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Hybrid - Beyond Undeniable Entropy

Saturday, 01 December 2007

Editor's rating

7.0

out of 10

Reviewed by:
Chad Coup
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Saturday, 01 December 2007
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Music Information

Track Listing:
01. Ave Phoenix
02. Sleep Of The Defeated
03. Sun Burnt
04. Insomnia
05. Growing Misanthropy
06. Throne Of The Necronaut

Artist: Hybrid
Title: Beyond Undeniable Entropy
Genre: Progressive Metal • Hardcore
Release Date: 01 June 2005
Record Label: Dead Wrong Records
Format: EP
Country: Spain
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Editor review

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Overall rating (weighted)		7.0
Musicianship		7.0
Composition		7.0
Experimentation		7.0
Production		7.0
Value		7.0

Spain isn't the first country I think of when referencing tech metal pools. Sure, it's here in Florida; it's in New York, Germany, Poland, Sweden, etc. Therefore, when this Spanish technical metal band popped up on our forums one day, I decided to educate myself in this release from the aforementioned country.

Hybrid seems to take influence from US metalcore as well as acts like Meshuggah and Despised Icon. There are no cheesy Euro-metal riffs here, but there are a lot of chugs. It is technical chugging, similar to the latest Ion Dissonance, peppered by really ear shredding guitar parts and some very effective playing from all members. Unlike the new Ion Dissonance, however, Hybrid is more successful at what they do. Don't be fooled into thinking that Hybrid doesn't play their instruments. It's the converse; these are talented people. Hybrid's drumming is perhaps my favorite element. There are plenty of cool fills and cymbal tricks to keep my mind occupied. The drums seem to be the anchor of the band rather than guitar or vocals.

Guitar playing is very creative as well. "Sleep Of The Defeated," perhaps Hybrid's signature track, starts off with the musical equivalent of scraping your nails on a chalkboard. The remainder of the song contains everything that a tech metal fan could want: tempo changes, stops, lots of parts, etc. It's all pretty good stuff but then something else comes in at 2:05...right after a crunchy bit. Some clean guitar pops up that wouldn't be out of place in an indie rock record puts some aloe on your eardrums. The fifty-second part, complete with a bit of metalcore, then segues into some intense bree-ing and thrashing for maximum impact. "Growing Misanthropy" is like a second part to "Sleep..." with some really tasty sludge making up for the clean guitar. The songs are on opposite ends of this record like the two chocolate and vanilla sides of a Giggles cookie. The other tracks are involving, but not in the way that these two are; they are still great tracks, but they don't have that extra oomph that makes me tell them apart from these two.

The vocals are a different thing altogether. The primary form of attack is a seriously pissed off yell. We also hear some loud talking and even some singing, the occasional bree and an invert or two. Given that this band is from Spain, they may not know that talking and singing in metal...especially in metalcore, is played out. I'm giving them the benefit of the doubt, however, because I know for a fact that Hybrid isn't trying to sell out, get girls, or any of that lame bullshit. The other angle is that I get the feeling that the "Latin soul" is coming across in the music in this way; it's as if they want to add another layer to their music rather than create something flat.

Hybrid is a band that really nobody knows about or even references when thinking of the Spanish music scene or tech music in general. That's a shame. This band is guaranteed to blow up fast. There is an essence to this album that indicates a strong passion for their music and a genuine desire to make their country known for extreme metal.

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