Hideous Divinity is coming off their recent release of “LV 426” and caught up with vocalist Enrico Di Lorenzo concerning his band and recent EP towards the end of this summer.

TMR: How has the reception been on your recent EP “LV 426?

Enrico: I’d say good in general, very good if taking into consideration that EPs are often overlooked and labeled as minor releases. We tried some experiments with the overall sound, looked for a more organic approach, and people noticed that. It was the right release at the right time, bringing some new, quality content in the middle of the 2nd wave of the pandemic -perhaps the most static and depressing time for bands worldwide. We had great fun, and -hopefully- people had fun listening to it, for which we’re happy and grateful.

TMR: Explain how the band tried to keep busy during 2020.

Enrico: Yeah, “keep ourselves busy” was rule number one. We were supposed to be the direct support for Terrorizer in Europe during April 2020, not to mention all summertime festivals that got cancelled. We used summer 2020 to get back on our feet, play together again after the lockdown, and when things went south again during fall, I had the idea for the music and concept for the EP. All music was written and arranged before Christmas, so we ended the infamous 2020 with hopes and plans for the new year. 

TMR: Talk about the band’s evolution in songwriting since the debut “Obeisance Rising”.

Enrico; Whoa, “Obeisance” truly feels like a lifetime ago, if not even a different band altogether. The purpose of the first album was to be fast and furious, it was that kind of a noisy first record to shock and awe at every cost. Only with “Cobra Verde” the songwriting started to become original. That is also when I started to believe that the “technical death metal” label wouldn’t apply anymore to our music. Then “Adveniens” and “Simulacrum” completed that process: thanks, obviously, to the “wizard” Stefano Morabito and his 16th Cellar Studios, we finally crafted our sound. And… now? I guess we’ll have to come out with something new. Many experiments we tried with “LV-426” were successful, therefore we might repeat them in the future. 

TMR: What track is the band most proud of writing?

Enrico: After so many years, the song “Cobra Verde” still manages to pull it off. We recently played it again on a live streaming event, it was a cool trip down memory lane. Personally, as songwriter of the band, I believe it was THE song that marks the real breakthrough. To me, there’ll always be a “before” and “after” Cobra Verde.

TMR: What show plans does Hideous Divinity have seeing shows are slowly returning?

Enrico: The tour with Aborted and The Acacia Strain has been postponed again, to March 2022. We might do something in Europe before end of the year, but given the recent situation with the Delta variation everything’s a big question mark. We might use the second half of the year to work on our full length, as hopefully 2022 will be the restart year. Personally I’d love to go back to the US, our two previous tours in 2019 and 2020 have been amazing. 

TMR: What influenced the idea of a cover on the EP and why Coheed & Cambria? Totally threw me off guard and enjoyed it!

Enrico: Awesome to read that. I was looking for any band, ANY band at all in metal that wrote songs about Alien… couldn’t find any. Then I stepped into C&C, which I personally never listened to before. Played “Delirium” and thought ‘Oh boy, this is not gonna be an easy cover’. Then I had the idea to re-arrange it thinking about a third band, and thought: “What would Ulcerate do with this?”. It started as a game, but worked. All minor chords were turned into dissonant combinations, multiple tempo changes were added, and then the cherry on the cake: a fantastic piano section featuring the amazing Tommy Bonnevialle (if you don’t know who he is, go check his unbelievable piano cover versions of death and black metal underground classics). I liked the final result. Definitively different from the original, but I think that should always be the purpose when recording a cover song. Really, who wants to hear a copy of the original? Luckily, no die-hard fan of C&C felt offended and threatened to kill us -so far, at least.

TMR: What is your favorite release in the band’s library and why?

Enrico: Maybe “Adveniens”, because it was the “jump” album. Best production and songwriting until that date, we brought those songs around with us for 2 years touring Europe, UK and Canada, last but not least it got us the deal with Century Media. We owe a lot to that album. 

TMR: How have you kept your sound so fresh every album while trying to always push your songwriting skills?

Enrico: Thank you. The only honest and humble enough answer to this is… that I never stopped listening to music. I never stopped being curious about what was going on around us year after year after year. I’ve always liked to think about our music as a mirror of our musical genre from time to time. There have been some game-changing albums in the last few years, and not only in death metal. I’ve been greedily feeding on those albums, and Hideous Divinity’s music reflects that permanent state of awe and excitement I still have as a simple listener. 

TMR: What is your biggest or most impressive accomplishment as a band to date?

Enrico: For different reasons, I’d say our first big European tour with Cannibal Corpse and Krisiun in 2016, and the making of “The Embalmer” videoclip.  

TMR: How did everyone get into being a musician?

Enrico: I can only speak for myself: I became what I am because, after 25 years, I still feel pleasure and satisfaction in what I do. I feel like I’m in the right place. I’ve tried several times in my life to drop it, but it never worked for more than a few weeks. It came back and me, chased me, shook me up and there I was, back at it again. 25 years later, I’m finally like Werner Herzog during the first shooting day of “Aguirre”: at peace with my destiny.

TMR: Explain the significance behind your band name.

Enrico: It was taken from a “Calvin and Hobbes” strip. No need to say more, if you know it you know it. 

TMR: Any other projects or bands you guys are involved in?

Enrico: Be sure to check Aborted’s new album coming in September (featuring our Stefano on bass guitar), I helped with the bass recordings so I had a bit of a preview and it’s simply crushing. Also, check our drummer Giulio’s fantastic atmospheric, experimental post-metal Nero di Marte. 

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