reminds me of an old Led Zeppelin song, but way too short.

Back to some Iron Maiden sounding riffs and then 'What It Means To Die' kicks in with more of that blackend power metal stuff, was hoping for more in the song, but there wasn't, it went nowhere, the same can be said of the last track as well.

Strikes me that this is just a standard Ep with a bit of filler and is nothing more than a death/power metal hybrid, they talk the talk in the blurb but produce nothing outstanding, a shame i was expecting a lot from this.

Rating 5/10
For fans of: Cradle Of Filth, Dormant Inferno, Children Of Bodom

No comments: