Profanatica

The Curling Flame of Blasphemy

Beats the Hockey Flame of Blasphemy
dB rating: 8/10

Release Date: July 22nd, 2016
Label: Hells Headbangers

Is that an inverted-cross in your pants, or are you just happy to see me? Since we’re talking about longstanding Jesus-hating sodomites Profanatica, it’s probably both. Come for the grim, stay for the grime, and as always, enjoy the never-ending lyrical assault on all things Judeo-Christian and moralistic! Past song titles such as “Thy Kingdom Cum,” “Raping of Angels” and the more nuanced, “Smashing Religious Fucking Statues” orients you to the wheelhouse these gents are spinning in. For those unfamiliar, Profanatica are underground masters of primal first-wave black metal. Imagine Hellhammer or Sarcófago riffs in the hands of a pervert cribbing lyrics from the early Venom and GG Allin songbooks. Fittingly, band kingpin drummer-lyricist-vocalist Paul Ledney was once a touring drummer for GG Allin, which explains a lot. It also explains Ledney’s penchant for late ’80s sounding death/doom, as he was also a founding member of Incantation. After 16 years’ worth of EPs, splits and comps, the ’Fanatica are projectile vomiting their fourth full-length into impressive (somewhat) new-ish territory.

Some past releases were a tad too stuck in un-musical, noise-and-punk excursions, but Curling is probably the heaviest, and most musical and grandiose the band has ever sounded. There’s still plenty of noise and bile, it’s just that now the proto-death riffs are sprouting ornamental tendrils that are enticing to look at as they slither into your brain sucking away all vital life juices. For the past few releases production and musicianship has been a focus, and now with what appears to be some weirdo French BM influences, things are getting even more wicked.

— Shawn Bolser
This review taken from the September 2016 issue.