Following the critical success of their debut EP, Toulouse, France-based dark metal outfit Eryn Non Dae signed to Metal Blade and released their debut full-length, HYDRA LERNAIA. Where their debut was complex as well as brutal, full of hidden atmospheric touches and an in-your-face vocal approach, HYDRA LERNAIA is a giant step past it in terms of musical development, creativity, and originality. These tunes are apocalyptic, very dark, and quite aggressive, but they are played with such diversity: each composition is different than the one preceding it, each tune has many different parts, and the dynamics and textural shifts are dazzling. Sounding like nothing else out there and creating a niche all its own, HYDRA LERNAIA is perhaps the metal record to beat in 2009. Any real fan of black metal, death metal, or even progressive metal who can stand dissonance will find it a prize.