Review: “Supernova” by Hellproof

Heralded as fresh blood in the Metal scene, drummer Artur Matwiejczuk, guitarist Patryk Kowalewski, guitarist vocalist Kamil Jakubowski and bassist vocalist Janek Jaskólski hail from Poznań in Poland and form Hellproof. After spending several years in their rehearsal space formulating ideas and building a collection of songs, they are now ready to face the World with their debut album “Supernova“, citing the urge to create a debut strong and recognisable that combinates old-school and modern metal with a mix of clean and screaming vocals…

A sombre and sobering melancholic introduction piece is the torch that lights the way before the bands first single “Flame In You” gives a true taste of what Hellproof have to offer and in truth their sound is all too familiar with obvious comparisons to “The Sin And The Sentence” era Trivium and even “The Poison” era Bullet From My Valentine. The blend of clean and screaming vocals is well balanced without any noticeable slow down to incorporate the former which is always a good sign, although there is a little accenting at points on the clean vocals that confirms the band are not from the US as their uncleans would have you believe. “Sky Wide Open” repeats the formula with some nice intricate moments of guitar work and a sing-a-long arena filling chorus that will serve the band well on the European Festival circuit before “Burn Alive” offers something a little more neck snapping. Interlude instrumental piece “Prepare The Way” then returns to the melancholia of the introduction, slowing things down by building on the concept with some programming and ambience. It’s very much the calm before the storm as the band bring their heavier side for the album title track with punchy aggression in the verses and tribal drum fills during the clean chorus; it works because the transitions between moments impressively slick for a debut record.

The second pre-release single “Bloody Game” was clearly chosen as a real showcase of what the band are capable of. Fist pumping gang chant moments bolster another big chorus while the staccato rhythm and vibrant leads are well constructed and again while it isn’t anything you haven’t heard before, it is still very well done. “The Colours” is where the band begin to come into there own, augmenting the melodies with programming distorting some of the darker vocal parts and buried orchestration underpinning the chorus. Small things, baby steps but enough to show that the band have some fresh ideas of their own. Similarly, a male and female harmonic vocal gives an ethereal vibe to the introduction of  “Perfect Gift” before the punchy uncleans make it sound like a Metalized Hardcore track. As an album “Supernova” is instantly gratifying because of that familiarity of style and you feel like you know it well before the end of the first listen although whether or not it has enough going for it which is unique to the band to bring you back for repeated listens is the conundrum. They have certainly achieved their mission statement and it will be interesting to hear where the band go from here [7/10]

Track Listing

1. Intro
2. Flame In You
3. Sky Wide Open
4. Burn Alive
5. Prepare The Way
6. Supernova
7. Bloody Game
8. The Colors
9. Perfect Gift
10. Outro
11. Koniec (bonus track)

“Supernova” by Hellproof is out 27th January 2023 and should be available over at bandcamp.