DE PROFUNDIS “The Emptiness Within” /CD/

The third full-length album by British Progressive Black/Death Metal band.
De Profundis is a London-based band with a worldview firmly set within darkness and despair. They are very passionate in following their mission statement of fusing multiple sub-genres of Metal into a coherent whole. The core of "The Emptiness Within" is primarily based on Progressive Death Metal but there’s an abrasiveness to it that recalls 90s Death Metal, distinguishing it from the overly polished and quantized form that Progressive Metal bands are often tempted to take. There are also Black Metal influences lurking in the background, infusing the entire album with a Gothic atmosphere and coming to the fore in the blast beat and screech powered midsection of ‘Silent Gods’. At the same time, the band are willing to bring in elements from outside of metal like the piano and bass-led jazz interlude at the end of "Release". De Profundis handle their collection of disparate influences well, forging an approach that manages to contain surprisingly few internal contradictions.
The other side of the coin is that "The Emptiness Within" is surprisingly hard to listen to. Each track is full of impressive passages, but you need to push past the fact that they are all long, unconventional pieces of music before you can appreciate them. "Twisted Landscapes" stands out by being by far the most accessible song on the album, proving that the band can write simpler and catchier if they feel like without compromising their signature sound. It’s a triumph that the band resisted the urge to simplify the rest of their album in this manner, but it is also the factor most likely to turn listeners off their undoubtedly fine work.
Arran McSporran’s basswork is probably the most distinctive part of De Profundis’ sound. Rather than being a slave to the rhythm guitars his basslines are complex, exploring the entire fingerboard and regularly harmonising with the lead guitar. It’s a really interesting approach that adds a lot to the album, the three-guitar harmony midway through "This Wretched Plague" is proof enough of that.
De Profundis have been very successful with their third album despite being obviously limited by their budget. Intricate, Experimental and Progressive in the truest sense of the word, "The Emptiness Within" is hard work to begin with but rewards tenacious listeners with a dark, powerful experience that you would have to look hard for to find elsewhere!
Kolony Records, 2012 (KR014CD). Made in Italy. First press.


Tracklist:
1. From The Depths... (Intro) 1:02 
2. Delirium 7:05 
3. Silent Gods 6:12 
4. This Wretched Plague 5:12 
5. Twisted Landscapes 5:14 
6. Release 7:42 
7. Dead Inside 7:50 
8. Parallel Existence 5:58 
9. Unbroken (A Morbid Embrace) 9:07
Total playing time: 55:22


Samples: https://deprofundis.bandcamp.com