Technicality, brutality, and a comforting display of aggression without being overproduced or artificial is the name of the game for Hypoxia.
Defiance (Selfmadegod Records) packs in eleven tracks which are enhanced by their lengths, owing to the album’s consumability. The Death Metallers’ third full-length is a hodge-podge of harsh and heavy hysteria. It’s the sort of undertaking that surpasses the crowded field of generic soundalikes.
Don’t be fooled by the opening string interlude (which shouldn’t be difficult considering the album artwork) because the record quickly explodes with “Bleed For Blasphemy” which boasts a formidable foundation to work on and is assisted by an unexpected, flashy guitar solo halfway through.
That same flashy guitaring morphs into whammy bar-induced mania (“Correlated Embolism”) and is also able to contort into low vocal hums that precede groggy harshes and bellows.
Though maybe considered Death Metal by definition, these veteran New Yorkers aren’t afraid of imbuing Defiance with a sultry touch of Tech Metal and grooves, which create a much-welcomed, comforting setting (“Agonized Asphyxia”). There’s also a finger-tapped solo that is just soupy – runny, even.
“Pathway To Charon” effectively insists on huffy-huff-huff vocals powered by simply entertaining drum sequences throughout. Yet more of those lively strings crop up on “Drowning In Darkness”, but this time is playful and quirky, while “Too Far Gone” attacks the listener with more sweeping, frolicking bombast. A display of talent that belies arrogance.
The take-no-prisoners approach to this Hypoxia record is a testament to the group’s exhaustive experience in other musical outfits and Defiance sees members who are also credited as working with the likes of Non Eternal, Secrecy, Aether, Rumpelstiltskin, Grinder, Azure Emote, Totalfuckingdestruction, Castrator, Omnipotence, Monstrosity, Capharnaum, Imperial Crystalline Entombment and Vile.
Thus, what comes out the other side is thirty-seven minutes of genre-bending, breath-of-fresh-air aggression. It’s a charming balance of anger and acumen, of hatred and heft, of brutality and brinkmanship.
Buy the album here: https://selfmadegod.bandcamp.com/album/defiance
8 / 10
MATT COOK