Formed in Bologna, Italy, HyperioN has been kicking around since 2015. When they visited these halls in 2017, Eldritch Elitist called their debut, Dangerous Days, “the strongest 3.0 possible,” citing its ability to “effortlessly [inject] elements of trash and power metal into the proceedings” and its “significant room for future growth.” HyperioN returns now in 2026 with their third full-length,1 Cybergenesis, a concept album chronicling an interdimensional war, humanity’s enslavement, and their eventual rebellion and liberation. Although still a five-piece, HyperioN sports an entirely new lineup save for founding guitarist Davide Cotti. Can this massive injection of fresh blood catapult these space-age heavy metallers to the greater heights Eldritch Elitist saw in the band?
New blood or not, HyperioN has a vision for their sound and proudly stays the course. Like previous efforts, Cybergenesis is heavily inspired by the likes of Metal Church and Judas Priest. But thematically rooted in sci-fi territory, HyperioN establishes the futuristic, dystopian backdrop of Cybergenesis’ narrative in much the same fashion that Blaze Bayley did on Silicon Messiah. A neoclassical opening gives way to a “Deafening” detonation of traditional heavy metal, soaring and gritty vocals, and Mozartian fills. HyperioN maintains this momentum with sticky choruses (“Yet We Still Fight,” “Blood over Chrome”), courtesy of new vocalist Max Morelli, and the strong axe work of Cotti and newcomer Francis Dipasquale (“Rewire, Rebuild,” “The Shackles of Chronitus,” “Rhizome Rider”). The potential Eldritch Elitist saw is brutally obvious when the band comes together to exceed their mathematical sum. Moments like the ends of “Grain of Sand”—where a squealing guitar lead cranks up the intensity of the final chorus—and “The Shackles of Chronitus”—where the solo extends to usher Morelli back to center stage—are particularly well done.
From a songwriting perspective, Cybergenesis is largely on par with previous efforts—aside from the baffling spoken word intro on “The Whole of Time”—but it’s not executed as well. Morelli is a fairly good vocalist, but he is much different than HyperioN’s previous vocalist and can’t reach the clean, clear highs of Dangerous Days. Rather than find ways to highlight the registers where he does excel, Morelli struggles to mimic previous efforts and seems shoved into too rigid a box. Bassist Simone Cauli employs a tone notably rougher than before. It’s got a retro sound that feels at odds with the futuristic subject matter of Cybergenesis. Where the bass was velvety on Dangerous Days, it’s much grittier or more textured here. Similar to HyperioN’s debut, drummer Francesco Madonna puts in a serviceable but largely unremarkable performance.
Structurally, Cybergenesis isn’t breaking any new ground. Most songs fall in the 4-5 minute range and follow a standard verse-chorus-verse-chorus pattern. No risks are taken here, and this is a fundamentally safe album. This isn’t a criticism per se—HyperioN’s ability to competently utilize well-established constructions is certainly impressive—but it does hold Cybergenesis back from being greater. To its credit, it’s a pretty lean record, clocking in at just under 40 minutes. The music moves along at a good pace, and there’s no real bloat to be found here. But especially in the back half, Cybergenesis can get repetitive as its lack of originality becomes more apparent, which somewhat counteracts the album’s good pacing and brisk runtime.
HyperioN boasts some great guitar work, especially in solos and hooks and such, but I struggled to find much else on Cybergenesis that stood out. I see the same opportunity for growth that Eldritch Elitist did on their debut, but this feels like a step back. It’s marred by a vocal performance that struggles to match the music and a general lack of novel material. Nonetheless, Cybergenesis is solid meat-and-potatoes fare. It’s good background music and playlist filler, but it’s nothing to write home about. You won’t find any new metal converts worshipping at the altar of Cybergenesis, but for those who dig trad/heavy metal muchly, HyperioN’s newest offering should be plenty filling.
Rating: 2.5/5.0
DR: 7 | Format Reviewed: 320 kbps mp3
Label: Fighter Records
Websites: Bandcamp | Facebook | Instagram
Releases Worldwide: Jan 15th, 2026
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