Australia has always been an incredibly bountiful country when it comes to metal, especially in recent years as we’ve gotten bands from all over the fucking spectrum. A Breach of Silence, Be’lakor, Norse, and dozens more have graced Australia with their presence, but easily the best act to come from its borders is Hybrid Nightmares. Their four-part series of EPs in 2015 made the year an incredible trip for me, and after a rigorous amount of shows for two years these Aussies have returned with their first full-length album that is no less than a fucking triumph!

This quintet has always been known for their theatrics as well as their special blend of progressive metal that always has a dark atmosphere to it, yet as we saw with “The First Age” they can easily have a “brighter” overtone to their music to bring another sense entirely. With their brand new album “Almagest”, Hybrid Nightmares really seemed to have gone for that brighter feel as this nearly hour-long album truly allows the band to flex their understanding of music to where you can practically see the evolution that this band has undergone without having to even think about it. Whereas previous material is more streamline and tends to be more condensed, “Almagest” is absolutely sprawling. Everything feels much more fluid and has a quality to it that allows the music to really breathe and not follow a simple structure from song to song, but instead “Almagest” moves along as it is constantly shifting in not only tone but in terms of style and execution as well. That’s something Hybrid Nightmares has done from one record to another, but never quite in the same piece for the entire time. It can be a really small aspect that can give a piece a little bit of flavor, but “Almagest” takes it to the extreme to enable this band to try something resoundingly new but incredibly familiar to give an overtone that not many others can achieve. There aren’t many records like this where a band can still be themselves yet test their limits by allowing the vocalist to do something new with his voice, the guitars and bass to truly soar into different rhythms and melodies they’ve never reached before, the drums to create new beats that only dreamed beforehand, and an overall sense of teamwork and musicianship that has no flaws whatsoever. Yet, “Almagest” is precisely that kind of record from the very beginning to the very end. A very special one, to say the least.

This is one of those records that I had immense hype built up for, I won’t lie. Hybrid Nightmares never disappointed me before, and I was extremely excited to see what they could pull off with a proper full-length album. Needless to say, my dreams were met with a delicious piece of metal that is nigh on irresistible. “Almagest” is an endlessly satisfying record that only once again breathes life into the style of progressive metal for me, but it also makes me more curious than ever to see what these Aussies can pull off in the future. Surely, it’ll be something even more bombastic and impressive than this.

LISTEN to “Almagest” on Bandcamp here.

LIKE Hybrid Nightmares on Facebook here.

FOLLOW Hybrid Nightmares on Twitter: @HNMetal