Heads Up: Hypnotist 101 EP Review ...

Well, this is completely out of the left field for me.  I usually have these little moments where I am looking for something good, but everything I listen to is shit and I listen to tons and tons of songs and albums, but nothing seems to stick… until an unassuming little piece like Hypnotist that I fully expect to hate comes along, and sticks to me like a leech and won’t let go.

But more than anything, it was the basic concept behind the band that sold me on it.  See, hailing from Russia, Hypnotist play doom rock – that is, they can shift to heavier, Sabbathian pastures or to lighter, Witchcraft-like passages but what they always have in abundance is groove, flow and harmony.  The band is a focused entity, with each part moving along the song itself – like the flag raising in Iwo Jima.  But the twist is that they, at least in this offering, do not write lyrics.  No, the songs are basically music to William Blake and Robert Frost poems – and I am so not kidding.  There are no lyrics but what’s in the poems themselves (“…and miles to go before I sleep” becomes a chorus line) and that, by itself, is a very interesting idea that the band used to great effect.

Besides all that, I have no info about Hypnotist.  The sound is what you’d expect from a band like this: slightly down-tuned guitars churning out easy-going, catchy grooves to a Sabbathian sway, nice drums, pronounced based and sweeping, chilled vocalizations embellishing the landscape with the words of great poets.

The only offering from Hypnotist to my knowledge is on their bandcamp, a three-track EP titled “101.” Which is appropriate, as this is Hypnotist-101, and showcases the band’s general style well.  The first song is “Love’s Secret” which is basically a layered, catchy, easy-going riff repeating to great effect, and the song orbits around that.  With varied drums, a few variations on the riff itself, great vocals singing William Blake’s words.  Nice.

“Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening” brings that heavier, more Sabbathian groove into the mix, churns out a slow burn and follows that with the appropriate vocals.  The partitions in this one mingle well with one another and they manage to transition smoothly from one part to the next, and the actual groove is a joy to listen to.

“Human Abstract” carries more of a Witchcraft vein, to be perfectly honest, with softer guitars moving to classical-rock-like passages with a nice tempo and cool groove.  The main riff is soothing, and the more action-laden parts do so around the mid-tempo baseline, and the slight wahwah passage into the solo is much appreciated – it’s a beautiful example of how to build up layers until you reach the explosion, condensed into about thirty seconds.

As it stands, the offering by Hypnotist may be scarce, but it’s plenty if you want some quality ten minutes or so to kill with grooves and doomy rock beauty.  Keep an open mind, and an eye out for these guys, I have a feeling we’ll be hearing from them soon. P.S.: The EP is up for free.  Go.

Words: Sarp Esin


Visit The Band @ Bandcamp