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Meridian

by HIPPOTRAKTOR

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  • Compact Disc (CD) + Digital Album

    Meridian (2021, Pelagic Records)
    + includes booklet with lyrics

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  • Record/Vinyl + Digital Album

    Meridian - White Edition 12" Vinyl record, Gatefold artwork + insert, limited to 200 copies (Pelagic Records, 2021)

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  • Record/Vinyl + Digital Album

    Meridian - Black Edition Vinyl record, Gatefold artwork + insert (Pelagic Records, 2021)

    Includes unlimited streaming of Meridian via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
    ships out within 30 days

      €30 EUR or more 

     

  • Record/Vinyl + Digital Album

    Gatefold artwork + insert.

    Includes unlimited streaming of Meridian via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
    ships out within 14 days
    edition of 250  8 remaining
    Purchasable with gift card

      €25 EUR or more 

     

1.
Stare and admire. Decipher you. Behold primitive icons. Rise of elder ancients. Builders of time. Where are the gentle giants? Where have you gone? Stare into ancestral eyes. How, why? Did you manifest the mountain? There must have been a way. I appear too small. How, why? Did you manifest the mountain? Constructed the pillars? Why did you leave us alone? Your wise men know not a thing. Overcome the slumbering eye. Invite insomnia again. Rise of the original mason. Avert my eyes to penetrate the walls.
2.
For you, mover of skies Sculptor of landscapes Almighty artist, you are. Stretching his wings over cyclical stardust. Carving the canyons. On to Terra. Try to fathom your gargantuan ways. Far down tempests, you roar. Silent matrix, shaping waves out of the sea. Sway. Gracious design. Sire of motion. Sever the skies. Summon the cyclone now. Harness the seven waters. Show us the nature of your turbulence. Come forth beside. May the downburst restore you. Warp the seasons. Order through chaos. Wipe out the condescending now as you make way for the future saint.
3.
This is how it began. The ritual burst into us and them. Held my palm to the orchard’s eye. To see. To see without sight. To sit on the Oracle’s throne to shine on the vibrant soil. As below, so above. The trees have eyes. So surreal. Shine, eternal one. Instill me divine sight. With an omniscient steadiness, prophets weep in your presence. Proud are the still living sons of Amesha. Let it be known. Their roots hold the answer. We're all sail and no anchor. I’m but a mark inside of your skin. All my minds in your ghost. I see now you are I. Alive. Shape my unintentional altered karma from your insides. Father of my deserted eye. May you roar.
4.
Disobey the rover. Coma, suspend my impatience. Attending your comfort, consolation. Relieve, pacify. I generate the impossible All. Every thought aligned with exterior eyes. There's a reason behind this sudden relapse of the all-torturous mind and you're the key. Never once in a timeless aeon have I ever known order. God is in the slumber, yet I remain awake. Bow. Right when I had adopted the silence, you throw me back into the noises. God is in the slumber, yet I remain awake.
5.
Juncture 06:20
Soon, my recurring state of crisis will bring along a reassuring end. And I will be unrestricted, unattached. Only heart in hand. Soon, the passing hours will unearth the everything. Free. Shine, omniscient sun. Emerge. For years I followed but now I lead with a weary pride. Contemplate the years bewildered by the sun. Overeager. A never-ending, overwhelming progression. And I'm the centre. I’m the core. Finally, momentary silent joy. Brief as it began, so abruptly it will pass.
6.
Beacons 06:53
The haze conceals the shore until the dusk reveals the stars behind a fading sun. How soon. You’re unveiling the celestial sea before my eyes. The dim spiraling in shades of nothing. The disappearing glow, where to? Who am I to breathe your light? Send a sky my way so I can see the beacons of the gods. Mesmerizing. I feel your appearance. You’re the light’s emissary who hides through indifference. You coward. Descend from your towers. The second you show your faces, I’ll be God. Of the sunrise, Daybreak. Ivory liars. It’s my time. Draw me inside you. Bring forth the meteors. Clashing of the hammers. I’m still hoping for a sign. Show me eternal dusk. How dare you paralyze the light that guides me steady on the earth. Awakened with temporary eyes, I tremble at the thought of your return.
7.
May your rivers turn my journey into a vivid dream. Distant. Submerge all I define. Source of the All. You, maker mine. Realign our divided ties. Reassign all that imparts my eye. Now you’ve devoured the Sun. I’m weary of its return. Womb to ocean. Springtide, approach. Merge. Pour. Unleash the oasis. Born in utter shadows, now I’ve shed this burden once mine. Every birth must come with its destruction. Such a disappointing congregation. This will be my final thought. Drown. Sink.

about

"Meridian", out now via Pelagic Records.

