There seems to be somewhat of a trend in recent years with a handful of brutal death metal acts churning out albums that are as catchy as they are extreme. We've seen Cannibal Corpse do it with their latest Torture, and Behemoth's been doing it for years, but here we have Italy's Hour of Penance blasting out with a slab of molten death metal that will scare off the neighbors but at the same time have them slowly creeping back to investigate what all the ruckus was about. Sedition is the bands latest release for Prosthetic Records, and it takes their brutal & technical style that they've perfected over their last few albums and cranks it up a notch, combining that with songs that are instantly memorable, and riffs that will stick with you long after the CD has stopped playing.
I mean, just listen to the power of tracks like "Enlightened Submission", "Decimate The Ancenstry Of The Only God", and "Fall Of The Servants", tunes that bring on all that is great about death metal. Evil growls, thunderous rhythms, crushing riffs, and blazing guitar solos, all housed within songs that either pummel with mid paced intensity or dazzle with speedy, technical precision. "Ascension" features some of the best riffs on the album, as well as growls that you can really understand, and "The Cannibal Gods" and " Sedition Through Scorn" are for all those that can't get enough manic blasting in their death metal.
Sedition is one of those CDs that picks up and gets more brutal as the album continues, so if you think the first half of it is intense, it only gets more frantic from there. Hour of Penance have really come up with a killer album here, and I think they have now crossed into a place where the extreme metal scene HAS to take notice. This is recommended stuff for anyone who can't get enough of bands like Decapitated, Cannibal Corpse, Nile, Origin, Hate Eternal, Behemoth, and the like.
Oh yeah, and as always, their cover art rules!
Track Listing
- Transubstantiatio
- Enlightened Submission
- Decimate The Ancenstry Of The Only God
- Fall Of The Servants
- Ascension
- The Cannibal Gods
- Sedition Through Scorn
- Deprave To Redeem
- Blind Obedience