Rating: 9.0

Country: Italy

Release Date: 2008

Record Label: Unique Leader

Track list:
1.Misconception
2.Liturgy of Deceivers
3.Hideously Conceived
4.Drowned in the Abyss of Ignorance
5.Absence of Truth
6.Slavery in a Deaf Decay
7.The Holy Betrayal
8.From Hate to Suffering
9.Conjuration Sworn
10.Hierarchy of the Fools

Band Website: Hour of Penance

Hour of Penance - The Vile Conception

Silvano "Nightorn" Leone - Bass
Mauro Mercurio - Drums
Francesco Paoli - Vocals
Giulio Moschini - Guitar

Two words sum up Hour of Penance's third album perfectly: Fucking Relentless. It's also catchier than any number of nasty diseases, but at least it's a quick, if painful, death. A scant 36 minutes and you're left breathless, wondering what the hell just punched you in the face and ran off with your keys/wallet/cellphone. There are several breakdown passages on The Vile Conception which seriously remind me of those subwoofer-raping bits Suffocation scattered throughout Pierced From Within. The songwriting on this disc is much more straightforward than that comparison would suggest, I might add. Rather than dazzling the listener with unpredictable tech-chops, H.O.P. (hah, terrible acronym) mostly go for the speed-kill jugular ripping approach, with tempo switching rapidly between fast, very fast and ultra fast. Occasional forays into insanely fast territory are also on the cards, with warp-speed drums approaching “Gravity blast” velocity. This is some seriously intense percussion, boosted by one hell of a punishing kickdrum sound. Sure, it's triggered to fuck, but it's so powerful you end up not giving a toss.

If the violence of the drums wasn't enough, we also have the guitars to contend with. They're almost sadistic in their ability to rip your eardrums up, throwing chromatic scales and atonal melodic barbs all over the place. The bass even makes its presence felt quite aptly, although the necessities of having such a punchy drum sound result in it being relegated to a narrower slice of the mix than it deserves. There are even a couple of synth/soundtrack-like passages on the disc which are quite effective in maintaining the general atmosphere of martial intensity. A very well-rounded effort indeed from a band which, in addition to having made significant progress on each successive release, deserves major credit for keeping Italy on the death metal map. Make no mistakes, this CD is a well-rounded package which fails to disappoint on every level. In fact, the only reason I haven't awarded full marks is the expectation that the band's next album will be even better.

July 5th, 2008