DE PROFUNDIS - The Emptiness Within

[lorenzo_kolony]

Let's post all reviews / interviews about this album in this thread!

DE PROFUNDIS (Extreme Progressive Metal – London, UK) has revealed the cover art of their upcoming 3rd album, entitled 'The Emptiness Within'. The artwork was created by the renowned artist Costin Chioreanu (www.twilight13media.com), who has previously worked with ULVER, DARKTHRONE and ABSU to name a few.

'The Emptiness Within' is scheduled for release through Kolony Records on 7th May 2012 in the UK and the 11th May 2012 in Europe.

DE PROFUNDIS - This Wretched Plague

DE PROFUNDIS - Silent Gods
​

 

[lorenzo_kolony]

First review online by Louciferspeaks.com - rating 98/100! :hotjump:

"Mere moments ago (well, about an hour or so now), I posted up some details of the forthcoming De Profundis album (click here) and now I’m reviewing it. Marvellous!

I have been told by numerous sources over the years that I really should listen to this amazing band called De Profundis. Various sources – both online and in that weird ‘real life’ thing – have pretty much shat puppies over how apparently awesome this band is… and, yet, until today I hadn’t even listened to them. Why? Because I’m easily distracted… ooh, look! A butterfly!

So “The Emptiness Within” is a totally new experience for me and, as such, I am unable to compare it to the band’s previous albums. Pretty obvious really, but sometimes it’s worth pointing these things out. Anyway… moving on…
Usually I will listen to an album several times before attempting to review it. Generally I like to listen to each track a few times and let my mind marinade in musical sauces for a while. But, with “The Emptiness Within”, it became apparent very quickly that I would have write something almost immediately – such was the intense effect this album had on me. Let me put it this way: if I wasn’t already sitting down when this album started, I would definitely need to be sat down within minutes of listening to it. This album is so good that remaining stood would either mean that I excreted a puppy, fainted, or became a gibbering wreck (many would argue that I am already a gibbering wreck, but that’s a matter of opinion and has nothing whatsoever to do with this review).

At times I am reminded of Opeth, at others Thus Defiled, but throughout the album it’s clear that whatever influences the band has, they are simply that: influences. De Profundis haven’t found another band’s sound, stuck their flag in it and claimed it as their own. Instead they sailed past it (and several others), took the best bits and made a Frankenstein-like monster from them. This means that the music on “The Emptiness Within” is somewhat familiar but, at the same time, a completely different beast. It’s new, fresh and exciting – something that’s particularly important and impressive in a time when ideas seem to be recycled over and over again.

Interesting rhythms and tempos flood this album, but it’s the guitar tone that has really hooked me in. There’s something about a near-clean lead guitar sound in extreme metal that just blows my mind. Acting like the proverbial axe, it slices through the rest of the sound and makes you take notice. Like I said before, it hooks you in – it gives those tracks that all-important addictive quality. No sooner have you finished listening to this album, you find yourself wanting to listen to it again. Such was the case with me anyway…

Highlights include: … Oh, hell, just listen to the whole thing…. especially “Release”; the jazzy bit is genius…

This album is released at the beginning of May and I strongly suggest you buy it. Progressive extreme metal that really hits the spot!" [Loucifer]

Link:
http://louciferspeaks.com/2012/02/28/de-profundis-the-emptiness-within/

 

[lorenzo_kolony]

Second review and second strike! 9/10 @ Swedenmetal.se! Enjoy!

"De Profundis bildades i november 2005 av sångaren Craig Mark och gitarristen Roman Subbotin. Bandet har genomgått flera förändringar tills en stabil och engagerad line-up avslutades med rekrytering av Aleksej Obradovic (bas) och Shoi Sen (gitarr), och då David Andrews klev ombord för att spela trummor på första inspelningen.

