If a fusion of styles is something that is of interest, then the progressive music of French outfit Hypno5e may well already be on your radar. Over 20 years into their career, Trame Noire is their seventh album and continues their 2026 delivery of excellent music, which sits within the Post-Metal genre.
Hypno5e – Trame Noire
Release Date: 6 November 2026
Words: Paul Hutchings
But there is more to this outfit than the perhaps more standard Post-Metal approach. An approach that is unrestrained, there are bits of everything from Between The Buried And Me to Gojira, from Steven Wilson’s melodic passages to the crushing breakdowns of Periphery.
The styles are huge. There are explosive riffs, gentle melodic parts, such as the start of opener Lost Fires and the following track Falmer, with gentle keys adding a background to the cleans of singer Emmanuel Jessua, which then transcends into the jarring main part, with complex time signatures intermingling with bruising bursts of intensity.
It is a ferocious and somewhat uncomfortable initial listen, but further plays soon allow immersion into the Montpellier quartet’s vision.
The album title comes from the French term for dark infrastructure, “urban architecture designed to preserve the blackness of the night for nocturnal species. It tells the story of a protagonist who confronts his trauma over the course of one night, as every insect, every flap of a wing and every change in temperature brings back long-buried memories.”
Having understood the concept, it is clearer what the album represents.
Even the artwork, produced by Emmanuel’s father Thierry, is raw. An unrefined sketch. “This time I wanted to discover another language. Every album should tell its story differently. I never want Hypno5e to become predictable.”
Returning to their music, Lost Fires is both compelling and challenging with its unpredictable rhythmic swellings and bursts of staccato challenge. Falmer switches from Floydian passages of calm to disturbing bursts that smash with ferocious intensity.
Mid-album and the shortest piece, Molecular Angel, is no less intense or powerful. Angular guitar riffs mix with progressive elements, with the singing a rich, clean delivery, providing time to reflect and contemplate.
It is a well-paced release. Bookended with two of the three lengthier songs, the middle section sees Hypno5e gel in a different manner. Bare Bones puts the guitar front and centre. Chopping guitar riffs and thunderous drumming at irregular timings dominate before we arrive at the final song, the title track.
A ten-minute epic, dynamic in its span and finality. This is a beautiful conclusion laced with bittersweet sentiment.
Comparisons with their other works suggest that the band has reduced use of samples, instead looking at a warmer and looser style of production.
However you feel, Trame Noire is an incredibly interesting release.
Hypno5e, completed by Jonathan Maurois (guitars), Pierre Rettien (drums) and Charles Villanueva (bass), are another band added to a list destined for a deeper dive in times of opportunity.
Hypno5e release Trame Noire on 6 November 2026 via Pelagic Records. For more details, visit orcd.co/hypno5e.
