Hypnotic Nausea – ‘The Death of All Religions’: A complete album

Of course, all these adjectives suit the newest album by Hypnotic Nausea, titled ‘The Death of All Religions’. The record is a complete musical and visual feast and comes to add yet another excellent collection to the band's musical journey.

Aiming for the best possible sound result

The Hypnotic Nausea are an experimental heavy rock band from Athens. The band was formed in August 2013 and in May 2015 they recorded their first album «Hypnosis» live in the studio, trying to capture the analog feel of their sound. The main focus was to create soundscapes, functioning as a culmination of their conceptual art ideas.

You might be wondering why we're posting a review of an album that came out in 2019. Here's the answer: works like The Death of All Religions deserve to be given the chance and the platform to be heard by as wide an audience as possible! (The record's distribution and production were handled by Ikaros Records.)

Subversive and heretical!

The Hypnotic Nausea bring back to the forefront concepts like using music to spread social messages and the timelessness of artistic expression. The album by Hypnotic Nausea isn't just another good record released by Greece's long-thriving rock scene, but an album that arrived to take the listener on a journey through progressive musical paths, while also giving them plenty to think about.

It's a concept (!) album that grapples with the role of religion in shaping perceptions and ideas that are out of step with the modern age and the effort to build a unified, humanistic and perhaps utopian society. In short, it speaks to all the ills that spring from the dogmatism and fanaticism of organized religions, whichever ones they may be.

The first listen

I don't remember exactly how I first came into contact with the album by this Athenian band, but what I do remember is that from the very first moment I was captivated! The impression the record made on me was such that I didn't think twice about being there for its official presentation in November 2019 at the concert venue Six Dogs. 

There they presented this second recording of theirs live exactly as it deserved: as an artistic work performed just as it was created, from start to finish! A tremendous experience that unfortunately wasn't matched by the audience turnout it deserved!

In the beginning is the music!

Powerful compositions with shifts in mood and style, moving between psychedelic stoner and progressive sounds (with nods to Tool), created an album that plays as a whole! Strong production with the help of George Ravaya (known to the world as Γιώργο Τζαβάρα – founder and guitarist of another band significant to the Greek scene, Need), samples and sounds that tie the tracks together into a single whole, essays and spoken-word passages even from the activist and pacifist Martin Luther King, push you to discover what lies behind this album!

The album also features the singer of Need Γιάννης Βογιατζής (known as Jon Voyager), lending his voice to the track Priest.

Artistic approach across every department

The stunning artwork, put together by the band's bassist, comes to give a face to a musical manifesto. A unique depiction with a style reminiscent of paintings by Νταλί and interpretations of images that only its creator could guide us through.

And then there are the lyrics of the tracks…..

Reflection and expression on Taboo subjects

The band itself states in the key notes on their Bandcamp page that "this is a concept album focusing on the ways organized religion operates. All of this, within the context of a society that hasn't developed the proper defenses to avoid its spiritual enslavement". How true, and how unsettling! With titles such as Dogma, Crippled God, Faded Faith and The Death Of All Religions they tackle subjects that only seem timely in the midst of a pandemic. This is further underlined by everything that's been going on in churches and temples all over the world regarding its management.

And to think the album came out in the pre-COVID era, which changed the landscape of both artistic expression and creation. Imagine how much more they'd have to tell us about religion's role in manipulating public opinion and pushing perceptions straight out of the age of obscurantism. We'll be patient until their next creation to find out….

In conclusion: A record that gets lost in the landscape of throwaway music for mass consumption. I didn't expect to hear such a powerful album from a band with a DIY approach! Recommended for anyone who wants to revisit those feelings from the era when we'd buy vinyl and flip through all the artwork to discover hidden messages and read the lyrics of the tracks.

Tracklist:

1. Holy City
2. Spiritual Allegiance
3. Dogma
4. Silent Moment
5. Outside
6. Crippled God
7. Priest
8. Faded Faith
9. The Death Of All Religions
10. Inquietum Cor