Sedan starten har konstellationen hittills nött olika scener i 22 länder, medverkat i tre internationella turnéer och flera stora musikfestivaler i hela världen. Detta inkluderar deras insats som support till Iron Maiden i Indien, turné med Rotting Christ och Bloodstock Open Air. Bandets unika sound hämtar influenser, inte bara från heavy metal, döds, black och doom-metal, jazz och progressiv rock, och även i viss mån goth..Med andra ord – tillgodogörs dessa komponenter i ett brett spektrum av influenserna och bandmedlemmarnas olika nationaliteter. Med två kritikerrosade fullängdsalbum (”Beyond Redemption”, 2007 – egenrelease/Sony Musik – och ”A Bleak Reflection”, 2010 – Kolony Records / Sony Music -) i bagaget, påbörjades inspelningen av De Profundis tredje album -mästerverket ”The Emptiness Within” i december 2011. Det magnifika albumet producerades av bandet själva,med assistans av Fernando Pereira i London, Storbritannien och mixades vid Studios Davout i Paris, Frankrike. Coverarten är tillverkad av den briljanta konstnären Costin Chioreanu / Twilight 13 Media (MAYHEM, Darkthrone, ABSU).Trots att detta album är fyllt med grymt läckert örongodis, kan man dock emellanåt uppfatta viss soundmässig, knappt märkbar upprepning i kompositionen på vissa låtar..Men det är likväl något av ett mästerverk, som förmodligen kommer falla flertalet åhörare i smaken. Jag kan verkligen rekommendera det!" [Ulrika Henriksson]

Link:
http://www.swedenmetal.se/?p=23073

 

[lorenzo_kolony]

Third review online! This time Beyond the Veil Webzine from Greece gave 'The Emptiness Within' 8.5 / 10!

"Who said everything in music has already been played and that there’s no place for innovations or originality?

If you, too, believe that, then I urge you to listen to this great British band, DE PROFUNDIS, who have managed to blow my mind away with their third full length work! The band's sound is unique and bears their seal that is characterized by a plurality and variety of sounds, not only restricted within the metal boundaries. Their sound is definitely and undoubtedly extreme metal but it’s enriched with a great deal of progressive metal ideas, rhythm and tempo changes, as well as it’s also embellished with plenty of jazz themes. If you are looking for something different, out of the norms that’s yet catchy, addictive and intense, then “The Emptiness Within” is an amazing album that’s well worth your money and time! The production is excellent, the compositions top notch and the execution and musicianship superb!" [Christine Parastatidou]

Link:
http://www.behindtheveil.hostingsit...albums/398-de-profundis--the-emptiness-within

 

[lorenzo_kolony]

OT: 'The Emptiness Within' promos hit the office today and are ready to mailout!

 

[lorenzo_kolony]

Another great review of DE PROFUNDIS forthcoming new album 'The Emptiness Within' - 8 out of 10 this time by Thisisnotascene.com webzine!

"De Profundis have a rubbish web site. Presumably they know that, but I felt it important to mention it up front rather than hide it away somewhere in this review. However, if they do already know, why aren’t they doing something about it?

I always look at a band’s web site when I’m about to review something. Mainly to find information on the band itself so that I can pass on that information to you, the reader, but also to get a feel for the band. As this web site doesn’t work properly, I shall have to go elsewhere.

Their MySpace page tells me they are a progressive black metal from London. Excellent. I’m always looking out for British bands to get into; so much easier for me to go and see live. The MySpace page also says “the band continues to work hard to share its musical vision of despondency and negativity with the world.”

Well, that’s cheery.

Mind you, with a title like “The Emptiness Within” I guess I already had a clue.

Three tracks in and the first thing I’ve noticed is that there doesn’t seem much bass, which is a bit odd for this kind of stuff. Track 3 “Silent Gods” is an enjoyable six-minute workout with surprisingly melodic guitars and pounding double bass drums but the bottom end is very underwhelming. Nevertheless, the track moves about nicely, in an almost Iron Maiden-like way, and comes to a satisfying conclusion.

Likewise the next couple of tracks.

In fact, by track 5 “Twisted Landscapes” I’m beginning to think De Profundis are nowhere near as bleak as they seem to think they are.

And I mean that as a good thing. Throughout the album the guitars soar and swoop brightly and the barked vocals add another texture rather than sounding like someone who just wants to bite your head off.

I wonder if De Profundis have parked their musical vision of despondency and negativity and emerged into the sunlight. I don’t know how this album compares to the previous two but if this is a conscious effort to be less glum then I think they have made the right decision.

Heck, track 6 “Release” skips along positively brightly before the guitars kick in with a neat riff. This brightness continues for the next seven and a half minutes. There’s even a jazz ending. Not very often you hear piano on a metal album. This is good stuff, it really is. Not earthshattering, but certainly interesting.

