Hideous Divinity – Unextinct Album Review: “…this album is both a horrific monster and a technical beast.”
Hideous Divinity has trekked multiple paths to find its core sound. We saw a technical side of them with the album Cobra Verde, but they perfected their distinguishable heavy sound with Simulacrum. Their newest release, Unextinct, takes this signature sound up several notches. Unextinct takes the listener on many twists and turns; this album is both a horrific monster and a technical beast. While I feel the drums dominate the guitars on this album, Unextinct is still one of Hideous Divinity’s best albums.
After the intro, “Dust Settles on Humanity,” the track “The Numinous One” begins. Hideous Divinity’s music always has a distinctive energy, and this track conveys that atmosphere. It’s more than intense and heavy—Hideous Divinity throws you into their music. The instrumentals are all-encompassing, and you can feel Enrico di Lorenzo’s vocals in your bones.
“Atto Quarto The Horror Paradox” is one of the most interesting tracks on the album. The song starts with an acoustic guitar intro and explodes into one of the most menacing tracks on the album. As with all Hideous Divinity, this song has an atmosphere of brutality. The composition is perfectly arranged so that there’s enough technicality, but the musicianship doesn’t overtake the song.
As I mentioned in the beginning, I feel the drums dominate the album, and this song is an example. I listened to the album on two different speakers. The drums are crystal-clear, but the riffing sounds muddy—which is a shame since Enrico Schettino is such an awesome guitar player. This is mainly a production issue, but they had the same engineer, Stefano Morabito, who also produced Simulacrum. I’m unsure if the band was going for more clarity on the drums or if I’m too picky on production.
The next song, “Quasi-Sentient,” starts melodic. Di Lorenzo’s vocals aren’t as punchy, and the drums soften. But it doesn’t take long for the song to speed up. Throughout the track, the song ebbs and flows between a fire-powered monster and a brutal atmospheric track. The solo toward the end is one of the best on the album and makes this song even more unpredictable.
Moving down to “Mysterium Tremendum,” this song is one of the most bass-heavy tracks. From the moment the song begins, Stefano Franceschini’s bass is one of the most dominant parts of the song. The song stays groovy until the middle when the craziest solo turns this track upside down. After a brief pause, the song’s ending is one of the most crushing I’ve heard from this band. Every member hits the hardest they can, and di Lorenzo’s vocals carry the song to its end.
The album ends with one of the most unique songs on the album. “Leben Ohne Feuer” (translates to “live without fire”) has an intense atmosphere, complete with fast drumming and riffing. But unlike the other songs on this album, this one doesn’t follow a set arrangement. The song twists and turns, slower one second and swift the next, and then the track takes an acapella turn. The song follows this unpredictable pattern until the solo kicks in about halfway through, creating a new beast. Di Lorenzo also unleashes spoken vocals, giving this song a more aggressive edge.
Unextinct proves that Hideous Divinity pushes the boundaries on their distinguishable sound. While past material such as Simulacrum is pure heaviness, Unextinct is more unpredictable and unique. Some songs are more melodic, others are extremely technical, and the rest are more brutal than any material Hideous Divinity has released. While I wish the guitars were clearer, Unextinct is one of the heaviest albums of the year.
Rating: 8/10
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