01. Der Zorn Gottes
02. Rise And Oppress
03. Mystification As Law
04. From Hate To Suffering
05. Inhaling Disbelief
06. N.E.M.A.
07. Spires
08. Soul Addicted
09. Dawn Of Cerberus
10. Blood Tribute
Comentario:
Italia ha sido un país donde la tradición del brutal Death Metal nunca ha llegado a estar demasiado arraigada, pero desde hace unos años, especialmente tras la aparición en escena de NATRON, parece que más bandas están surgiendo dentro de éste campo. HOUR OF PENANCE son actualmente el mejor ejemplo, y junto a ellos se les podrían sumar bandas como NEFAS, MINDSNARE o NECROSPHERE.
Tras una impresionante demo debut en el año 2000 y unos no menos brutales temas para su 7”EP compartido con CADAVERIC CREMATORIUM, éste joven cuarteto impresiona, desde la primera escucha, con su arrollador Death Metal influenciado por las bandas más representativas de principios del milenio. Tomando los mejores elementos de grupos como HATE ETERNAL, NILE, MISERY INDEX e incluso GORGASM... HOUR OF PENANCE son unos firmes candidatos a establecerse entre la élite del brutal Death Europeo. “Disturbance” es la prueba!!
Originating from of Italy, this is the first full album of the Hour of Penance that took the title of Disturbance, this is composed by 10 tracks in a total of 39 minutes. They are in your formation Mike (Bass, Vocals), Enrico (Guitar), Francesco (Guitar) and Mauro (Drums), and well to tell them that surprised myself when hearing, therefore the brutality dose and aggressiveness contained in this work it is really high. Being influenced by the best of Death European and American Metal the Hour of Penance gets to play a Brutal Death Metal fast, brutal, with a lot of weight and without freshness. Your compositions are played in an extremely aggressive and brutal way, I want to give the congratulations for all the members, because they are really technical and professional, we see an excellent entrosamento among them. The sound is really heavy and brutal, the guitars discharge fast and murderous riffs, the bass makes your service well, the battery already distributes technique and speed, everything being completed by a vocal one cavernous and guttural. We can highlight: Rise and Oppress, Mystification Law, Soul Addicted, Dawn of Cerberus and Blood Tribute. Highly recommended for who tans bands like Eternal Hate, Morbid Angel, Nile, Gorgasm, Blood Red Throne.
The first thing that popped into my head after throwing in the full-length debut from Hour of Penance, entitled Disturbance, was that it has American death metal splattered all over it. After that, I let the crunch sink into my head, or should a say slam into my head, like a sledge hammer. With only a short promo CD and a 7" split under their belts, this death metal crew from Italy has laid down some noteworthy death metal.
Formed in 1999, this foursome combines the usual elements of technicality and brutality and melds them together to lay on the hurt. Taking elements from Nile, Hate Eternal, and even Incantation, the ultimate crunch is the key here. Speed driven riffs with heavy breakdowns and crazy pinched harmonics make up the bulk of what the music offers. The drums often contain very fast double kicks with some blast beats and decent fills. Vokilly the gruff brutal delivery more than fits the music, along with some demonic howls to add some occasional spice.
Overall, I think this is a debut that is well worth checking out for those fans of brutal death metal. Tracks like "Mystification as Law" will send you into a frenzy and are sure to have you grimacing in no time. This is a very impressive debut from a band that will surely begin to make a name for themselves in the brutal death scene, so be sure to keep one eye open while sleeping, the Hour of Penance is upon us.
Truly excellent the debut of the italian Hour of Penance, a disrupting mix of the best dedicated bands to technical death metal today around: naturally influenced by holy monsters like Nile, they succeed to inject a good quantity of personality into their sound, made square and deep also by a good level production. Death metal with no compromises then, based on a very dynamic and balanced riffing, an untame rhythmical section and a singing which is absolutely up to the task. The compactness is for sure one of the main characteristics of a band that, born in 1999, still features the same four original members in the name of a project they firmly believe in. And the results can only come, when dedition and passion are so evident. The songs of the album follow the one another without a single moment of rest, supported by a truly remarkable guitar work and a songwriting freshness that is extraordinaire for a band that is at the debut. The class they express is such that we could think to be in front of an already reknown band, seen the cleverness they show in songwriting and performance. We could also be blaspheme saying that this opera of Hour of Penance is not so faraway from the quality levels of the latest effort by Nile, showing some more will to break the scheme and to go beyond that only a confident band can reveal. The cd of Hour of Penance is one of those pearls that no lover of the style can miss!
After crapping my pants to one of the most evil sounding intros in my life ("Der Zorn Gottes") Hour of Penance turns up the grimness factor even further. I know now that Hour of Penance hails from Italy but judging from their sound only, my first guess would've been that they were based in the U.S. This is fast and furious death metal as we are used to hear it from American bands like Vile or Cannibal Corpse - no compromise, just blasting death metal all the way. The blastbeats are of course all over the place - fucking great drummer! - and the highly technical guitar handling is impressive. I must admit that I'm more into the European death scene, being the melody freak that I am, but Hour of Penance really manages to impress me with this Floridian attack. "Disturbance" is a godsend (devilsend?) for all speed freaks out there! Bang you heads for Satan!
