Review: Hyvmine – Retaliation

Style: post-grunge, djent, progressive metal (mixed vocals)
Recommended for fans of: Alice in Chains, Three Days Grace, Nickelback (no, really)
Review by: Josh
Country: California, United States
Release date: 12 July 2019

[EDITOR’S NOTE: This review was originally published on the July 2019 edition of The Progressive Subway.]

On paper, Hyvmine is terrible. Their sound is best described as a mix of post-grunge and djent, with occasional Dream Theater-esque solo section. Going in, my expectations were low, dropping even further after spotting the genre tag “active rock” on it, looking at Retaliation’s atrociously cheesy single art, and reading the guitarist bill himself as genre-defining.

I was then completely blown away.

This album is a more modern, incredibly well-executed take on early 2000s Alt Metal that adds in more heaviness through integration of djent elements and experiences none of the pitfalls of the genre. The riffs hit hard, the vocalist is perfect for this band, and the mood is great for the kind of album that Retaliation is. Retaliation showcases these aspects the best out of all the songs on this record.. It’s a four-minute blast from the past that keeps you hooked through its entire runtime. The badass main riff had me hooked from the start, and when I heard the bellowed “YEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH” leading into the first verse, I knew I was in for something good. The lyrics aren’t anything special, but the singer’s delivery makes them work. I wasn’t on board at the start, but by the third chorus, I was silently singing along to the final “So shut your mouth, you best be still, because I’m built to kill!” It’s cheesy, yes, but it’s my kind of cheese.

The rest of the album is more like that. They don’t really vary the tone of each song by much, so go in expecting groovy, aggressive alt metal, because that’s what you’re getting, and if that’s what you like, then you’ll love this hopefully as much as I do. The only issue with this is that this album gets kind of samey after a while. Each track does have something that makes it stand out, but all of them have similar song structures, so they all blend together a bit.

I’m eagerly anticipating what these guys will do next, and I plan to get to their older stuff as soon as I can. Especially among prog fans, I’m not sure how much appeal this album has, but if it sounds good from what I’ve said, absolutely go for it. It’s badass.

Recommended tracks: Assassins, Retaliation, Demoness
You may also like: Protean Collective, Jupiter Hollow, Demians
Final verdict: 8.5/10

Related links: Bandcamp | Spotify | Facebook | RYM page

Label: Seek and Strike – Bandcamp | Facebook | Official Website

Hyvmine is:
– Al Joseph (vocals, guitars)
– Alon Mei-Tal (guitars, backing vocals)
– Chris Joseph (bass)
– Billy Gerrity (drums)