"Conceive" is the debut album from HYPERVOLUME. From their Facebook page, they describe the album as "an audio experiment being conducted by humans from Chicago." The album contains eight tracks. "Fire" leads off the album. The fuzzy opening guitar notes sound old school. It kicks into a slightly higher pace. The harsh vocals then kick in, reminding me of FIREBALL MINISTRY. "Orbit" is a bit shorter in length. It's like BLACK SABBATH on steroids. The riffing is fairly simple, but the vocalist is earnest in his raging delivery. Towards the end they stay on a slower, secondary riff.

"Before" is just over three-minutes in length. A bluesy riff opens this softer song, with a bit of darkness peeking into the light. It picks up a bit towards the end but without vocals it's sort of one-dimensional. "Sun" begins with some steady drumming and riffing on the open E chord. The guitars branch out a bit and then it's full steam ahead. They throw in an overload of riffing here, complete with raspy harsh vocals. "Edge" is another shorter song, opening with some trippy tones. The guitars are just too used to using the open note as the basis for most of their riffs, though there are some Stoner tones present here as well. It' an interesting piece without vocals.

"Tide" is a faster moving song, thick with those nasty harsh vocals. There is also some wah-wah in the main guitar riff. The guitars really move in this song, but again with minimal vocal usage it just sounds like a jam session. "Wicked" begins with what sounds like keys. The soft sway of clean guitars shows some variation in the band. It's a sad affair but also quite pleasing. Without much of a transition, a heavy riff and harsh vocals come into play. The beginning sound returns again with a harder edge. "Sea" closes the album. It's a two-and-a-half-minute closing song, with much of the same sound as the other songs. Thick, meaty vocals are sung with a commanding presence, and the riff again varies here.

Overall, this was an interesting album for me. On one hand, it was quite one-dimensional with just fuzzy guitars, drums, and some occasional vocals. On the other hand, the sheer volume of riff changes was mind-boggling, even know as I mentioned they often over-used the open E chord as the base for many riffs. Still, the vocalist was impressive with his impassioned performance, and there were enough other variables to keep it interesting. I'd be down for listening to more from the band in the future.