Holy entrails of the desecrated slut Virgin Mary…!!! Italy has never been well-known as a Death Metal country, as compared with Germany, for example. That is probably going to change soon if these grandeur bastard blasphemers from the land of pizza, pasta and a great wine are any type of evidence. Damn, this Italian foursome knows precisely how to make gut-wrenching and ripping Death Metal that is so captivating and slaying that it´s hard to turn your head away from it. Indeed, Hour of Penance is most probably the best newcomer out of the Italian metal scene that I have heard in a while. Their brand of Death Metal is very hammering yet convincingly crushing stuff right from the very first seconds to the last seconds of the album. It hits you like a ten-ton hammer… not once, not even twice, but dozens times--and you even beg for more.
I don´t know whether it´s rude and unjustified to say, but Hour of Penance could rightfully be considered the ultimate European answer to Nile musically; luckily not conceptually, however. Their music reminds me a great deal of Nile with many furious blast beats, some beautifully devastating riffages, Karl Sanders type of a deep bellowing, rapid and grinding, a bit of Deicide-ish solo attacks, fantastic tempo changes, etc. The members of Hour of Penance seem to be incredible and very talented musicians, and you can tell almost right away by listening to the songs off DISTURBANCE that these fellows definitely love playing this type of brutal Death Metal straight from their hearts. There´s no way that I could describe their music any better way for all of you; you simply have to check this absolutely killer over-the-top Death Metal band out by yourself in order to believe my shameless words about them. The band´s sound is overall very American–sounding as far as their brutally superb and virgin-tight Death Metal goes. For all Nile – and why not Hate Eternal –fans, too, Hour of Penance will surely be added to the very top of their shopping lists. If I can predict the future a little bit for Hour of Penance, first off, I could say DISTURBANCE will be one of the most welcomed European Death Metal albums in 2003 without a doubt. Secondly, I strongly believe in the very same breath that they are going to be the next big ´hit´ in the extreme metal scene if promoted well enough by their current label Xtreem Records. I would not wonder at all if their debut album was sold a few ten thousands albums this year worldwide. They would deserve it more than anything!!
Since Immolation´s outstandingly brilliant UNHOLY CULT, Hour of Penance´s debut has impressed me most in this on-going year. If I said something else, I would be lying. So great… fuckin´ great stuff!!
After a frightening intro called "Der Zorn Gottes" the song "Rise and oppress" hits you right in the face. Italy is best known for good Powermetal bands but now some freaks are starting to push the scene into the hard direction. For example bands like Natron, Nefas, Mindsnare, Bastard Saints or Necrosphere and of course Hour of Penance. H.o.P. are in my opinion the best italian band at the moment. The eight songs kick ass. Cool, well structured songs, that live from cool riffing, blastbeats and doublebass attacks as well as groovy elements. Absolutely headbanger-friendly. You can't stop banging during this 40 minutes. Hour of Penance mix european and american style Death Metal. A evil mixture from Natron, Hate Eternal, Nile, Misery Index and Gorgasm. Italys best export since years besides Bud Spencer and Terence Hill movies.
Here's the 2nd big surprise made in Italy! After the brilliant "Seven Times Seven", by NEFAS from Milan, the 1st album by HOUR OF PENANCE comes at my hands. Guess who made this masterstroke of pure brutal death come out? Yes, ladies and gentlemen, the great Dave Rotten's label, XTREEM MUSIC (ex-REPULSE Rec.): another point scored by the italian brutal scene, which is growing at an enormous rate. The four musicians (already authors in 2001 of a split 7"EP with CADAVERIC CREMATORIUM, to be released this year), come out with no less than 10 tracks, for about 40 minutes of brutalism, in which they show their strength in impact, songwriting and technicality: all songs have an above-average duration for this genre, showing very complex structure plots and technical guitar riffs that communicate a continuous crescendo of tension. You'll find the madness of DEEDS OF FLESH's deadly guitar riffs but also ABORTED-style's savage stretches, often with the mysticism made by the fathers MORBID ANGEL and DEICIDE. That gives the album a range of tension that goes from hyper-fast songs as the opener "Rise and Oppress" to the final song "Blood Tribute", very doom-oriented, following the lesson of INCANTATION!! These bands are to me the most clear sources of inspiration of H.O.P.'s sound, which is still very personal and recognizable, also for a production that crushes. An album that really makes me smile, a step taken forward for brutal death made in Italy, something to be proud of. Now I wait for the new releases by BASTARD SAINTS and PSYCHOPAGIST. Stay sick!!
As on the 2000 promo, there is still a big Nile-influence in this Italian acts music. This album is however not 100% as relentless and crushing as this aforementioned promo. Instead it shows far more diversity, much due to the now also apparent Hate Eternal influence. The music is an interesting mix of these two influences, whereas the vocal approach is still very much Nile. Personally I would have preferred the vocals to be a bit more articulated and with stronger choruses, but this is a minor complaint. Have no illusions about my statement about the less relentless and crushing approach, because it is more than enough in terms of brutality. I just meant that this release is a bit more mature and better varied. This is good stuff that definitely won’t disappoint you, rather impress you.
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