With yet another remarkable work, HYPNO5E maintain their usual high standards while still remaining one of modern prog metal’s most underrated bands.
Release date: November 6, 2026 | Pelagic | Bandcamp | Instagram | Facebook
There are numerous metal bands that use the term ‘cinematic’ to describe their style but very few, if any, deserve it more than the French prog/post metallers HYPNO5E. Their albums are always meaningful and deep. With multi-layered concepts and rich musical ideas to support them, they create a holistic sonic and visual experience – it’s no wonder we love them here in EIN: We premiered their previous album Sheol, while A Distant (Dark) Source was amongst our favourites of 2019 and Acid Mist Tomorrow one of our favourites of the previous decade. I am definitely of the opinion that this is a very, very underrated band.
After the two-part concept unravelled in the two previous albums, their eighth full-length album features a new thematic backbone: it deals with ‘trame noire’ – the French term for the urban infrastructure designed to preserve enough darkness for all nocturnal species. Beautifully framed by this term, the album tells the story of a protagonist who deals with his trauma in the course of a single night; another real-time epic in a typical HYPNO5E fashion, another tale of unspoken emotions that have to live in the deep dark as they search for a way towards the light.
HYPNO5E bears strong similarities to The Ocean, both musically and in the way their concepts are being analysed in various layers. With the band’s mastermind Emmanuel Jessua joining the German legends and making his first appearance with them in the recent album Solaris, I felt concerned that they might end up sounding like an Ocean spin-off. Of course, I was wrong: HYPNO5E is a project that has enough personality to stand on its own and enough quality to awe the listeners. To make things even better, while their previous albums had durations of over 60 minutes, Trame Noire is only 39 minutes long. This means that all their virtues are presented in a more clear and coherent manner.
Even at this length, HYPNO5E’s music is so detailed that it requires multiple listens. The album’s five compositions flow dynamically, and they always try to achieve the ideal balance between interesting instrumentation, good-old metallic energy and introspective melodies. This is almost always achieved, despite the fact that a lot of great ideas don’t last as long as they could. The band seems always to prefer the constant evolution of every composition, this sense of always moving ahead instead of moving in circles. Their best element remains the same as always: it’s the riffs. Frequently djenty, sometimes thunderous, always sophisticated and passionate – Jessua delivers once again some of the best riffs you can find in modern prog. Yes, “Lost Fires” offers adequate proof – check out the brilliance around the 5th minute.
Generally, I think that HYPNO5E’s music has grown to be a bit softer and more melodic with time. Additionally, Trame Noir sounds warmer than their previous works, mainly because of the production and of the chemistry of this specific line-up. While there are still a lot of harsh vocals, the band feels like it has embraced a more straightforward prog essence. Take “Molecular Angel”, for example – this is a typical good modern prog metal song, not worlds away from something that VOLA could create. Having said that, all five songs stand at the same level quality-wise: they are full of textures, interesting turns, some atmospheric spoken-word parts, and majestic soundscapes. If there is one thing that could make HYPNO5E even better, it is the vocals; Jessua is good and expressive, but he is not charismatic. Every time I listen to a new HYPNO5E album, I imagine the goosebumps we’d get with someone like Loïc Rossetti singing. But this is Jessua’s band and, to be fair, he’s good enough.
For everyone who already likes HYPNO5E, Trame Noire is another remarkable album. It may not be at the same level as my favourite A Distant (Dark) Source but it’s better and more focused than Sheol and, generally, it lives up to their usual super-high standards. For those who still haven’t experienced HYPNO5E, it’s never too late to discover one of the most underrated and fascinating modern prog metal bands and dive into their magical, emotional, and yes, cinematic universe. Trame Noire is a good place to start as it is compact, emotional, intelligent, and talks about things that resonate with us all – things that remain hidden in our own dark corners.
Artist photo by Cyrielle Thelot
