Lento violento (Italian for "slow/violent") is a Hard Dance genre that emerged in Italy in the early 2000s. Unlike the genres it draws from, like Italo Dance, Hardcore [EDM], Euro-Trance, and Hardstyle, lento violento is characterized by its slow tempo, which generally sits within the 70-120 BPM range. Percussion design is similarly distinctive, with its unique drum programming being an integral aspect of the genre: all lento songs feature a loud, distorted kick, which serves as the focal point of the composition. The kick sound design is much more reminiscent of hardcore than that of Italo dance, giving the genre its unique "slowstyle" sound.
Ottomix's Anima Ladina and other releases from the early to mid-1990s are cited as precursors to lento violento, but it took until 2003 for the genre to truly be established. That year, Gigi D'Agostino released Underconstruction 1: Silence E.P., featuring a number of lento songs. After manifesting the style, he used his label NoiseMaker to publish lento songs under multiple aliases. The success he achieved with the sound resulted in a number of other producers adapting the style, eventually even making its way into the hardstyle world, after Italian producer Technoboy started mixing hardstyle elements with lento.
By the end of the decade, however, lento had long surpassed its commercial peak, eventually reaching a point where the music scene was more or less inactive. However, it has continued to maintain some underground popularity on the internet, with Boiler Room notably releasing the mix Hard Dance 029 from Italian producer Nahshi in 2019. .
