Hideous Divinity is an Italian death metal band. While still an up-and-coming act, their blend of American and European styles has gained them a dedicated fanbase around the world, and they have become a legitimate name after years of obscurity.
Formed in 2007 by Carlos Mastantuono (vocals) and Enrico Schettino (guitar) while the latter was living in Oslo, Norway, the band quickly welcomed in Mauro Mercurio (drums) and recorded the Sinful Star Necrolatry demo that same year before falling off the radar. Schettino wound up moving back to Italy in 2009 and rejoined Hour of Penance before leaving that same year. Over the course of the next few years, Schettino started rebuilding the lineup, and at some point between 2010 and 2012, he assembled all the necessary figures: Enrico Di Lorenzo (vocals), Fabio Bartoletti (guitar) Flavio Cardozo (bass), and Maurizio Montagna (drums). In early 2012, the band released Obeisance Rising on Unique Leader Records and picked up quite a bit of attention on various blogs that only started to grow over the following two years. As the band grew, Bartoletti, Cardozo, and Montagna all left and were replaced by Antonio Poletti, Stefano Franceschini, and Giulio Galati, respectively. After a few small European tours, the band went back into the studio, and Cobra Verde, their second full-length, was released in October of 2014. 2015 brought more tours and another lineup change, as Poletti left to focus on Deceptionist, which he had started as a side project back in 2013. Giovanni Tomassucci wound up joining on a live basis before being made full-time, and aside from various shows, 2015 was relatively quiet. 2016, however, was anything but, as the band wound up going on tour with Cannibal Corpse and Krisiun that spring, which increased their profile even more. Franceschini also wound up joining Aborted that summer but did not leave Hideous Divinity, and by the end of the year, they had started work on a third full-length. Adveniens was released in April of 2017, and while there is nothing else planned save for a few fests, demand is high for a trek out of Europe and around the world.
Discography
- Sinful Star Necrolatry (2007) (demo)
- Obeisance Rising (2012)
- Cobra Verde (2014)
- Adveniens (2017)
- Simulacrum (2019)
- LV-426 (2021) (EP)
- Unextinct (2024)
The band contains examples of the following tropes:
- Album Title Drop: "Ages Die":"I am the adveniens, future of the past!"
- Ascended Extra: Giovanni Tomassucci, and, in turn, Riccardo Benedini after the former had to step down due to an inflexible day job.
- Badass Bookworm: Enrico Di Lorenzo is a phoniatrician who specializes in examining the physiological aspects of metal vocals, particularly harsh vocals.
- Black Metal: Adveniens has significant elements of dissonant and technical black metal, and Enrico Schettino cited Deathspell Omega, Aosoth, Abyssal, and Akhlys (among others) as major influences during the writing process.
- Brutal Death Metal: A mix of the established Italian brutal death style and American brutal tech.
- Concept Album: All of their full-lengths:
- Obeisance Rising: They Live!
- Cobra Verde: Werner Herzog's film of the same name.
- Adveniens: An examination of art and its relation to violent change heavily influenced by Videodrome and The Beyond.
- Simulacrum: An examination of inter-story perception and Protagonist-Centered Morality heavily influenced by Lost Highway.
- LV-426: Alien.
- Unextinct: An examination of encounters with the inscrutable, uncontrollable, and apathetic order of nature unbound by human order inspired by Nosferatu.
- Cover Version: They have covered "Last and Only Son" (Ripping Corpse), "Embodiment of Chaos" (Sinister), "Blood of the Zodiac", "Cursed in Eternity", and "Delirium Trigger" on album and have also covered "Ageless, Still I Am" live.
- Deconstruction: They have taken this approach to their Filk Song lyrical themes from Adveniens onward. Adveniens deconstructs the idea of art serving as an expression of mounting social unrest, and, by extent, a catalyst and rallying cry for violent change, while Simulacrum deconstructs Protagonist-Centered Morality and the nature of a fictional character's own perceptions within a work.
- Epic Rocking: "Atto Quarto: The Horror Paradox" (8:40), "Leben ohne Feuer" (8:26), "In My Land I Was a Snake" (7:56), "Passages" (7:28), "The Numinous One" (7:02), "Ages Die" (6:46), "More Than Many, Never One" (6:15) "Enclosured" (6:09), "Anamorphia Atto III" (6:08), and "Acheron, Stream of Woe" (6:47). Their covers of "Embodiment of Chaos" (Sinister) and "Blood of the Zodiac" are also both over six minutes but do not count, as they are not original compositions.
- Lead Bassist: Stefano Franceschini is a Type A and a Type C due to his YouTube channel and his current membership in Aborted.
- Madness Mantra: "Future in Red": "I'LL SHOW YOU HOW!"
- Metal Scream: Enrico Di Lorenzo can pull off Types 1, 2, and 3, but generally settles on Type 1.
- One-Steve Limit: Averted with the two Enricos (Di Lorenzo and Schettino).
- Punctuated! For! Emphasis!: "STEAL! FROM! ME!"
- Revolving Door Band: Known for steady turnover.
- The Sixth Ranger: Tito Vespasiani, their longtime manager, who is generally considered something of an unofficial member and was responsible for a lot of their early buzz; while he is currently focusing most of his energy on Everlasting Spew Records (his label), he is still an integral presence within the band.
- Special Guest: Dallas Toler-Wade contributed guest vocals on "Alonest of the Alone".
- Start My Own: Schettino started Hideous Divinity after he left Hour of Penance the first time, while Poletti started Deceptionist in 2013 and later quit Hideous Divinity to make it his main gig.