//

The power of music to conjure up images in the mind is as fascinating as it is undeniable —arguably, it is the very aspect of music that keeps us intrigued. From the undulating ca- dences of Debussy’s “La Mer - 2. Jeux de Vagues” through the overwhelming wall-of- sound production on Ike & Tina Turner’s “River Deep - Mountain High”, to the galloping bass line of Iron Maiden’s “The Trooper”. These imaginative qualities allow us to talk about music beyond mere terms of theory such as tone and form. Music, above all, makes us feel and experience things that are normally outside the scope of our ordinary lives.

With their debut album Meridian, Belgian progressive- / post-metal outfit HIPPOTRAKTOR explore these characteristics to the fullest, creating an expression of the Sublime – a greatness beyond all possibility of calculation, measurement, or imitation – that reaches beyond the mere conjuring of images into the realm of high art and philosophy.

Ever since the release of their acclaimed debut EP P’eau (2018) these Mechelen-based musicians have been honing their craft in songwriting and production, building a new home studio to record future material while also expanding from a three-piece to a five-piece ensemble. By adding singer/percussionist Stefan De Graef (Psychonaut) and guitarist/singer Sander Rom (L’Itch) to their ranks, HIPPOTRAKTOR have become a more versatile outfit able to employ a broader palette of sounds, taking the band’s earlier instrumental prog metal sound to new heights.

Taking notes from the best moments in contemporary progressive and post metal, HIPPOTRAKTOR capture the awe-inspiring power of nature—from the delicacy of the first falling leaf to the massive cosmic energy of the sun. By combining the big, catchy riffs and the rhythmical prowess of Gojira with the relentless but equally groove-loaded complexity of Meshuggah, Meridian delivers an overwhelming experience of sound, presenting the listener with sentiments that are recognisable, but with an intensity that seems larger-than-life. “Meridian finds its origin in everyday moods, taken out of context and morphed into a stylised version that re- flects the dreamer in me,” explains main songwriter and guitarist Chiaran Verheyden. “It tells the story of someone who’s lost in a world too massive to comprehend, and seeks answers in places where none can be found. Meridian was written as an attempt to distillate what I felt but couldn’t put into words.”

As the main vocalist in the group, finding these words was the job of Stefan De Graef, who carried over his fascination for philosophy and religion from his other band Psychonaut. “Meridian tells the story of a solitary wanderer on the Earth in the absence of other beings,” explains Stefan. “Without anyone to share knowledge and history with, the protagonist is forced to create his own truths and stories about the nature of life, consciousness and the universe. The protagonist begins to personify and deify his surroundings, assigning sentience to the trees, the mountains, the wind, the waters etc. for they are his only companions in this desolate world.”

Essentially, Meridian is an exploration of the evolutionary theory of naturism, which was put forth by German scholar Max Müller in the 19th century, and which argues that religion finds its origin in the deification of the forces of nature by early human beings. By juxtaposing this sociological theory with seven tracks that unfailingly conjure images of the earth, sea and sky, HIPPOTRAKTOR have created an analogy that enlarges the imaginative quality of their music to (literally) epic proportions. Combining the best of prog, groove and post-metal, Meridian comprises an incredible ride for fans of soaring hooks, technical riffing and earth-shattering breakdowns.

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released October 15, 2021

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HIPPOTRAKTOR Mechelen, Belgium

Hippotraktor is a progressive metal band based in Mechelen, Belgium. On October 15 2021, their debut album 'Meridian' was released worldwide on Pelagic Records.

Combining the best of prog, groove and post-metal, Meridian comprises an incredible ride for fans of soaring hooks, technical riffing and earth-shattering breakdowns.
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