History & Biography Tarbes, France's Hypokras - supposedly a French beverage - was formed
as
a duo in 1997 with the express intent of playing horrific music. In
1998, singer Rhikou and guitarist Deinos used a drum machine and
recorded a demo called Terror 1 which featured seven tracks. The band
obtained a contract with Warpath and recorded Dead & Hungry.
Reviews HYPOKRAS - DEAD & HUNGRY - WARPATH
One pertinent advice for bands is to cut back on the number of intros (black metal), outros (progressive metal), horror movie samples (death metal), gangster movie samples (thrash metal) and pornographic movie samples (grindcore) they incorporate into their albums. Hypokras incorporates both the horror and porn samples. Not only have they been done to death, but also they leave the fans with the distinct impression that the material is either lacking excitement on its own (quality) or is too short (quantity) and the band is trying to compensate. Either way, skipping these elements altogether is the way to go. This is especially true if your album is 28 minutes long. Hypokras, possibly named after Hypokras/Hippocrates the father of organized medicine, features Napalm Death riffing and God Macabre/Vomitory style of vocals. It is a hard-hitting death metal-meets-grindcore style. At first none too exciting and generic sounding, later tracks pick things up and inject the needed edge into the proceedings. The vocals are massively growled but surprisingly easy to decipher. Real drums are mixed with drum machine segments which is a no-no for a band which wants to be taken seriously. On an individual song basis, Heretik Whores is a tad slower at first but quite heavy and angry later. Deceased In Alcoholik Orgasm (have to love these titles) is more adventurous on the guitar to start before going into incessant blasting. France's Hypokras certainly manages to shore up the brutal end of the metal spectrum and is a viable choice for deathgrind followers.
Interviews
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