Review by chrisc7249 on January 29, 2023.

I originally started typing out this review questioning the band’s choice to name this project Bedsore, but a quick read right here on Metal Archives gave me my answer and I decided that it is kind of a cool name. Knowledge is fun.

“Hypnagogic Hallucinations,” the debut LP by… Bedsore is a very artsy album, one that follows more in the vein of Morbus Chron and Ghastly than it does anything else. This bodes well for the band, as that type of atmospheric, eerie, yet somewhat mellow and dramatic death metal that those bands play has only just begun in recent years to be truly explored. This allows the band to perhaps become a leader of this growing niche, and boy have they capitalized on that.

While this album doesn’t feel as complete as “Sweven” or “Death Velour” from the aforementioned bands, it is definitely a moody, colorful landscape of sounds that creates an atmosphere that is simultaneously ghostly and horrid, as well as enchanting and perhaps even somewhat beautiful at times. Don’t get me wrong, this is still, at its core, a death metal record, but the riffing has so much character, whether it is a more straightforward thrashing riff, or a dissonant, haunting riff with a pallet full of vibrant melodies attached to it. Hypnagogic hallucinations are defined as hallucinations that occur in the state between dreaming and wakefulness, and it’s fitting; this is a very surreal, dreamy album with a ton of character and emotion in it that instantly separates it from your standard death metal affair.

If you’re looking for brutality and unrelenting riffs, you won’t find it here. Not to say this album isn’t heavy, but it is most definitely a slow burner. A lot of attention is devoted to building the atmosphere, relying on acoustic builds into the crushing riffs and sinister melodies we’ve all grown to know and love from this genre. It isn’t going to blow your brains out - rather, it sneaks up on you on a chilly mid-November night, strangles you relentlessly for 3 minutes, and then slowly caresses your unconscious self while your eyes roll back into your head and you (peacefully?) die. Above all else, it is a haunting album. For what it is, you won’t find much better, an exciting debut for a new band with a lot of potential.

FFO: Morbus Chron, Ghastly, Venenum

Favorite songs: 'At the Mountains of Madness', 'Brains on the Tarmac'

Rating: 7 out of 10