Hour of Penance

Hour of Penance

Hour of Penance are a death metal and technical death metal group from Roma, active since 1999. They form part of the Italian brutal and technical death metal scene and begin with an early sound that combines black metal and death metal before moving towards a more direct, forceful style influenced by Cannibal Corpse.

Formation and early releases

The band forms in 1999 and issues its first demo in 2000. Its first album, Disturbance, follows in 2003. By that stage, the band already plays the Swedish death metal festival in Gothenburg and signs to the Spanish label Xtreem.

Albums and later activity

Hour of Penance releases seven full-length albums. Sedition, the fifth album, appears in 2012 and receives praise for its intense, machine-like sound. The band’s latest album, Cast the First Stone, is released through Prosthetic Records. Since Sedition, Hour of Penance tours extensively and plays more than 200 shows with acts including Behemoth, Skeletonwitch, Cannibal Corpse, The Black Dahlia Murder, Devildriver, Psycroptic, Misery Index, Deicide, Belphegor and Nile.

Members

The band’s listed members include Paolo Pieri on vocals and guitars, Giulio Moschini on lead guitar, Marco Mastrobuono on bass and James Payne on drums. Other members associated with the group are Francesco de Honestis, Mike Viti, Enrico Schettino, Mauro Mercurio, Alessandro Manco, Silvano Leone, Francesco Paoli, Simone Piras and Davide Billia.