Hypno5e

Since forming in the south of France in 2003, Hypno5e have forged a distinct identity and made an indelible mark on the progressive scene. Their self-styled ‘cinematic metal’ mixes heavy music, the avant-garde, post-rock, immersive samples and Latin American influences across widescreen songs. On their much-anticipated seventh album, Trame Noire, they continue their unique journey, while also switching everything up: a new approach to the artwork, production and songwriting cements this as the start of a bold new era.

The follow-up to the immense conceptual duology of A Distant (Dark) Source (2019) and Sheol (2023), Trame Noire is named after the French term for ‘dark infrastructure’: urban architecture designed to preserve the blackness of the night for nocturnal species. It tells the story of a protagonist who confronts his trauma over the course of one night, as every insect, every flap of a wing and every change in temperature brings back long-buried memories.

Trame Noire clocks in at a svelte 39 minutes, but it sacrifices none of the band’s trademark scope. The songs run like an uncut thread, seamlessly shifting between atmospheric wonder and ferocious payoffs.

The album is presented in a brand-new way, as well. The band limited their use of samples to reflect the lyrics’ focus on one voice and one character. Plus, they used a warmer, looser style of production: less traditionally tech-metal, more inspired by the masterpieces of 70s psychedelic rock. Even the artwork – painted by Emmanuel’s father, co-lyricist and frequent collaborator Thierry Jessua – is a raw, unrefined sketch, more human than what was seen on past covers.

“This time I wanted to discover another language,” Emmanuel says. “Every album should tell its story differently. I never want Hypno5e to become predictable.”

All this evolution also reflects the fact that Trame Noire was the first album to be made from start to finish with Hypno5e’s current lineup, rounded out by co-guitarist Jonathan Maurois, bassist Charles Villanueva and drummer Pierre Rettien.

Trame Noire is another bold statement in a career defined by non-conformity. Shorter, warmer and presented in a totally different way to previous works, it ensures that Hypno5e remain one of one, even after more than two decades.

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