Do you ever hate on bands for the lamest reasons? Well not so much hate but perhaps not care for. In a very ‘don’t judge a book by its cover’ sense we all have preconceived judgements when it comes to entertainment whether we admit it or not. I for one can be put off artists by the stupidest things such as a boring logo or awful album name. I know that is petty but we’ve all done it, often times we can be proven completely wrong of course but there will always be that voice in the back of your head reminding you of the thing that you find hard to accept. Alas it is all very silly and at the end of the day bad artwork or logos isn’t the sign of poor music.
One such band with a logo I’ve found hard to take seriously is Hideous Divinity, which is indeed a shame. The Italian Technical Brutal Death Metal heavyweights have found themselves scaling the ranks of popularity since their 2012 debut Obeisance Rising. Founded in 2007 the band have worked tirelessly to get to where they are today and always with great praise. Alas they have passed me by, that is until now and the bands fourth full length release Simulacrum which comes to us via Century Media Records. Will I be made to eat my judgemental words or will my senses prove correct?
Opening the gates of damnation comes Deleuzean Centuries which truth be told isn’t anything out of the ordinary for the confines of Technical or even Brutal Death Metal. It certainly isn’t boring or bad, but rather standard. It displays atypical traditional Death Metal vocals alongside Nile-like riffs to create something this is at least enjoyable. The album continues in a similar fashion and is pointlessly broken up by the Condense interlude that serves no purpose and only aids in me not favouring this release. Anamorphia Atto III is at least a relatively crushing Brutal Death Metal blow, yet again it doesn’t quite strike me with enough power to really elevate the release above mediocre. Closing the first part of this release is The Deaden Room, another average Death Metal track which offers little more to the table of disgust.
I appreciate the sort of ancient feel to this release at the very least. As stated before there is a lot of Nile influence and a touch of Behemoth too. This sort of occultist deliverance is something I can get on board with but then again when the aforementioned bands exist why would I need this record? There is a little surprise in Bent Until Fracture where elements of memorability rear their heads, a welcome addition amid the constant thundering illegible drums and riffs. Yet the remainder of the album is as drab as before and comes to a long awaited end as oppose to any sort of climax.
Whilst you may think I’m being a miserable, grumbling keyboard warrior upon this review you would be wrong. Don’t judge a reviewer by his moans as the old saying goes. Indeed, my point is that for all my whining this is just a good Death Metal album, so don’t be put off by my downtrodden opinions, it might just work for you. However, in my position I’m not looking for good, I’m looking for exceptional and to add further to that it would appear that my sense of judging a band by their name, logo or other triviality is valid in this case.
(5/10 George Caley)
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