18/01/2016 19:34
Written by Bonno Zwaan
The Shiva Hypothesis (TSH) is a collective of musical deviants hailing from the Twente region in the Netherlands. TSH has been pursuing its own brand of dark and extreme metal with relentless fervour and mad perseverance. The first part of the band’s history mainly involving a search for the right expression and sound, with the occasional loud outburst in the form of some instrumental live gigs. With the addition of vocalist MvS, giving a voice to the band’s inherent philosophy, the band is now ready to spout its vision into the world.
TSH can be sonically categorized as a mix of black metal aesthetics, occasional aggressive outpourings in the vein of 90’s death/thrash metal and some strong atmospheric touches. The band strives for a mystic, gloomy, murky sound (with a slight hint of madness) to underline the main theme: destruction and creation. The band’s lyrics incorporate elements of comparative religion and mythology. Musically, TSH has drawn inspiration from the works of such bands as Behemoth, Emperor, Immortal, Death, Ved Buens Ende, Mayhem, <CODE> and Gorgoroth, as well as numerous non-metal artists.
Promo 2015 has been released late in December 2015. Honestly I haven’t heard of The Shiva Hypothesis before I got contacted by BN of TSH. Of course after the email contact I received cd version of the Promo 2015 and got straight to it.
Listening to the very first seconds of ‘Caduceus’, I expect a full on modern black metal sounding band. I cannot be right all the time but this time I’m pretty sure I’m close to being right. Blasting riffs and horror-like vocals fill this track with extreme hate.
The second song begins with a personal weakness for me. I absolutely love the Tibetan throat-singing technique they’ve fitted into the song ‘Praedormitium’. This track features more thrashy-style of guitar techniques than the previous song ‘Caduceus’. Not bad at all but it really reminds me of newer Dimmu Borgir. Since I dig that style I’m pretty sure that this is appealing to me. Further on I hear the first solo on this Promo. The raspy vocals absolutely are my style and I love how the songs are constructed. A little of everything. Thrash, Death and mostly black metal.
Up to the last of the three songs that are on this Promo. ‘Maze of Delusion’. A good example for where The Shiva Hypothesis is heading with their musical style. Their own style of black metal. This track features everything I want to hear from TSH. From the thrashy song structure to the uncontrollable chaos that is called black metal. But wait there is more! One half through the song I realised that there is another 5 minutes to go. A small surprise for me was waiting at this point. An artistic piece of melodic bass has been thrown at me.
I’ve had nothing to expect when BN contacted me and since I love surprises I didn’t listen to their music online until I received the cd. I was blown away by the creativity of The Shiva Hypothesis. Their ideas they’ve put into this promo is astonishing to say the least. Some bands overdo creativity by adding to many changes into their tracks but TSH does its job very well. Every black metal fan that is open for more than just blasting black metal, take a listen to The Shiva Hypothesis. You will not be disappointed. A band that has almost found its style of black metal and you can hear that by the difference between the first track and the second and third track. The last two of them is, in my opinion, the road they should be heading. Hopefully 2016 will be the year where The Shiva Hypothesis will record their full length or EP and you will hear more about that through Dutch Brutal/Death/Metal/Thrash and my own page Good Music Promotions. And what about the grading of Promo 2015? A solid 8.5 out of 10.
