Serpent Eater - Hyena

Written by Majbritt Levinsen.


*Insert 3 lines of foul words in capital letters here* Or in other words: Yes, yes, yes... you need to hear this, if you haven’t already!

Sadly I encountered Serpent Eater and their brutally massive Hyena too late to be way up high on my top 10 of 2013, it 'only' positioned itself at number 9. But the fact that they did manage to maneuver into my top ten is not something to take lightly.

So what is it that made Hyena blow me away? Well every time I listen to it I just get an undeniable desire to jump around the house going berserk and belch out whatever it is the singer is screaming. Sadly I can’t hear a word and no lyrics posted, which makes me a bit sad as usual. According to the release notes on Bandcamp the lyrics are about "the weirdness and deformations of the psyche as well as the emotions of a violated mankind in modern society" and that only makes me more curious. Musically this is massive rumbling fury straight out of Germany translated into death blackened sludge hardcore" (Quoting the band here, as it is so much more).

It is groovy and easy to get into. Every instrument has equal focus and as a bass enthusiast I’m delighted to hear the sweet sound of the bass. But what I really like is the perfect combination of fury, despair, beauty, anger and melancholy woven into the tapestry of so many musical genres I don’t even want to begin to try and write them down. That is what makes this album so great: the diversity, the blasting fury and the calm waters, the ugly and the beauty, the unpredictable and the comfort.

I have had a hard time not to add foul words to emphasis my true feelings about this album and struggled not to hit caps lock when writing this review. That is how good I think Hyena is! But enough words, now you go and listen, and let the music speak for itself.

[Go to the post to view the Bandcamp player]