Track 8 “Parallel Existence” has more jazzy stuff but it works as a contrast to the blistering riffs elsewhere in the song.

Final track “Unbroken (A Morbid Embrace)” is doing more of the above but without sounding repetitive and at the end of the first full play of the album I have realised I like the album a great deal and am looking forward to playing it again. Not always the case with the albums I review.

De Profundis show much more promise than I originally expected from a band with a logo that looks like so many others and a web site that simply doesn’t work.

I absolutely, whole-heartedly recommend this album to all you metal heads out there and I will be checking out their first two albums and seeing if they are playing anywhere local. They look pretty lively on YouTube and that’s good enough for me." [Bruce Smeath]

Link:
http://www.thisisnotascene.com/2012/de-profundis-the-emptiness-within/

 

[lorenzo_kolony]

Bass Players United rated 'The Emptiness Within' 9,5 out of 10! :Spin::Spin::Spin:

“The Emptiness Within” by De Profundis is the UK metal band’s third release, but since I personally haven’t heard the first two, I will approach this one with fresh ears. I am familiar with bassist Arran McSporran’s fretless work, and I’m pleased to hear his playing is in full force here, with awesome fretless licks throughout this 9 track release.

The band describe themselves as “extreme progressive metal” and I think this title fits quite well. They have a distinctly European melodic element to their songs, with intricate guitar layering, lots of double bass/blasts beats and extreme blackened vocals.

The album opens with the atmospheric intro “From the Depths” which sets the mood. The first song “Delerium” is instantly catchy with its melody and solo work, before blasting into extreme metal goodness. The band shows that they aren’t afraid to mix it up by having slower, clean interludes as well. This is fantastic because it gives previously mentioned McSporran the room to shine.

All the players here are top notch, with everything sounding very tight. Kudos to the production as well, since with this kind of music clarity can be an issue. Not the case here. Everything is very distinct and crisp.

The second song silent gods shows a bit of a doom feel at times, before switching into almost straight ahead black metal, and I even got some Maiden sensibilities in there as well. I can tell De Profundis is trying to sound fresh by mixing various influences and for the most part it works.As the album progresses, I notice that the songs tend to focus a lot on atmosphere and mood (which is very cool) but as a result sometimes sounds a bit disconnected, especially with the genre mixing going on.

“Twisted Landscapes” introduces even more variety with a Middle Eastern flair to the guitar work, and “Release” closes with an almost Jazz section with piano and clean guitar. I find it very hard to describe De Profundis’ sound by name-dropping and comparing them to other bands, and this is probably a good thing. I hear some Maiden, some Control Denied, the progressive elements of Pain of Salvation and definitely some of the atmosphere of Paradise Lost, though De Profundis have certainly developed their own sound.

“Parallel Existence” is an instrumental that cranks the progressive elements up about ten notches, and is a personal favourite of mine. The band really shine here and pull out all the stops to showcase their playing. Really solid track. Album closer “Unbroken (A Morbid Embrace)” oozes atmosphere. There are clean vocals, soft passages and downright brutal ones.

Overall this band seems to have really developed their own sound within a crowded metal scene. I thoroughly enjoyed “The Emptiness Within” and highly recommend it to anyone who is a fan of extreme music or progressive music in general." [Paul Vidal]

Link:
http://www.bassplayersunited.com/2012/03/de-profundis-the-emptiness-within/

 

[lorenzo_kolony]

Another 8/10, this time @ Avenoctum.com! :Smokin:

"Amongst the usual stuff I think about, recently there has been the question as to what we actually mean by extreme metal. I wonder because it seems to have been reduced to “has been known to use ‘death’ vocals.” In other words it is shorthand for ‘not mainstream’. Case in point: extreme progressive metal band De Profundis.

