Hideous Divinity – Unextinct (Review)

This is the fifth album from Italian death metallers Hideous Divinity.

I do enjoy Hideous Divinity‘s brand of technical brutality. 2014’s Cobra Verde, 2017’s Adveniens, and 2021’s LV-426 were all solid slabs of death metal muscle and intricate aggression, so it’s with expectation that we turn to Unextinct and its 51 minutes of new material.

Very quickly it becomes apparent that my expectations have been met. My fears of a pointless intro track are quashed quite quickly, as 2-minute opener Dust Settles on Humanity reveals itself to be a competent instrumental that sets the scene nicely for what’s to come. The following song The Numinous One starts with thundering brutality and dynamic intelligence. It’s a firm statement of intent from Hideous Divinity, who deliver crushing heaviness with satisfying songwriting. It acts like a microcosm of the album as whole, and is a top cut from the band.

All of the songs are well-realised. Also, within their musical framework, it’s a relatively diverse listen.  The atmospheric, blackened, and dissonant elements in Hideous Divinity’s sound allow them to create blistering balls of textured intensity like Against the Sovereignty of Mankind and More Than Many, Never One, but also longer epics of ferocity and mood like Atto Quarto: The Horror Paradox and colossal closer Leben Ohne Feuer.  If I’m being super picky then there is a pointless interlude track, (Der Verlorene Sohn), because apparently it’s impossible for the majority of bands to not have one these days, but it’s brief and inoffensive enough to not really matter. A short track like Hair Dirt Mud could have been another one in a lesser band’s hands, but actually turns out to be an interesting mix of ideas and sounds in a tight running time.

I missed out on 2019’s Simulacrum, so I don’t know how different Unextinct is from its predecessor, but compared to earlier works this is an evolved beast. Hideous Divinity have retained their signature sound, while broadening it to be less chaotic and more linear. Of course, the band are still scathingly merciless, and I wouldn’t describe this as accessible when compared to some death metal; Hideous Divinity still offer a dense wall of technical heaviness, it’s just less impenetrable. Essentially, the band’s skill at writing engaging hooks has improved, and they sound more dynamic and energetic. The amount of and effectiveness of the atmospheric, dissonant, and blackened aspects has increased, but without losing anything in the process.

As an overview then, I’d say that this is a solid album all-round. Vocally the band’s singer gives his best performance throughout. Musically the band are on fire, and the session drummer is punishing behind the kit. Finally, the songwriting has evolved, making Unextinct Hideous Divinity’s most well-rounded work so far, (that I’ve heard).

Fans of bands like Nile, Behemoth, Hour of Penance, Aborted, Hate Eternal, and Cattle Decapitation need to give this some time.