Review: “The Tragedy of Being Human” by Hilltops Are For Dreamers

The past six years have been quite the journey for Hilltops Are For Dreamers. Hailing from London but with Greek roots, mastermind and multi instrumentalist Vasilis Papageorgakopoulos has been the bands beating heart since their 2018 inception. His ambition for the project has seen him joined by a revolving door of musicians during the exploration of Black Metal, acoustic blues melodies, progressive structures and heavy riffing with a love of Melodic Death Metal and Post-Hardcore shinning through. Literally no stone has been left unturned and the quality of the musicianship across each release thus far has been second to none, the time spent in the rehearsal space to get the songs perfected invaluable. So for this piece of the bands puzzle Vasilis is joined by drummer Fernando Guerrero, vocalist Sam Sanassee and bassist George Kostaras, leaving him to pick up guitars, keys and programming…

Variety has long been the spice of life for Hilltops Are For Dreamers, their creative freedom coupled with rich and diverse inspirations allowing them to paint with a palate of may colours and textures. Seemingly influenced by bands like Opeth and Sentenced, “The Tragedy of Being Human” takes the discerning listener on a journey with a progressive orientated soundscape of contrasting light and shade with opening cut “The Firmament” encompassing that in one single puzzle piece. A delicate piano introduction becomes warped before elegant clean vocals and crisp clean drums come into play with a distinctive 1970’s Progressive Rock flare before heavier guitars roll in like dark clouds on the horizon. An unclean backing vocal layer links the bands past with its future, the warm extended solo a moment of vibrancy during an otherwise brooding atmospheric. Building on that foundation “Hyacinth” keeps things tight while maintaining the darkly atmospheric nature, a slick solo and sing-a-long chorus cutting against an otherwise hummable tune. Melancholia seems to be at the heart of it all but the song isn’t a wandering in the wilderness, instead having a good energy and decent pacing which makes it fearfully addictive alongside a thinly veiled lyrical narrative. A classic tune that is hard to ignore, it surely won’t be long before major labels come calling given the quality of the musicianship on display here. Completing the collection “Timeless Time” offers up a thought provoking conversation with a lover about the struggles of life while facing a bitter ending, all wrapped in tasteful riffs. The punchy unclean vocal moments add grit and integrity, while some flamenco soloing and rhythm experimentation adds a touch of dramatic flare so you get not only beauty and the beast but something in between. Please kind sirs, can we have some more? [8.5/10]

Track Listing

1. The Firmament
2. Hyacinth
3. Timeless Time

“The Tragedy of Being Human” by Hilltops Are For Dreamers is out 16th February 2024 and available over at bandcamp.