Unless you’ve been hiding under a rock (in which case, push off, this is my rock) the name at least of UK band De Profundis will be familiar to you. Probably also their gigging and recording (this being their third full length) will have crept across your path at some point too, as they certainly have the work ethic. To add that they have talent is being too mild. Technically highly proficient, they play a brand of complex, shifting progressive metal that I guess will always provoke comparisons to Opeth. A fair comparison too, rather than a lazy one. After the sombre intro of From The Depths, we get flung in at the deep end with Delirium. It’s a fair cantering tune, too, with effortlessly fluid and engaging lead breaks flying over a driven riff. There are the fine varied death vocals from Craig Land and some serious Nick Tingle drum battery, but pull those two things out of the mix and you will see that things are nowhere near as heavy as they seem. The riff is a good, melodic flutter of notes, shared by Roman Subbotin and Soikot Sengupta but hardly death metal and it drops into a lilting reverie lead by some sweet and tricky bass notes by Arran McSporan before riding back up into the tempestuous finale. None of this is criticism, merely how I find it. A fine, head nodding song it is too with meticulous but not emotionally sterile playing.

Songs are long but never overly so or laboured and everything genuinely flows, albeit with all the twists and turns of an underground stream. I never get a sense of passages being dropped in without thought and those sinuous musical turns are never jarring. If you’re waiting for a ‘ but….’ then you’ll be waiting a long time. Songs of the quality of the superb Release, or Silent Gods, have no real downside if prog metal is something you have even the smallest soft spot for. Nor do the guys ever let it lapse into ‘look at us, we can get all technical on your ass’ type noodling even though they live and breathe complexity.

To pick at it a bit, some of the clean vocals need a bit more work as they drop the odd note and neither was I totally convinced by the jazz piano and the other jazz touches which poke their head up here and there but they are not to distracting. Yes, to these ears at least there is a heavy debt to Opeth with just the odd pinch of the bleakness of My Dying Bride maybe, but frankly rather them than some Kerrang TV emo band and they are still several streets and a long bus ride away from being clones of either.
If you don’t believe me just check out compelling closer Unbroken (A Morbid Embrace) and just allow out sweeping you away in gothic romance and bass driven prog turbulence that is as beautifully composed as any classical work and you will just want to smile so hard. It is rather magnificent.
Does the world need another prog metal band? Well if Opeth’s last album and this is anything to go by, then yes. De Profundis have, with The Emptiness Within, stepped up to be counted and this should be snapped up by any fan of progressive metal, extreme or otherwise." [Gizmo]

Link:
http://www.avenoctum.com/2012/03/de-profundis-the-emptiness-within-kolony-records/

 

[lorenzo_kolony]

New review by Lady Metal Webzine (in German) - enjoy!

"Erst 7 Jahre jung, hat De Profundis jedoch schon einen ganzen Batzen Erfolge zu verweisen: Drei internationale Touren, Konzerte in 22 Ländern dieser Welt. Das ist nun das dritte Album, welches unter dem Banner von Kolony Records, zur Sony Music Familie gehörend, am 11.05. diesen Jahres veröffentlicht wird.

Ihr Erfolg wird auch durch die Beteiligung von großen Namen der Metalszene in allen Belangen verdeutlicht. Das Artwork zum Beispiel stammt aus dem Pinsel von Costin Chioreanu, der Seineszeichens auch schon für Mayhem oder Absu künstlerisch tätig gewesen ist.
Doch widmen wir uns der Musik. De Profundis spielen stark progressiven Death Metal, der sich durchgehend in schnellerem Midtempo und kurzen Blastbeatpassagen wiederfindet. Der Sound ist knackig und passt hervorragend zur Musik. Sehr gut ausgewogen und man hört immer noch den handwerklichen Charakter durch. Also von Plastik keine Spur. Der "Gesang" ist ein kehliges Crowlen, das sich sehr gut mit den anderen Instrumenten verbindet, quasi das Verbindungsstück von hohen Melodiegitarren und den Bass- bzw. Rhythmusgitarren bildet. Lyrisch bewegen wir uns in deathtypischen Sphären. Es geht um die eigene Schwäche, die Leere, die daraus entsteht und der Kampf gegen jene.

Fazit: Ein durchaus überzeugendes Werk metallischer Kunst. Interessant sind auch die Jazzeinsprängsel, die sich gerade in den Soli manifestieren, sehr schön. Es ist also ein durch und durch gelungenes Werk und die Band hat den Erfolg verdient. Dieser mit der anstehenden Tour im Fahrwasser von Rotting Christ wohl noch ansteigen. Es sei gegönnt!" [Roba]

Link:
http://www.lady-metal.com/cd-reviews/de-profundis-the-emptiness-within.html

 

[lorenzo_kolony]

'The Emptiness Within' by DE PROFUNDIS was rated 8/10 @ Blistering Webzine!

