Even with all that death metal can still be in its more related and relatively accessible forms, there is just nothing that can compare to when we find ourselves before an entity that defies expectations and takes you to the very fringes of what the genre is capable of. More and more, we’re seeing bands dare to explore what’s out there in the name of artistic expression the likes of which you’d be hard-pressed to find elsewhere. For some, however, explorations into that ever-shifting expanse of intensity cannot be fully expressed under the banner of just one act. In such a scenario, bands like Hermit Dreams are what spawn when daring minds collide for something truly special.

Over the years, I’ve seen quite a bit done throughout death metal. The genre has been twisted, distorted, morphed, and challenged in so many different ways, yet it’s the thrill of seeing what else can be accomplished that keeps me constantly coming back for more like an addict unable to resist the urges. I knew not what to expect when venturing into the madness of Hermit Dreams’ debut album, but boy, if it does scratch that confounded itch! We’ve seen death metal led by a saxophone, piano, and all sorts of different instruments, but it’s here with “Desperate Anomies” that the banjo (along with a cello, theremin, and shruti) takes unexpected command with Hermit Dreams making it work almost too damn well. A creation that writhes in its thick atmospheres where the laws of reality are thrown to the wayside, it’s time after time throughout “Desperate Anomies” that we’re given a performance that’s as fluid and dynamic as it is ferocious and unpredictable. It’s clear that nothing was off limits given the pedigree of the musicians that Hermit Dreams boasts, yet I don’t think there’s much that could have ever truly encapsulated what this band can bring to the table. Urgent and consistently hostile to both the flesh and spirit, Hermit Dreams has offered us a debut we won’t soon forget.

This is what it means to extrapolate death metal into something almost unrecognizable. The sheer talent and collective experience of Hermit Dreams was already nothing to underestimate, yet it’s in watching “Desperate Anomies” unfold that we are reminded that anything is possible so long as the journey in question is guided by hands that know precisely how to dismantle everything from our expectations to the confines of our very dimension. Without doubt, the hands of Hermit Dreams certainly qualify.

LISTEN to “Desperate Anomies” on Bandcamp here.

LIKE Hermit Dreams on Facebook here.

FOLLOW Hermit Dreams on Instagram here.