Label- Lacerated Enemy Records
Release Date - 15 April 2022
Words- Tony Bliss
Even though deathcore, despite its much-maligned and discredited history, seems to be enjoying something of a creative resurgence of late, it still takes a certain level of ingenuity and depth to stand apart from the generic crowd. With the release of ‘Via Aeterna’, we can now place Amiens based quartet Hurakan squarely in this category. At one time your a-typical slammin ‘n’ pig squealin’ copycats, this third full length takes a marked and drastic leap forward in both quality and scope, launching the band all at once from serviceable but unremarkable to genuine contenders.
The most obvious change here is the addition of composer Philippe Parickmiller, who has taken these nine tracks and rendered every second in shades of the cinematic, the gothic and the symphonic, lending an almost breath-snatching air of melodrama to the likes of ‘Charon’ that, on previous evidence, we would have assumed well beyond the bands capabilities. Indeed, even when at their most hyper-brutal these songs are all epic by design, swapping an erstwhile blood and guts approach for something all the more refined and sophisticated, but still chock full of that snarling desire to swallow you whole.
And so, as we reach the stacco and blast driven ‘Asmodeus’ with all its horrific, thudding bloodlust and atmospheric pomp, or the one-two punch of groove-powered monsters ‘Vagrant’ and ‘Resurgence’, Hurakan not only nail their extreme metal credentials to the mast with heroic, hyper-violent aplomb but everything is constantly offset with a multi-layered textual menace, piling on the hybrid intensity to stunning effect and ensuring every riff, beat and breakdown lands with maximum, sinew-wrenching impact. By the time the closing seven-minute title track brings the curtain down with its instrumental beatdown and stirring orchestral touches, we are left in no doubt; ‘Via Aeterna’ slays with the sort of conviction of a band with the bit very much between their teeth and the belief that they have delivered the deathcore event of the year. And you know what, they just well have done.
8/10
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