"The discussion on British black metal typically begins and ends with Cradle of Filth. The question if they’re a “true” black metal band has always been up for debate (Mike Sloan would be the right person to ask – dude loves the Filth), so that leaves the U.K. with very little to show for in the BM sweepstakes. In terms of the band in question, De Profundis, they’re not even sure if they want to be a black metal band either, for The Emptiness Within is all over the extreme metal stratosphere. It’s awfully confusing. Doesn’t anyone from the United Kingdom want to be a black metal band?

Judging by the band’s indecipherable logo and previous output, the underpinnings of black metal are certainly there for De Profundis. However, they cast an awfully wide net on the nine songs that comprise of The Emptiness Within, and they usually strike gold when they’re hitting the melodic gong, like on the excellent opener “From the Depths” and album highlight “Silent Gods.”

To their credit, the Brits do an excellent job of cross-breeding the black arts with death metal and even jazz (although that influence is quite minor). The rumble and roar of “This Wretched Plague” and tech-on-prog-back-to-tech clamor of “Twisted Landscapes” boggles up the album and sends it into an entirely different direction. The same bodes for “Release,” which hits like Human-era Death, while “Parallel Existence” is a gem of an instrumental, utilizing the full capabilities and scope of the band’s distinct grasp of melodic arrangements.

The air of sophistication in which The Emptiness Within operates is distinctive and is probably too cerebral for the pale-toned, blast-beat borne black metal scene. Rather, De Profundis is one of the rare smorgasbord extreme metal bands that totally defy categorization, and if they had a half a brain (which they probably do), they’d avoid any black metal tags like the plague. Bloody well done, as they say." [David E. Gehlke]

Link:
http://www.blistering.com/fastpage/fpengine.php/templateid/26015/menuid/2/tempidx/4/link/1

 

[lorenzo_kolony]

A new review of 'The Emptiness Within' came out @ Infernal Masquerade webzine, and it's a brilliant 90/100!

"With nine tracks of super catchy melodic Metal, De Profundis brings us their third full-length offering “The Emptiness Within”. Combining excellent Melodic passages with Progressive elements and a hefty dosage of powerful riffing, this release has a vibe similar to the Melodic DM wave that came out of Finland in the late 90’s and early 2000’s. Don’t get us wrong, “The Emptiness Within” does feature a good amount of aggressiveness, but it is all surrounded by excellent melodic elements.

“Delirum” opens the riffing marathon with very well defined and melodic guitars, a sound that reminded us of earlier Eternal Tears of Sorrow, and similar acts. The growls are spot on and the overall mixture of melodic guitars, pummeling drums and guitar solos is just outstanding. The guitar work courtesy of Soikot Sengupta and Roman Subbotin is very well crafted and entertaining, particularly in the dreamy ‘instrumental’ passages.

With a pulsating bass guitar line, “Silent Gods” delivers another riffing onslaught and some excellent melodic passages. This track is one of our favorites due to the excellent melodic edge to it. The band’s creativity does not seem to stop and with tracks like “This Wretched Plague”, “Twisted Landscapes”, “Release”, and “Dead Inside” they keep delivers solid riffing and very well structured tracks that will make you want to start headbanging immediately.

Our favorite track of this release has to be the short but sweet “Parallel Existence”. After the relaxing intro passes, the riffing is at its best and the drumming nicely complements such a well-crafted piece. Being an instrumental, the weeping guitar solos are top notch and even the bass guitar solo just feels right in this song. Closing with the last crushing blow titled “Unbroken (A Morbid Embrace)”, the whole ETOS similarities surface back with a very well executed track that balances fast brutal sections and lush melodic sections with some atmospheric keyboards.

In general we are surprised at the great quality that “The Emptiness Within” brings. The songs are very well crafted, and bring back that old feeling of Melodic Death Metal that was big in Finland (and Europe) at the end of the 90’s, early 2000’s. With strong vocals, a pummeling bass guitar, super tight drumming and majestic guitar work, this release will be staying on our constant rotation for months to come." [Dark Emperor]

Link:
http://www.infernalmasquerade.com/?q=reviews/002033-de-profundis-–-emptiness-within-2012

 

[lorenzo_kolony]

UK fans don't miss the current issue of Zero Tolerance Magazine, featuring an interview with DE PROFUNDIS!

