Profanatica unleashes its new blasphemous EP.
With Wreathed in Dead Angels, Paul “Mayhemic Slaughter of the Heavens” Ledney (drums/vocals, Havohej, ex-Incantation) celebrates the band’s thirty-fifth anniversary in the company of Malcolm “The True Perversion of the Heavenly Father” Hutch (bass) and Adam “Destroyer of Holy Hymen” Besserer (guitar).
We attack with Hung In Golgatha’s thick sound where thick riffs meet Paul‘s growls, making them even more unhealthy thanks to a rather dark mix and raw patterns. Everything in this track calls for occult violence, even during the short, slightly slower and heavier passages, then The Sixth Hour offers more aggressive Old School touches, such as the recurring blasts that set the pace. The riffs remain fairly simple before slowing down again on Descent From The Cross, while adopting hellish harmonics, sometimes recalling a Death/Doom atmosphere tinged with cold Black Metal roots, particularly during the final. We continue with The Entombment, which gets back to fury but doesn’t forget to give its lead guitar disturbing piercing tones, before moving on to the rather similar Wreathed in Dead Angels, where we again have these heady tones. A few keyboards and unholy backing vocals complete the mix before By Thine Agony, which sticks to its violent roots at a fairly fast pace before offering a tortured solo, then slows down and closes the EP with a truly sticky sound, making it once again very heavy.
With its undeniable Old School influences and mastery of the dark arts, Profanatica blends Black and Death Metal in a very oppressive and unhealthy way. Wreathed in Dead Angels is a perfect weapon against all religion.
85/100