Sydney doom rockers Hypergiant have released a cracker of an album with “Father Sky”, their debut full length release which combines many of their influences from doom, stoner rock and progressive sludge. All wonderful traits of some great bands like Mastodon, Baroness and Down of which no doubt have had some impact on this band.
“Father Sky” is a great introduction to Hypergiant who, based out of Sydney are doing things right to bring some of the sludgey and swaggery heavy riffs to a music scene saturated with generic death and core sounds. The opening track “Perseus Arm” with it’s Kyuss-esque laid back groove really sets the tone for what to expect on an album that is quite a journey in itself, a mix and mash of epic lengthy songs to short interludes used as breathing spaces in between the chugging guitar sounds gives the listener a real ride into a sort of wild west kind of vibe.
There isn’t a bad song on here and with 11 tracks on offer, it’s a worthwhile affair to check out. A real highlight on here kicks in fairly early on with “Colossi” which starts out with a nice chugging riff intro before going more uptempo, it locks into a quieter verse before building to a hard hitting melodic explosive song that has a real metal feel to it especially towards the end when the tempo really picks up with some double kicks and heavy riffing. So soon are we hit pretty hard with an outstanding track that a barrage of further highlight reels begin to take shape as the band throws you onto a rollercoaster of psych sounds and rocking grooves, all with a tinge of doom splattered through out.
“Retrograde” has a real nice middle eastern twang through out this mostly groove laden beast, “Entropy” is prog rock heaven with a little nod to the likes of Mastodon and Baroness especially with that brilliant mid-section that really takes off into intricate sections. What probably takes the cake here though is the 9 minute muso delight that is “Ryou-Un Maru“, a lengthy doomy, atmospheric number that has a cracking main riff rattling through it. It never feels overly long despite it’s length as it weaves through a musical story that is both interesting and captivating to the ears. It’s a recurring theme here where tracks average well over 5 to 6 minutes but done in a way that it doesn’t feel stretched out for no real good reason. There are jam like qualities to some parts that can at times with some bands, sound a little tedious but the experimenting with different sounds blends well with the grooves of the drum beat and guitar riffs that overshadow any unecessary additions to the mix.
Even with the final track “Apogee” where the band turn to a more classic rock sound, it shows that the band love to jump around to different styles that all seem to meld together within that whole stoner/doom/sludge world. It keeps it interesting for all parties involved and luckily Hypergiant do it in a way so that it works well and seamlessly. “Father Sky” is easily one of the better Aussie releases to come out in 2017 and worth your time if you love this sort of thing.
TRACKLIST
Perseus Arm
Colossi
Island 3
Retrograde
Entropy
Interlude: Krakenmare
Ryu-Un Maru
No Way Out
PSR J0835-4510
Solar Landslide
Apogee
