Hour of Penance – Cast The First Stone

Italian death metal legends Hour of Penance have once again graced us with a new record, and much like their previous works, “Cast The First Stone” is yet another reliable, crushing death metal effort. In fact, the least predictable thing about this record is that it took the band 3 years to release it rather than their usual pace of putting out a record every 2 years.

As you might imagine, “Cast The First Stone” consists of 34 minutes of blast beats, absurdly heavy riffs, and generally just trying to sound as brutal as possible. The vocals are deep and completely inhuman, though you could probably pick up a few words with some concentrated effort. The drumming presents pure mechanical precision, as double bass is played seamlessly and constantly. The riffs or song structures offer little in the way of innovation, but that’s not such a bad thing. The only obvious example of experimentation is in the title track, which is guided by a riff that would sound much more at home a melodic death metal record. This song, in combination with “Wall of Cohorts” (which uses some atmospheric keyboards in the vein of a band like Nocturnus) shows that Hour of Penance can do more than simply bludgeon your skull with an endless rhythmic pounding. 

Of course, this barbaric assault is still what the band is best at. It’s also what they spend the vast majority of the record doing. Even the aforementioned title track has some of the speediest, most aggressive moments on the record despite the fact that it is also the most melodic song. Much of the album runs together, which is to be expected for this kind of music. The end result is another reliable, if unspectacular Hour of Penance record. Fans will enjoy the band’s continued loyalty to their sound, while previous detractors will remain unconvinced. Regardless of which side you fall on, one thing is for sure: this album is seriously devastating!

Be sure to check out and like Hour of Penance on Facebook!

Highlights

All of it

Final Rating

3.7/5 or 74%. 

Written by Scott

Hour of Penance – Regicide

Despite the general metal community’s love of modern death metal, it’s always seemed like a stagnant style of music to me. There is only so much you can do with 220+ BPM blast beats, double bass, and tremolo picking for 40 minutes straight. Of all of the bands that do this, Hour of Penance is certainly among the better ones. Their new record, “Regicide”, is largely in the same vein as described above, but there are a couple of reasons why you might otherwise visit this record. The first is the opener, “Reforging The Crowns”, which shows some old school thrash riffing that is a bit more melodic in nature. This riff dominates much of the song, and brings a new energy to the band’s sound (which unfortunately is mostly squashed when the blasts kick in). Nevertheless, this is a killer song that really shows the potential of this band. Another highlight is the second track, “Desecrated Souls”. After a couple of minutes of Hour of Penance’s standard sound, they bust out an insane riff that shows the more technical side of the band.

Most of the remainder of the record is what you’d expect. The production definitely enhances this sound. The drums aren’t too loud, nor are they particularly tinny. The kicks are punishing; any time they get a chance to shine without the excessive blasting, you’ll notice how crushing they are. This is evident at quite a few points in “Desecrated Souls”, particularly near the start. The guitars do manage to cut through the drums well, but once the vocals are added to the mix, the riffs tend to get lost unless you really listen for them. The guitars shine the most when they are soloing, and there are a surprising number of leads on this record. While nothing spectacular, they are great to help break up the monotony of the album. 

While “Regicide” is certainly a better effort than the band’s last album, I struggle to recommend it for anything beyond a brutal experience. When the album is over, there is little that will bring you back to this specific album. If you are looking to headbang for the better part of an hour, then it will definitely fill that need, but this is nothing that countless other bands can’t offer. For that matter, the band themselves did a better job with this on “Paradogma”. The only reason I say that Hour of Penance is better than the standard band of this sound is because they really don't mess anything up at any point on their albums. Unless you can’t get enough of this sound, “Regicide” is probably worth a pass.

Be sure to check out and like Hour of Penance on Facebook!

Highlights

"Reforging The Crowns"

"Desecrated Souls"

Final Rating

3.5/5 or 70%. 

Written by Scott