Album Review: Five the Hierophant – Apeiron (Agonia Records)

Blending elements of black/doom, psychedelic, ambient, experimental, and jazz into one syncretic trip, Five the Hierophant have made a name for themselves as one of the most unique bands in the world. They continue to walk the winding path they’ve chosen for themselves with their brand-new album, ‘Apeiron’, which is out on October 18th, 2024, via Agonia Records.

Offering up a lucidity that only comes after experiencing something so surreal that it causes base fears to emerge, Five the Hierophant’s new album is nearly indescribable. Such is the maddening blend of ideas and the fascinating way in which they are all put together to create a musical experience like little else. All of this, an array of feelings invoked, done without a single vocal line spoken or sung. This is instrumental music that does more than just intrigue, it hypnotises.

The power of this record on display from the moment the title track unveils moody jazz sensations and escalating atmosphere. What starts off sensible, slowly starts to descend into avant-garde chaos, creating both a feeling of compulsion and revulsion. It’s a unique combination that few bands would be capable of creating and certainly sustaining, but Five the Hierophant are one of the most unique bands in the entire world.

Something that is evident as all hell with Moon Over Ziggurat. A piece of music that delivers thick atmosphere, avant-garde melodies, and a strong Middle-Eastern tone. For nearly eight minutes, Five the Hierophant captivate, shifting the sound of this track in subtle and clever ways as it goes on.

It’s another example of music that impresses from the start, but grows in such stature that come the end, it’s one of the best things heard this year. The bar they set with their imagination is at such an incredible height, that no-one is getting near it this year. This being something everything can acknowledge, even if what Five the Hierophant have created here isn’t to everyone’s liking.

Of course it’s not going to be, this kind of music has a fanbase, and it’s a limited one. A fanbase that will happily let the sonic dread of Tower of Silence I wrap around them like a shroud, and a fanbase that will feel right at home with the avant-garde epic that is Initiatory Sickness. These pieces, alongside the staggering Uroboros, are as subtle as a whisper in the long-forgotten depths of a dark cave and as wild as a herd of elephants stampeding. The word ‘challenging’ exists for experiences like this and across all of this, the line between genius and madness becomes barely visible here.

Of course, Five the Hierophant skirt it expertly.

How polarising is this? There’s simply no doubt that many will love it, but equally, many will hate it. Only a band as creative as Five the Hierophant would even consider ending an album in the way this does with Tower of Silence II. Another example of avant-garde insanity that you simply have to sit and marvel at.

You’ve not heard anything quite like this in a while, that much can be assured.

Five the Hierophant – Apeiron Track Listing:

1. Apeiron
2. Moon Over Ziggurat
3. Tower of Silence I
4. Initiatory Sickness
5. Uroboros
6. Tower of Silence II

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