Three years after their last full length album HYPNOS returns with a six song EP to stoke the fires of their fans and to commemorate the band’s 24th anniversary. Hailing from the great country of the Czech Republic the band is made up of Bruno (bass / vocals), Vlasa (guitars), Canni (guitars) and new drummer Sataroth. The EP consists of four originals and two cover songs with a run time of just a bit over twenty minutes and released by the band’s longtime label Einheit Produktionen. Let’s dive right in and see what the band brings to the table on this round. The first track is an intro with no music just someone’s shallow breathing. Things kick off with the second track, the first half of the title track ‘Deathbirth Pt. 1 / Birth’. Mid paced Death Metal with some vocals that are not too brutal and are understandable but remain guttural. The production is crisp and clear with the music nicely balanced out without having any one instrument overwhelming the rest. A catchy tune and I like the Blues type guitar solo towards the end of the song, giving it a bit more personality. It is quickly followed up by the second part of the song ‘Deathbirth Pt. 2 / Death’, which continues where the previous left off, but has more aggression in it. The drums are more devastating and crushing, fitting since it is based on the phase of death in life. The song is about half the length of its predecessor, but considering that it is more fast paced I think it evens things out. ‘Infernational’ really brings out the overall brutality the band can reach with an unrelenting song of pure chaos. This was my favorite song on the EP with heavy tremolo picking and a dual vocal battle spread out over the song’s entirety. The wild guitar solo towards the end had an “Altars Of Madness” MORBID ANGEL feel. The next two tracks are cover songs of fellow Czech Republic legends, leading off with KRABATHOR’s ‘Short Report On The Ritual Carnage’. It’s not every day that bands cover KRABATHOR, which is a real shame considering that band were pioneers. HYPNOS does the cover song justice by keeping up with the spirit of the song. The last on the list is a cover of SIX DEGREES OF SEPARATION, the song is ‘Light Hates Me’. I have heard of the band, but have not heard their music, so this being my first exposure to it, I cannot tell if the cover falls in line with the original. I will say that the song is great and comes together nicely with the rest of the songs on this EP. The band packed a lot of music into this twenty minutes EP. You get all the key ingredients for a solid Death Metal album: bull-dozing drums, razor sharp guitars, punch bass and brutal vocals. The songwriting is what you would expect from a typical mid paced Death Metal album. The tunes are catchy and get your head banging with some instances where I felt a hint of “Demigod” era BEHEMOTH. Not a bad teaser for their next full-length album. For more info check out www.facebook.com/hypnoscz or www.facebook.com/einheitproduktionen