In death metal, bands normally need to do one of two things to stand out: a) perform in a manner that is original and unique, like Brain Drill or Asphyx; or b) play standard material that has been heard before but perform it at an incredible level of quality.   It is this latter approach in which Italy’s Hour of Penance excels on The Vile Conception.

Without question, the band has some serious chops.   Drummer Mario Mercurio, in particular, sounds like a human drum machine.   His ability to maintain some serious tempos is definitely impressive.   Likewise, guitarist Giulio Moschini can certainly play.   Everything he does is well executed and doesn’t let up for a minute.

The drawback to this album is the lack of variance among the songs.    Each song is pretty much about the same tempo, while sharing the same vocal phrasings.   Vocalist Francesco Paoli has the death metal growl down pat, but he doesn’t really vary his delivery very much.   As a matter of fact, if a few classical music samplings were added this would fit in with Paoli’s Fleshgod Apocolypse quite nicely.

The songs never really develop into anything memorable.   Even after repeated listens, it has been difficult to differentiate the songs, as everything blends together.   Shuffle this release on your iPod, and it would pretty much sound the same as if you played it straight through on the CD.

By way of comparison, the recent new releases by Asphyx and Blood Red Throne contain some rhythms that stick in your mind, or to use one of Teufel’s measures, will get your foot tapping.    The Vile Conception is a well-performed collection of brutal death metal that has been a welcome addition to the Piledriver metal library.   At the same time, it is not something that screams “play me” each time I turn on the stereo.  Fans of technical death metal will enjoy it, but it won’t go down as a classic.

Review byPile Driver