Written by Kep
Hideous Divinity – Unextinct
> Technical/brutal death metal
> Italy
> Releasing March 22
> Century Media Records
Hideous Divinity is one of those bands that I wish people would dig into more. Not just listen, like throw a record on while you work or do the chores or whatever, but really dig in and *listen*, closely. The Italian four-piece is well-established at this point, with a back catalogue of four killer albums and a great EP, but it feels like people don’t take time to appreciate their intricacies. It’s a particularly dense, relentless approach to technical/brutal death that Hideous Divinity play, epic and loud and larger than life, but it’s meticulously designed and positively brimming with detail. In fact, there’s so much going on that it can be overwhelming at first.
In case you’re part of the crowd that’s heard of Hideous Divinity but doesn’t know their whole deal (or if you don’t know them at all, of course), here it is: each of their releases is a concept album based on a film. The 2012 debut Obeisance Rising was based on Carpenter’s They Live, 2014’s Cobra Verde on Werner Herzog’s Cobra Verde (shocking, I know), 2017’s Adveniens on Cronenberg’s Videodrome, 2019’s stunning Simulacrumon David Lynch’s Lost Highway, and the 2021 EP LV-426 on Alien. You can be forgiven for having heard these albums without catching the theme—although the track name “Chestburst” on LV-426 is a pretty blatant clue for that particular release—as they use samples and spoken word only sparingly, and their lyrical references aren’t super overt (plus are delivered in often unintelligible death metal fashion). But that’s my point here: there’s a wealth of detail and complexity beneath the surface, from concept to songwriting to production.
Unextinct switches things up a little for Hideous Divinity, using Bram Stoker’s legendary novel Dracula as its base instead of a film—specifically chapter 7, about the Demeter, a ship whose occupants meet their doom when they unknowingly set sail with Dracula onboard (speaking of which, hats off to Adam Burke for that outstandingly vivid cover art). Hideous Divinity has always felt epic and cinematic to a point, but Unextinctfeels like a culmination of their sweeping, all-consuming style. It’s enormous, epic stuff that’s overflowing with all of the little things you could ask for from a band that makes extremely technical concept-based death metal their calling card.
There are precious few opportunities to rest in Unextinct; nearly all of the album’s 51 minutes are packed with a gale’s worth of relentlessly fast and breathtakingly technical playing. Even the openings of tracks that begin quietly, like “Atto quarto: The Horror Paradox”, don’t feel like calm so much as anxiety-filled builds to inevitable pandemonium. The songs are expansive and almost meandering—if it were possible for music this aggressively heavy and purposefully written to meander—eschewing any sort of traditional structures for narrative frameworks that twist and stretch progressively. The amount of material and its consistently huge, cacophonously loud presentation is almost overpowering, but this is music that rewards patience and attentive listening. Killer moments abound from start to finish, none approached in a manner that could be considered traditional or predictable. Mysterious swirling solos form guitarist Enrico Schettino weave shadowy images, delirious melodies cascade in enormous waves, other instruments drop so that Stefano Franceschini’s bass can rattle furiously against Enrico Di Lorenzo’s throaty roars, huge rolling cross-rhythms wash across the texture like massive waves. Don’t tune out with this record on; spend thirty seconds focused elsewhere and you might miss five of six striking moments.
There are two shorter interlude-style tracks—intro “Dust Settles on Humanity” and sixth stop “Hair, Dirt, Mud”—but neither one stays calm for long, both kicking into enormous walls of full band sound. Only “Der verlorene Sohn” is a true break, a minute and 12 seconds of uneasy ambient stillness before the album heads toward its violent denouement. Now 51 minutes of mostly relentless technical brutality can be a tall ask of a listen, and indeed Hideous Divinity’s titanic, full-throttle approach might be too much for some, but Unextinct is written smartly and the tracks are well-ordered to flow organically and maximize its impact. Three tracks run beyond seven minutes (“The Numinous One”, “Atto quarto”, “Leben ohne Feuer”), two neatly stationed near the beginning with the third as the closer. On each listen I’ve found myself ready for more when the spin finished, rather than ready for a break.
Longtime recording engineer Stefano Morabito, who has handled production duties for all previous Hideous Divinity releases, outdoes himself here on Unextinct with what can only be considered the ideal production for this sort of extraordinarily dense technical/brutal death. It’s huge, crisp, biting, and thick as hell, while retaining its clarity even in the most turbulent and cacophonous moments. Franceschini’s bass is a monstrous steely force, while the wickedly fast and brutal drums, performed by session player Davide Itri of prog death outfit Bedsore, sit at the perfect level in the mix to propel and lead without dominating. Di Lorenzo deserves a special shout for his intense vocal performance as well; his presence on the record is immense and intimidating, with just enough variety in his delivery to keep things interesting without ever losing an ounce of brutality.
THE BOTTOM LINE
Hideous Divinity have really outdone themselves this time, as Unextinct is every bit as impressive as I’d hoped. Imposing in its relentlessness, fiercely brutal, and bristling with an extraordinary amount of detail, It’s a challenging listen that only gets more remarkable on repeat spins. This is Hideous Divinity at their most cinematic, and it’s glorious.