Five The Hierophant - Through Aureate Void (2021)

FIVE THE HIEROPHANT formed in the UK in 2014. From the Bandcamp page, “on “Through Aureate Void” they go in an even more psychedelic direction, without losing any of the heaviness or darkness. Also, the use of untraditional instruments like saxophone, music saw, zither and a wide range of percussions, FIVE THE HIEROPHANT creates a totally unique soundscape which you won’t find anywhere else. Their sophomore album contains five tracks.

“Leaf in the Current” leads off the album. It’s an over-12-minute opus. It begins with a steady drum beat and some clean guitars, and a tone of darkness. The saxophone notes do make for a unique listening experience. Crunchy guitars are added and you can definitely pick up on the psychedelic tones as well. Some spoken words take the song to completion. “Fire from Frozen Cloud” is an eight-minute track. Soft sax notes lead off the song, and there is still that air of darkness lurking in the background. Guitars come in heavy and aggressive, and then retreat. I can’t help the feeling that there is an Egyptian tone to some of the chord progressions.

“Berceuse” is another oddly pleasing track. The slow pace and mesmerizing tones are quite hypnotic. The sax notes mark the coming of the harbinger of Death…a Death that you don’t even realize you are experiencing until you realize you’ve crossed into the netherworld. “Pale Flair over Marshes” is a 15-minute beast. It opens with fuzzy, heavy guitars and more of the saxophone. I’m not necessarily picking up on some of the other instruments, but then again, I’m not sure what they are. The album seems to get darker as it moves along, and the droning, lumbering sound wears on you after a while.

“The Hierophant II” closes the album. It begins with tense drum tones, and sax notes in the background. Guitar feedback develops, as the sax dances in and around the song. It settles into a slow moving groove, with varied and steady percussion, and soft sax notes. Overall, this was indeed a highly unusual listening experience. The combination of the varied instruments into the genre of Metal is not used very often. The album is hypnotic as well as dark. Without vocals, you would think that you would get bored. But on the contrary, it sucked you in and held you the entire length of the album.