Suffering Hour for Tech/Extreme

Suffering Hour's roots lie in a thrash metal band Raiken joined in high school, which - in keeping with its progressive-minded ambitions - changed its name to Compassion Dies in 2010 in reference to St. Louis ensemble Anacrusis. Whittled down to Raiken and guitarist Eddie Älssen, the group released two demos during its three-year tenure, with Älssen departing while Hasletine and Oberuc were recruited into the fold as auxiliary live members. After touring and finding the original name incongruous with their new direction but aiming to pay homage to Anacrusis, the unit renamed themselves Suffering Hour in 2013, with Hasletine and Oberuc made permanent additions. Their inaugural EP, 2014's Foreseeing Exemptions to a Dismal Beyond, demonstrated an aggressive new approach influenced by the Chasm and aptly described by the title of its second track, "Prog Thrashing Death."

Suffering Hour's style and visual aesthetic took a marked departure in the ensuing three years, mining inspiration from groups like Dead Congregation, Inquisition and Mgła, and evidently informed by Deathspell Omega and Ulcerate as well as their followers in the Icelandic extreme metal scene. Via Blood Harvest Records, Suffering Hour made their debut to positive critical press with 2017's In Passing Ascension. Seeking to experiment with their sound and push themselves as songwriters, the band followed up with 2019's Dwell EP, featuring a single dynamic eighteen-minute track. Elements of psychedelic rock and post-metal appear on 2021's sophomore LP, The Cyclic Reckoning, released on Profound Lore. 2022 saw the band's eclectic non-metal influences take the forefront with Time's Withering Shadow, a split with Irish death metal band Malthusian, demonstrating dark Americana and slowcore flavours infiltrating their sound, with Suffering Hour also contributing an exclusive cover of This Heat's "Makeshift Swahili" for the compilation album Milim Kashot Vol. 4.