Hybrid Nightmares – The Fourth Age

a4128856316_10  “The First Age” told of the era of peace in the universe where all sorts of ailments are unknown and there is a prosperous age for all, but then the first man dies and humanity begins its slow descent into madness that is slathered in blood and turmoil. “The Second Age” tells of how man became more afraid of losing what it had through death and becomes very afraid which leads to war, death, and the spreading of chaos across the cosmos. “The Third Age” ushers in the time where survival is a daily struggle with violence reigning supreme as there are no victors and humanity itself loses in the end. And now “The Fourth Age” is upon us and it is the most grand of all the Ages. It is also the most violent Age with the end of man coming to a close, the universe settling down in an empty calm, and rebirth surely imminent. Hybrid Nightmares have truly outdone themselves with this album as it is their most brutal album yet as a progressive black metal band. “The Fourth Age” is very dynamic with almost each track having a fast and intense pace to it with the guitars and bass holding nothing back as the drums pound along with the vocals tearing through with their signature growl that is really where the “black metal” comes into play. What interested me about this album is the track, “Dashavatara”, which features lyrics from several tracks from the past Ages albums some of which are my favorite tracks like “What It Means to Die” (“The Second Age”) and “The Purge” (The Third Age) which to me shows that “Dashavatara” is the cultimation of all the Ages that goes through the best and worst of the Ages past. With amazingly well done guitars that seem to have minds of their own, and brutal rhythm of the bass, the intensity of the vocals, and the awesome beats of the drums, Hybrid Nightmares have created a wonderful piece that is without a doubt one of my favorite albums of the year. It is fantastic in every way down to the final fading acoustic guitar that is the final track, “Kali”. “The Fourth Age” is a fantastic ending to a fantastic series of albums, and I am more than excited to see how Hybrid Nightmares will follow up this record, for I’m sure it’ll be as great as all of the Ages that you must hear if you are reading this.

You can purchase “The Fourth Age” via iTunes here, stream “The Fourth Age” in full on Bandcamp here, and stream the track “The First Heretic” via YouTube below.

Track Listing:

  1. Destroyer of Worlds
  2. The First Heretic
  3. Soil Made Flesh
  4. Dashavatara
  5. Kali