Beats and yelling: Profanatica

Wreathed in Dead Angels
Out 25th April on Hells Headbangers

I was beginning to think that Profanatica were flagging by the time ‘Rotting Incarnation of God’ came out. With retrospect one could appreciate the intention behind the choice to veer toward a more considered, ambient doom iteration of their signature ferocity. But given the unique barbarism of the material preceding it, I still expected more of Profanatica. Although follow up ‘Crux Simplex’ was hardly paradigm shifting, it steadied the ship, delivering calculated, precision violence devoid of any fat.

‘Wreathed in Dead Angels’ continues this upward trend. It’s common for bands to explore new territory and stylistic shifts on EPs. The carefree diversity on display here – by Profanatica’s standards – is worth noting. The typical opening number. The d-beat punk of ‘The Sixth Hour’, the subtle keyboards that make their way onto ‘Wreathed and Dead Angels’. Despite its brief runtime, this could be construed as a survey of the different styles and antecedents touched on by this artist over their, by now, lengthy career.

The production is more organic than the rather industrial ‘Crux Simplex’. Paul Ledney’s aggressively mechanical drumming comes through strongly despite the tone being oriented toward a more typical rock drumkit sheen. The guitars flow in simple yet well articulated runs. The muddy, submerged tone aligning closely with the bass. The latter of which, whilst still cutting through with ease, is less dominant than the halcyon days of ‘Disgusting Blasphemies Against God’, instead adopting a more typical bass role of bolstering the guitars and fleshing out the mix. Ledney’s vocals are as consistent as ever, lyrics clearly coming through despite their neat integration into the mix.

To the idle observer this EP will look like business as usual. And it is true that the distinctively Profanatica riffs, whilst playful and confident, do not break with normality for this band. But peeling beneath these layers reveals a spread of explicit references to influences that had previously remained implicit, from hardcore punk, early death metal, and the borderline avant-gardist tendency still working its way into many of the riff shapes.