Finnish Thyrane have departed almost entirely from their past sound, creating instead an industrial black metal album with futuristic undertones. This will annoy the purists, but in my opinion it was not an unwise decision at all. Crunchy, thrashy riffs chug along with keyboards played in the same style as cheesy Bal Sagoth, making “Hypnotic” an interesting release indeed. If anything points should be awarded for daring originality.
While the vocals are at times bordering on the lifeless (particularly towards the end of the record - things seem to go down after the first twenty-thirty minutes), they generally blend in well with the music and are somewhat in the vein of fellow Fins Finntroll (without the polka, of course) - listen to “Dance in the Air” and the similarity is undeniable.

Unfortunately, as is the case with most Spikefarm releases, the production is too slick and this really drags down any chance of getting that harsh, clinical sound one might expect from a record in this genre. Then again, this might not have been what the band were going for in terms of atmosphere, but a somewhat colder, more metallic production would undoubtedly have benefitted a few of the tracks on here.

An interesting release, although I found myself getting slightly weary of the dangerously repetitive song structure; truth be told, the “innovation” of using keyboards wears off after a while too. Still, I’d buy it again if only because it’s a breath of fresh air in an otherwise stagnant genre. The first couple of tracks are pretty fun to listen to as well and it’s certainly better than most metal that gets released these days, even though it probaby won’t go down as a classic or a personal favorite.

Year Released: 2003
Label: Century Media
Related Link: Thyrane Official Site
Date Reviewed: 2003-12-31
Author: Andreas