Review: Hippotraktor – Stasis

Style: progressive metal, post-metal, djent (mixed vocals)
Recommended for fans of: Meshuggah, Dvne, The Ocean, Uneven Structure, later Fit for an Autopsy
Country: Belgium
Release date: 5 June, 2024

Opeth’s ‘The Leper Affinity’ is quite possibly my favorite opening to an album, ever. Now, before you say “Zach, please stop dragging prog-death into everything you bastard,” let me explain myself. It comes out of the gate swinging with an incredible riff and pummels you to death until about the 4-minute mark. It’s then when a beautiful, somber melody takes over just before transitioning to Mikael Akerfeldt’s incredible cleans and acoustic guitar. within this song Opeth set the tone for Blackwater Park, and highlighted the creative, dynamic nature of their songwriting.

An opening mission statement is so important in an album. While it seems to be cliché for a prog band opening their album with some kind of gentle piano, clean guitars, or MIDI strings, it’s because it’s easy and effective when done well. But I have to have respect for an album that bats me straight in the face without a hint of mercy. No lead in, if this first riff sucks, it sucks hard and you’ve practically lost any chance at recovery.

‘Descent’ wastes no time getting right back to where we left off with Hippotraktor, combining djent-y grooves with the buildup and payoff sensibilities of a post-metal band. You’re thrown into something that sounds Mick Gordon would write before throwing the nastiest low-tuned groove you’re gonna hear all year your way. The syncopated Meshuggah grooves are far more creative here than their debut, and this album does such a fantastic job at highlighting the riff writing ability of guitarist Chiaran Verheyden. He is one of the few guitarists I know of who seem to be able to make low chugs interesting, even after the oversaturation of djent bands we prog reviewers deal with.

Stefan de Graaf has quickly become one of my favorite vocalists, and he sounds absolutely incredible here. His harshes are some of the strongest I’ve ever heard, and his cleans seem to be getting consistently better. ‘Echoes’ is probably one of the biggest departures from Hippotraktor’s core sound, with alt-metal-like sensibilities interwoven into its DjeNtA. The chorus sounds something almost metalcore-like, but somehow remaining very true to the band’s core sound.

Something that I admire about Hippotraktor is they understand the beauty of simplicity. They could shred just as fast as anyone, as evident by the title track’s solo (the only solo on the whole album), but instead, they would rather pummel you with the layers of low-tuned riffs and beautiful electronic melodies. Hippotraktor play around with dynamics even more on this, using crystalline guitar lines when they need to calm it down before blasting you straight in the face.

This entire album is like having a ten-ton weight dropped on you, only intensified by the incredible production. Every chug and bass pick is weighty enough to shake your eardrums, and if the final drop of ‘Renegade’ doesn’t give you immediate stank face, then you need to get your hearing checked. One would figure that the constant onslaught of chugs would get gimmicky and annoying, and while I do agree I’d like just a bit more dynamics in the guitar and bass, I am amazed at the creativity on this album.

Hippotraktor truly lack identity, and I think it works in their favor. Not quite regular-joe prog, not quite djent, and not quite -core friendly either. Meridien had a sound that I’d never quite heard before, but it was still cooking in the oven. Stasis is the nigh-perfect result, even at the cost of a (dare I say), less heavy sound. Even as ‘The Reckoning’ ends, it does so on a beautiful guitar melody, not a crushing breakdown. Good of Hippotraktor to give the listener some time to catch their breath after blowing them away.

Recommended tracks: Descent, Echoes, Renegade, The Indifferent Human Eye
You may also like: Psychonaut
Final verdict: 9/10

Related links: Bandcamp | Spotify | Facebook | Instagram

Label: Pelagic Records – Facebook | Official Website

Hippotraktor is:
– Stefan de Graaf (percussion, vocals)
– Chiaran Verheyden (guitars)
– Jakob Fiszer (bass)

– Lander de Nyn (drums)

– Sander Rom (guitars, vocals)