Having last played the capital at 2013's Hammer Smashed Fest, Italian technical death metal troupe Hour of Penance are back in London, their sole UK date on their current European trek. Roughly over the past five years, frequent touring on these shores have raised Hour of Penance's profile in London dramatically and this headlining stint feels somewhat overdue.
Poland's Christ Agony are an older metal band, having been conceived in 1990 and with eight albums to their name, they have wandered off the typical extreme metal path and tried their hand at a variety of metal styles. A blank metal label is not so easy to attach to this versatile three-piece and their output throughout their storied career but tonight's offering understandably focuses on their more straight-forward extreme metal approximation of death and melodic black metal. The venue is busy and despite the blurry sound the venue unfortunately equips these Poles with, the audience reaction is commendable and there is energetic movement from punters nearer the front.
Probably Malta's most popular metal act Beheaded are next up with their neck-breaking brutal death metal. They storm the venue with their clean and well-articulated aggressive death metal. Beheaded are far from one of the cookie-cutter generic extreme death metal acts that have permeated the genre in the last decade or so; having formed in 1990, they have had some time to hone their craft. Arming the music with guitars oscillating between battery and dizzying riffs, engaging drumming and distinctive solos that concern themselves more with atmosphere than speed positions them as a force to be reckoned with. There is no shortage of headbangers at the front delighting in the aural assault and deservedly so. Beheaded keep coming back to London and the demand to see them is definitely present.
Opening with the bludgeoning 'Theogony' from last year's 'Regicide', Hour of Penance kick off their marriage of brutal and technical death metal. The four piece's sound is similar to newer Behemoth's only with furious almost non-stop double bass drumming and diligent technical prowess.
The band's stage presence is an austere one that commands the full attention of the audience as they rifle their way through a blistering set of punishing modern death metal that manages to ignite a small, drunken mosh pit. The setlist pulls generously from 'Regicide', including the title track, 'Reforging the Crown' and 'Resurgence of the Empire'. The set leans heavily on the albums that captured the metal collective consciousness with 'Sedition Through Scorn', 'Paradogma' and 'Incestuous Dynasty of Worms' making the cut tonight. Clean musicianship punctuated with uncompromising brutality is what Hour of Penance work to and their formula is a successful one.
After 'Misconception', the band leave the stage but return with another dose of blasphemous brutal death metal in the form of 'Slavery in a Deaf Decay'. This is a solid way to conclude the set and the band are showered with a worthy ovation. This meal of mid-week violence is just what the doctored ordered and Hour of Penance's meticulous onslaught met the high expectations held by their fans tonight. Hopefully they will return again to desecrate the UK.
FUTURE GIGS
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