Since releasing 2012's acclaimed "Sedition" (their fifth album), which Decibel lauded as a "hyper-blasting, inhuman, machine-like attack," Hour of Penance toured globally, playing well over 200 gigs alongside such acts as Behemoth, Skeletonwitch, Cannibal Corpse, The Black Dahlia Murder, Devildriver, Psycroptic, Misery Index, Deicide, Belphegor and Nile.
Band members:
* Paolo Pieri – vocals, guitars
* Giulio Moschini – lead guitar
* Marco Mastrobuono – bass
* James Payne – drums
Ascension
Hour of Penance Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
The scent of christian blood is upon thee
Seeking to ascend upon the throne again
With rage we’re moving forward,
We don’t spare a single human being, no one’s left, alive
Descend upon the ones who don’t submit to our master’s will,
No one’s left alive
Hail – Hail – The christian church burns in fire
Hail – Hail – Dethrone the pope, now he’s hanged and defiled
Hail – Hail – Defy the cross, decimate this race
Hail – Hail – The sun is crumbling, all the stars are pale
Hail – Hail – Hail – Hail
The sun is crumbling, all the stars are pale…
…and then He raises his hand,
This place becomes a barren land of pain
Unholy tyrant – No mercy, shed their blood
Casting down the cosmos, every law’s becoming tamed now
Defloration – New monarch, spread your wings
We all Hail – Hail – The christian church burns in fire
Hail – Hail – Dethrone the pope, now he’s hanged and defiled
Hail – Hail – Defy the cross, decimate this race
Hail – Hail – The sun is crumbling, all the stars are pale
With rage we’re moving forward,
We don’t spare a single human being, no one’s left, alive
Descend upon the ones who don’t submit to our master’s will,
No one’s left alive
Pater, I feel my blood turn into fire
Grow in me, nourish me, I feel my soul turn into fire
The lyrics to Hour of Penance's song Ascension paint a very brutal and violent picture of a group of people seeking to overthrow the Christian church and its leaders in order to take control and establish their own rule. The first verse speaks of their desire to ascend upon the throne again, indicating that they believe they are entitled to power and status that they have lost. They are driven by rage and have no mercy, killing every human being in their path who does not submit to their master's will. The second verse describes their successful destruction of the Christian church and its leaders, including the pope who is described as being hanged and defiled. They defy the cross and decimate the race, causing the sun to crumble and the stars to pale. The final line "Pater, I feel my blood turn into fire, grow in me, nourish me, I feel my soul turn into fire" suggests that their violent actions are giving them a sense of power and purpose, further fueling their desire to continue their crusade.
One interesting fact about this song is that Hour of Penance is an Italian death metal band and many of their songs are influenced by their experiences of growing up in a country with a strong Catholic history. Another fact is that the album that "Ascension" is featured on, "Paradogma," was produced by Swedish producer Magnus "Devo" Andersson, who has worked with other well-known death metal bands such as Marduk and Ophthalamia. The band has cited their influences as bands such as Nile, Behemoth, and Suffocation. It is worth noting that their music video for the song was banned from YouTube for its graphic violence.
Unfortunately, I could not find any resources with the chords for "Ascension."
Line by Line Meaning
Heading for the home of god
We are heading towards God's home, with the intention of wreaking havoc.
The scent of christian blood is upon thee
We smell the blood of Christians and it is our target.
Seeking to ascend upon the throne again
Our aim is to be on the throne again.
With rage we’re moving forward,
With extreme anger, we are advancing.
We don’t spare a single human being, no one’s left, alive
We are not sparing anyone's life and wiping out all living human beings.
Descend upon the ones who don’t submit to our master’s will,
We will attack those who do not submit to our master's desires.
No one’s left alive
We leave no one alive.
Hail – Hail – The christian church burns in fire
Praise to the burning of the Christian church.
Hail – Hail – Dethrone the pope, now he’s hanged and defiled
Praise to the removal of the Pope, who has been hanged and disgraced.
Hail – Hail – Defy the cross, decimate this race
Praise to defying the cross and destroying the Christian race.
Hail – Hail – The sun is crumbling, all the stars are pale
Praise to the destruction of the sun and the pale stars.
…and then He raises his hand,
And then God raises his hand.
This place becomes a barren land of pain
This place is now a land of suffering and agony.
Unholy tyrant – No mercy, shed their blood
We, the unholy tyrants, will not show mercy and will shed the blood of our enemies.
Casting down the cosmos, every law’s becoming tamed now
We are bringing the cosmos down and we will tame every law.
Defloration – New monarch, spread your wings
We are deflowering and crowning a new monarch, who will now spread their wings.
Pater, I feel my blood turn into fire
Father, I feel my blood boiling with anger.
Grow in me, nourish me, I feel my soul turn into fire
I feel my soul growing stronger and more powerful.
Contributed by Joshua N. Suggest a correction in the comments below.