Review by Alex on April 21, 2020.

Can't recall who Hegemony directly brings to mind, but it's somewhere between Heresiarch, Stigma (Czechia), Pig's Blood and Undergang (Denmark). And just like those bands mentioned, Hegemony knows well how call up a storm and take control of it. Out the gate with Enthroned by Persecution, the quartet demolishes the setting with a black/death metal attack that's familiar but features some of the band's own characteristics. After all the genre has many faces, but even among the derivatives, you could find some genuine units carrying their own little signature in addition to applying the conservative format. And coming from Alabama, Hegemony (for me) carries some mystery as I'm not quite familiar with black/death from that area. Surprised the band isn't on Iron Bonehead or Dark Descent, but then again, you can't win'em all.

You get 10 songs, roughly 33 minutes of pounding, intrusive and dominating black/death metal; expect no mercy from Enthroned by Persecution, only a thorough beating, a lesson in dominance and devastation. 'Exalted March to Decimation' opens proceedings with its doomy tempo and riffs, slowly churning the pot before turning up the speed and introducing you to the vulgar and commanding attitude of the vocals. For a second I could have sworn I was listening to 'Eaten When Living' by Stigma, but then the Undergang vibes would begin pulsing, that'd be joined by a venomous scream/snarl out the abyss; and from there on its killing time. The riffing and drumming begin to slowly trade places with the vocals for control on 'Rise in Turmoil' with a sharp, precise and passionate trade-off occurring among guitarist, drummer and vocalist.

I dig all the tracks on Enthroned by Persecution, but when it came down to purchasing the LP, the songs steering my decision are 'Halter of Bloodlines', 'Rise in Turmoil', 'Fist of Heretical Triumph' and 'Desecration Paradigm'. These shine the brightest on Enthroned by Persecution, they're a lot more convincing as far as handling of the compositions and instruments plus they have a high replay factor working in their favor. The drumming could be a tiny bit technical at times but nothing wanky or nerdy, just stuff to add flavor to the gruff and gritty tunes and the sticks hit the snare hard; the riffing has its glowing moments with its brightest being on 'Ruination Sacrifice' and the vocals are deeply bellowed with authority. On Enthroned by Persecution it's dominate or be dominated!

Rating: 8 out of 10