Hegemone resurfaces with its third album.
Titled Voyance, it is the latest creation from the Polish band formed in 2010 and consisting of Kacper Jachimowicz (guitar), Tomasz Towpik (drums), Tomasz Stanuch (keyboards) and Jakub Witkowski (vocals/bass).
The album opens with Nourishment, a heavy and haunting track which skillfully blends heavy Sludge and unhealthy Black Metal roots to create a flood of oppression. The sound gets softer while keeping that thick groove before screams and saturation return, then Solace comes to offer us a moment of respite before returning to the heavy and soaring tones. The abrasive riffs welcome some more heady leads to slowly drive us to this sharp final, which will give life to Odium and its aggressive sound mass. The massive blast mixed with this majestic and threatening rhythmic feeds the haunting atmosphere which will however let us breathe before a last strike, giving way to Sermon, the longest and most diversified song of the album. The mystical introduction is strengthened with catchy and efficient riffs, leaving an important place to soaring leads, then drums come to bring this vivid touch. The mixing will slow down again to bring us out of this slumber, then Abeyance will take over to reveal a wave of pure oppression made of these heavy sounds which progress in a disturbing atmosphere. The final becomes more and more accessible and refined, before letting Inference bewitch us with its soft introduction and then dismiss us with its hellish rhythmic. The contrast between raw parts and airy harmonics reveals majestic tones which accompany us throughout the storm, which will give birth to After Demise, the album’s last track. Heavy and stunting riffs follow one another to crush us, just leaving small room for quietness between the different jerky parts.
With this new album, Hegemone will draw attention. Sometimes airy, sometimes threatening but always intense, Voyance knows how to oppress us as much as to let us breathe, creating a striking contrast between its multiple influences.
90/100