Kansas City sitting on the western boarder of the Unites States heartland state of Missouri has musically been famous for its own brand of jazz – so far.
With the steep rise of HYBORIAN, which were conceived there in 2015, the city is now bound to become known for a new wave of stoner metal as well.
This year’s debut album, ‘Hyborian, Vol. 1’ scored high praise for its delightful combination of stoner rock, retro-inspiration, and delicious grooves. Massive riff monsters towering over serious heaviness are surrounded by glistening lead parts. The impressively coherent musical picture painted by such a new band as HYBORIAN is complemented by a fitting lyrical concept.
‘Hyborian, Vol. 1’ revolves around a story that is inspired by ‘Conan’ author, Robert E. Howard and based on an interstellar, extra-dimensional cloaked being called The Traveller, whose legend is told by HYBORIAN. Vocalist Martin Bush reveals: “Basically, The Traveller is a being that exists outside of humanity’s understanding of space and time. He wanders the cosmos, visiting and recording times of great strife or hardship, great suffering or great triumph. We are his chosen mouthpiece on Earth, so we relate those stories, whether from far in the past or far in the future. We are also heavily into cryptography, which resulted in several hidden messages on the album from The Traveller, posing a challenge to those listeners, who are curious enough to put in enough effort to find them.”
‘Hyborian, Vol. 1’ was recorded at the band’s own studio, mixed by Justin Mantooth at Westend Studios (RADKEY, FAMILY, GODMAKER), and mastered by Nick Zampiello at New Alliance East (TORCHE, TRAP THEM, THE RED CHORD).
HYBORIAN have shared stages with such bands as IRON REAGAN, WEEDEATER, POWER TRIP, MOTHERSHIP, ACID KING, and many others. The band will release its sophomore album via Season of Mist.
Line-up
Martin Bush: vocals, guitar
Ryan Bates: guitar, vocals
Justin Rippeto: drums
Anthony Diale: bass
