DE PROFUNDIS „A Bleak Reflection”

Music: Progressive Extreme Metal
Website: www.deprofundistheband.com
Duration: 69:05 minutes (8 tracks)
Country: United Kingdom

I noticed, that in the United Kingdom still come into being the bands playing the slowest kind of metal – doom metal. Practically in the West Europe and especially in the UK there is the cradle of the heavy kind of doom metal. The representatives of type MY DYING BRIDE, PARADISE LOST, CATHEDRAL, former ANATHEMA, etc. come from there. Probably the next continuators of this specific sort of metal still follow these threadbare routes. However DE PROFUNDIS brought in several innovations to this species of metal…

Thanks to politeness of Kolony Records I have opportunity to get to know second, newest album of DE PROFUNDIS. The music from their album follows path of slow, heavy and the crushing doom metal with several traces of different species of metal music. Here you clearly will hear influences of black metal (mostly in some vocal sounds and in guitar subjects). Those black metal traces cause that the whole is very predatory and dark. Obviously here also do not lack of the inclinations of death metal (in style of monstrous growling and heavy riffs). These death metal influences cause that the whole is very crushing. However the progressive additions (like characteristic work of bass in style of Steve DiGiorgio from album “Individual Thought Patterns” of DEATH and some solo motives) are junctor of this mixture. Furthermore the sounds of piano, cello, chords of clean guitars (being considerable minority) are the additional ornamentation intensifying depressive mood.

Thanks to mentioned earlier coexistence of different sorts of metal music – the album is simultaneously very heavy and in moments is even devilish but also very melodious as well as romantic. Obviously slow paces with momentary accelerations predominate here. The climate of the whole is very gloomy, dark and contains the considerable dose of melancholy as well as of depression …

The music of DE PROFUNDIS induced in me the remembrance about times of magnificence of MY DYING BRIDE, THEATRE OF TRAGEDY and DEATH, although the style of DE PROFUNDIS is somewhat different… I think that the most of fans of doom metal will not disappoint themselves on “A Bleak Reflection”.

note: 9.0/10

Tracklist

1. The Ephemeral Burden
2. Ablaze in Autumn's Fire
3. Nocturnal Splendour
4. Cease to Be
5. Crimson Black Bleeding
6. Cold is the Grave
7. Longing
8. The Mourner

Line-up

Craig Land – Vocals
Roman Subbotin – Guitars
Shoi Sen – Guitars
Arran McSporran – Bass
Nick Tingle – Drums