Further info here:
http://v2.ztmag.com/current.html

 

[lorenzo_kolony]

New review of 'The Emptiness Within' @ Metal Shock Finland!

"In 2005 the world was shaken unto the mystics surrounding ‘De Profundis’ and has never stopped shaking since. With beautiful Jazz like structures mixed with the pure brilliance in the doom metal makes this UK band stand out from everywhere and everyone else. ‘The Emptiness Within’ is De Profundis‘ third album and as it progresses from track to track you are invited, almost lured into the unmistakable talent and song writing skills behind this band.

If we look at Delirium, this is a track that has it all. We go from metal to doom to jazz to extreme metal. With frontman ‘Craig Land’ and his vocals taking you into a new and unmistakable world, you are merely left confounded without anywhere left to hide. Then take if you will ‘This wretched Plague’ from the gentle almost ‘soft’ opening intro to bring you closer to the music before the inevitable takes places and it blows you ears to smithereens. Flowing between death metal and the likes of ‘Agolloch’ this song like so many others on this album has it all.

Technically this album is unconformist in every possible way, taking influences from so many different genres and influences then combining them into one very clever piece of musical genius.

Mixed at the well known ‘Studios Davout’ (AC/DC, The Rolling Stones, Ozzy Osbourne) in Paris, then mastered by the very talented Tim Turan (Emporer, Motorhead) you can really hear everything in content.

Well worth a listen." [Dylan Raine]

Link:
http://metalshockfinland.wordpress.com/2012/03/31/review-de-profundis-the-emptiness-within-2012/

 

[lorenzo_kolony]

New review of 'The Emptiness Within' by HeavyMetalTribune webzine!

"The progressive extreme metal tag typically reminds me of bands like Opeth and Ihsahn, with these bands being some of the ones that marked my initial foray into extreme progressive metal. UK extreme progressive metal band De Profundis has over their past 2 albums displayed a constant improvement in their capabilities, and this year sees the release of their third full length album, The Emptiness Within.

Opening track From the Depths sound almost like the soundtrack to the intro of a movie, and sets a dark mood for the album. Delirium begins the album proper, with melodic death metal-sounding lead guitars, before giving way to an almost black metal blast-beat and riffing section. One then instantly knows that this is going to be an interesting ride filled with influences from all over the metal spectrum to be present on The Emptiness Within. The progressive elements on the album are extremely prominent, with tracks containing transitions into numerous different sounds within each of them, constantly testing and pushing the boundaries of the band members as musicians, and the band as a songwriting unit. While most of them range from the usual black and death metal elements, there is even a jazz-sounding section towards the end of Release, as a preview to how wide-sounding The Emptiness Within is.

Throughout the album, there is a dark cloud that constantly shrouds the music, lingering in the atmosphere, and this is usually done through the playing of haunting clean guitar lines in the background, such as on Silent Gods, which gives a contradicting sense of calm yet unease at the same time as the band suddenly shifting into more aggressive sections with little warning, eliminating the need for the usage of synths to enhance the atmosphere which could potentially end up resulting in a cheesy sound instead. It is also nice to hear how the band manages to keep up that atmosphere despite the relatively fast pace that they usually travel at. Furthermore, vocalist Craig also alternates between shrieks, growls and clean vocals according to the mood of the music, displaying his vocal range, and this can be heard on This Wretched Plague, where there is the inclusion of an almost chant-like clean vocals in the middle of the track.

The technical abilities of the individual musicians in De Profundis are constantly displayed throughout, and in particular Arran's bass playing captures my attention, with his style being reminiscent of such bassists as Obscura's Linus and Dream Theater's John Myung, though slightly less flamboyant. The abundance of bass spots for him and the way he utilises his instrument as though it were a third lead instrument is evidence of his talent. Guitarists Roman and Soikot also display versatility in their playing styles, ranging from aggressive black metal-styled trem-picking to an almost jazz-fusion style lead guitar playing, all executed with much flair. The feel that is put in the lead guitar playing also enhances the enjoyment of the album, and moments such as the introductory solo of This Wretched Plague are particularly memorable and melodic. Drummer Nick as well displays his influences throughout, at times sounding like Mikkey Dee's work on King Diamond's Abigail album, especially the play on the ride on This Wretched Plague and later, Twisted Landscapes. There is also the playing in odd time signatures that test the independence of his limbs like on Release.

