2014 was a banner year for the Unique Leader label, which happens to be one of my personal favorites.  With releases from the likes of Fallujah, Inanimate Existence and Omnihility (which all made my year end list), they further cemented their place at the top of the heap for the label with the best and most consistently awesome death/brutal death albums.

Late in the year came a release from a band I had regretfully never heard of, Hideous Divinity, which made me sit up and take notice in a genre that fortunately became crowded with some awesome releases.  It actually turns out that Cobra Verde was their second album, and I had never heard their first one (and didn’t have a chance to go through it before writing this review but definitely have it on my “to listen” list).  Featuring ex-Hour of Penance guitarist Enrico Schettino, it’s no wonder this album had the bloodlines of success for fans of all things brutal.  Joined by fellow guitarist Antonio Poletti, the riff attacks come fast and heavy and rarely let up on this death metal assault.  The drumming from Ade’s Giulio Galati is an absolute treat for the ears, with rapid fire double bass and thunderous rolling fills that really add a massive kick to the whole sound.

If you’re a fan of Origin, or the aforementioned Omnihility and Hour of Penance, you’ll go nuts this album.  You’ll also hear a bit of a Nile eastern influence creep in, which should not be a surprise as Nile’s Dallas Toller Wade makes a guest vocal appearance on track 7, “The Alonest of the Alone”.  From the opening track, which is longer than most of their peers at nearly 8 minutes, you can tell these guys really know their instruments and know how to play them loud and fast.  The whole album approaches the 45 minute mark, but never felt long or like it was overstaying its welcome (which is also a testament to vocalist Enrico Lorenzo who has the perfect death growl for this band and varies things up enough to keep them from getting boring).  An absolute must listen for fans of all thing death metal.

[Visit the band's website]

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