Black Rabbit – Hypnosomnia
Black Rabbit is a Dutch five-piece band formed in 2014. These guys love to mix Thrash and Death Metal, combining the harshest of vocals with furious guitars and bombastic rhythms to create a fusion of different levels of heavy, packing the music into a dense, weighty mass of animalistic music. There is nothing polite and gentle here, but that isn’t what you’re looking for anyway, so just let yourself enjoy this, feeding your inner beast. By the time they’re done with you, these guys will leave you panting, sweaty, out of breath, and asking for more.
http://www.blackrabbitofficial.com/
Band Members:
- Nino Thomas – Vocals
- Hidde Hofland – Guitars
- Jelle Brekelmans – Guitars
- Martin Jaramillo – Bass
- Max Hendriks – Drums
March 24, 2023
Tracklist:
- Hypnosomnia
- Neverending
- Culmination Of Hate
- False Awakening
- Hollow Eyes
- Fake Blood
- Delta Waves
- Parasite Of Minds
- Paradoxical Sleep
- Judgement Day
- Descending
- Hellfire
The album opens with the title track, “Hypnosomnia,” a one-minute instrumental intro that will draw you in, and lure you with a sense of possible Symphonic Metal to come, only to betray that with a heavy dose of “Neverending” heavy-riffed Thrash metal. The vocals come in guttural, immediately shifting the subtext to Death Metal. The blend Black Rabbit goes with is pretty close to even, not really seeming to favor one style over the other, mixing the elements with a steady hand.
It is relatively apparent that a mixture of influences drives the different band members, but that is part of what makes bands like this so appealing. There is no simple, stylistic piece that dominates. Instead, this five-piece decides to roam through different realms, shifting whenever and wherever they feel. They use a combination of hard-driving rhythms and chugging guitar riffs to subtly weave their way through each genre.
The story behind the music and the lyrics feels like running down the rabbit hole, chasing the thread of the tale through tight twists and turns, emerging in different places, and catching different characters and plot lines with each song. By the time you get down to “Delta Waves,” you’ve been exposed to seven permutations of what this band has to offer, both musically and lyrically. The melodic opening to this track is demolished by the heaviness of the riff, then the vocals enter and shred what’s left of your mind.
“Paradoxical Sleep” has such beautiful blast beats that it is impossible not to notice them. The drums hammer into your ears, setting a pace for the track. The chorus sees the bass help shift to a different tempo, dropping about 100 bpm to emphasize that section. The album closes with “Hellfire,” a Thrash heavy track with a melodic riff and wonderfully crafted rhythm that shifts gears but never loses intensity.
Black Rabbit has a great habit of weaving through Thrash and Death Metal without losing intensity or focus. They can shift gears and styles with the greatest of ease, ranging from near-perfect Thrash guitar work to brutal Death Metal rhythms and vocals, and make it all sound natural. The album has a great flow and excellent continuity. If you are a fan of the heavier end of the metal spectrum, this is an album for you.
MZ Ratings:
- Musicianship
- Guitars – 9
- Rhythms – 8
- Vocals – 8
- Songwriting – 8
- Production – 8
- Overall – 8.20
