Hypertrace

Last updated
Hypertrace
Hypertrace.jpg
Cover art by Joachim Luetke
Studio album by
Scanner
ReleasedApril 1988
RecordedHorus Sound Studio, Hannover, Germany, January-March 1988
Genre Speed metal, power metal
Length38:07
Label Noise
Producer Frank Bornemann
Scanner chronology
Hypertrace
(1988)		 Terminal Earth
(1989)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [1]

Hypertrace is the debut studio album by the German power metal band Scanner, released through Noise Records in 1988. It is a concept album with a science fiction storyline.

Power metal is a subgenre of heavy metal combining characteristics of traditional heavy metal with speed metal, often within symphonic context. Generally, power metal is characterized by a faster, lighter, and more uplifting sound, in contrast with the heaviness and dissonance prevalent for example in extreme metal. Power metal bands usually have anthem-like songs with fantasy-based subject matter and strong choruses, thus creating a theatrical, dramatic and emotionally "powerful" sound. The term was first used in the middle of the 1980s and refers to two different but related styles: the first pioneered and largely practiced in North America with a harder sound similar to speed metal, and a later more widespread and popular style based in Europe, South America and East Asia with a lighter, more melodic sound and frequent use of keyboards.

Scanner is a German power metal band that was formed in 1986. Three of the band members had previously taken part in an album release by the band Lions Breed, Damn The Night. The band changed its name to Scanner, adopting a science fiction image for their lyrics, album covers and live performances. They released their first album, Hypertrace, in 1988 through Noise Records. They have reformed twice, releasing their latest album on January 23, 2015, The Judgement.

Noise Records is a German heavy metal record label founded in 1983 by German music industry personality Karl-Ulrich Walterbach as an expansion of his company Modern Music Records. It was sold to the Sanctuary Records Group in 2001 and ceased any activity in 2007 due to the bankruptcy of Sanctuary. The Noise catalogue was consequently acquired by Universal Music Group later on. In April 2016, BMG Rights Management, which had acquired Sanctuary Records in 2013, announced that it would revive the Noise Records label.

Contents

Story

During World War II the military ordered the formation of a commando troop out of seven convicts. With scientific help these seven were trained and genetically manipulated to become a super combat unit.

World War II 1939–1945 global war

World War II, also known as the Second World War, was a global war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. The vast majority of the world's countries—including all the great powers—eventually formed two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis. A state of total war emerged, directly involving more than 100 million people from over 30 countries. The major participants threw their entire economic, industrial, and scientific capabilities behind the war effort, blurring the distinction between civilian and military resources. World War II was the deadliest conflict in human history, marked by 70 to 85 million fatalities, most of whom were civilians in the Soviet Union and China. It included massacres, the genocide of the Holocaust, strategic bombing, premeditated death from starvation and disease, and the only use of nuclear weapons in war.

The mutant soldiers went berserk, and directed all their strength and superior skills against their commanders. The rebels had to be annihilated ("Grapes of Fear"), so they were shot into space, and their rockets exploded, except one ("Locked Out"), which was found by aliens ("Wizard Force"). The aliens taught the mutant survivor to bring peace to the world ("Retaliation Positive").

Track listing

All lyrics by Michael Knoblich. Music as indicated

  1. "Warp 7" (Tom S. Sopha, Axel Julius, Martin Bork, Michael Knoblich) - 4:27
  2. "Terrion" (Julius) - 4:53
  3. "Locked Out" (Julius) - 6:23
  4. "Across the Universe" (Julius, Bork, Knoblich) - 3:52
  5. "R.M.U." (Sopha, Julius, Bork, Knoblich) - 5:46
  6. "Grapes of Fear" (Julius, Sopha, Knoblich) - 3:58
  7. "Retaliation Positive" (Julius, Bork, Knoblich) - 4:25
  8. "Killing Fields" (Sopha, Julius, Bork, Knoblich) - 4:23
  9. "Wizard Force" (Sopha, Julius) - 4:25 (CD release bonus track)
  10. "Galactos" (Sopha, Julius, Bork, Knoblich) - 3:45 (Japanese release bonus track)

Track #10, "Galactos" is only available on the Japanese re-release and the metal sampler Doomsday News vol.1. According to Axel Julius, the band's only remaining original member, "Galactos" was not included on the original release because it was recorded during a different recording session and has a noticeably different sound when compared to the other songs on the album. [2] The song was featured as track one on Noise's 1988 Doomsday News compilation. [3]

The songs as arranged on the album are not in conceptual or chronological order. [4] The correct conceptual order reported in the CD booklet is as follows:

  1. "Grapes of Fear"
  2. "Locked Out"
  3. "Across the Universe"
  4. "Wizard Force"
  5. "Retaliation Positive"
  6. "Galactos"
  7. "Warp 7"
  8. "Killing Fields"
  9. "R.M.U."
  10. "Terrion"

Personnel

Band members
Guest musicians
Production

Frank Bornemann is the German guitarist and vocalist for the German progressive rock band Eloy. He has been the only consistent member of the band since its formation in 1969. He is also the founder of the Horus sound studios in Hanover, Germany where he worked until 2014.

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References

  1. ↑ "Scanner Hypertrace review". Allmusic . Rovi Corporation . Retrieved 2012-10-28.
  2. ↑ "UNSTOPPABLE FORCE - Interview with SCANNER - Truemetal.org" . Retrieved 2 October 2012.
  3. ↑ "Various - Doomsday News (Vinyl)" . Retrieved 2 October 2012.
  4. ↑ "Scanner - Hypertrace". Encyclopaedia Metallum . Retrieved 2012-10-28.
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