Hypersolid

Inertia
by Daniel Lukes

With so many bands currently chasing the predictable NWOAHM route, in the wake of Shadows Fall, Lamb Of God. et al., it’s at the very least inspiring to encounter metal bands who aren’t doing that at all, and are instead following their own artistic muse, however unconventional or unusual it may be. Which brings us to Providence, RI quintet Hypersolid, who on this debut five-track EP are (quite successfully) attempting to fuse the histrionics of latter-day Queensrÿche with something a bit more contemporary.

It’s especially on Sam Space’s vocals and some of the lead guitar work and relatively complex arrangements that the Queensrÿche comparison holds water. Elsewhere, the band’s scatterbrain drums, down-tuned, askew riffs, and growl-to-croon vocals might be likened somewhat to what Chicago mob From Zero were trying out several years ago before they went mainstream rock (and got dropped from major label Arista), or even Mushroomhead’s mixture of grinding riffage and theatrical vocals (another, ahem, major label casualty). Zeuss’s (Shadows Fall, Hatebreed) clear production work lets the band’s ideas breathe, and though here and there the arrangements could’ve done with a little tightening, there are plenty of moments (the great melodic chorus on “Requiem,” for example) to illustrate the wealth of potential.
(www.hypersolid.net)