Last week I was taken by complete surprise when I was judging bands that had sent me friend requests on MySpace. I was added by the in Norway based death metal band Hideous Divinity, formed by Italians who also are or were member of Hour Of Penance or Eyeconoclast.

Why I was so surprised? Because both ‘Laughing At The Ephemeral Race’ and ‘As Flesh Godspelled Pure Hate’ are astonishing brutal death metal tracks that you can easily compare with Hate Eternal and the likes. Recorded in only two days, but holy shit how well produced, grooving, technically and above all how fuckin’ brutal! Insane speeds, a lot of variation, kick ass vocal styles, it has it all. If you don’t believe me, just check it out here.

I will not get more into detail concerning Hideous Divinity’s sound; I rather use those words for the review of their debut record. Just see this article as a pre-announcement for what can become one of the best death metal albums in 2008. The band aims for a release next autumn, however a label has not yet been found...