To be honest, first listens did not left much of an impact nor an impression on me, and this was largely due to the production quality which at times sees the drums almost drowning out the rest of the instruments, though numerous listens later the album really starts growing on the listener." [Hong Rui]

Link:
http://heavymetaltribune.blogspot.co.uk/2012/04/album-review-de-profundis-emptiness.html

 

[lorenzo_kolony]

New interview with guitarist Shoi Sen online @ Metalnews.de (in German)!

Link:
http://www.metalnews.de/interviews/Shoi+Sen+von+De+Profundis.1170.html

 

[lorenzo_kolony]

Review of 'The Emptiness Within' by Italian webzine Artistsandbands.org - 75/100!

Nati nella periferia londinese nel novembre del 2005, i De Profundis nonostante innumerevoli tour da spalla a Iron Maiden, Opeth e Rotting Christ (solo per citarne alcuni), tutt'oggi non hanno mai superato quello status di alternative metal band di nicchia. Giunti però al loro terzo lavoro in studio però, per il quintetto inglese potrebbe essere la volta buona, perchè questo The Emptiness Whitin ha tutte le carte in regola per raggiungere un vasto pubblico.

Niente è cambiato nel sound, nelle nove tracce per circa cinquantacinque minuti di musica i De Profundis continuano a contaminare pesantamente la propria musica miscelando prog, death, doom e black metal con grande sapienza, ricordando senza però mai scimmiottare la cupezza e la decadenza di formazioni ben più blasonate come gli Opeth. L'album verte tutto su toni di negatività e decadenza assoluta, con brani lunghi fatti di passaggi suggestivi e corposi, dove ad una certa spigolosità esecutiva viene affiancato il cantato che si alterna tra growl e screaming con naturalezza e grande efficacia, donando grande impatto emotivo ai brani (su tutti la bella "Delirium" è l'esempio migliore). I brani sono tutti ben calibrati e mixati (il lavoro di post-produzione è avventuo presso gli storici studi francesi Studios Davout), sempre pregni di una naturale drammaticità (forse a volte pure eccessiva), come accade con la bellissima "This Wrethced Plague", degna dei migliori Agalloch.

Disponibile dal 7 maggio in Inghilterra a dall'11 dello stesso mese nel resto d'Europa, The Emptiness Whitin è un buon lavoro di metal contaminato e stratificato, forse un pò ostico in alcuni passaggi ma formato da un robusto e consistente songwrting. Se non avete mai approcciato alla loro musica, questa è l'occasione giusta. [Fabio "Stanley" Cusano]

Link:
http://www.artistsandbands.org/ita/modules/recensioni/detailfile.php?lid=2576

 

[lorenzo_kolony]

New excellent review of 'The Emptiness Within' @ Italian webzine Dagheisha.com!

"La splendida raffigurazione di Costin Chioreanu accompagna l'ascoltatore nell'analisi di un terzo lavoro su lunga distanza che completa il processo di crescita di questa band inglese. Alcuni passaggi rientrano nella tipologia espressiva classica dei gruppi dediti al prog metal estremo con richiami alla discografia iniziale degli Opeth e riferimenti a quanto prodotto come solista da Ihsahn degli Emperor. In altri invece appare evidente il desiderio di trovare il giusto equilibrio tra elementi jazz e soluzioni avanguardistiche che contribuiscono a rendere avvincente lo scorrere dei brani. 'The Emptiness Within' viene inaugurato dalle glaciali atmosfere di 'Delerium' e dalla sulfurea 'Silent Gods' e subito si viene travolti da melodie eterne, stratificazioni doom e influenze black metal assemblate con intelligenza. In ogni caso è 'Twisted Landscapes' a marcare il distacco maggiore con 'Beyond Redemption' e 'A Bleak Reflection' grazie al superbo cantato di Craig Land, ad un profilo armonico curato nei dettagli ed alla produzione di Fernando Pereira che ne esalta la varietà stilistica. Sfumature fusion e post metal arricchiscono la seconda parte di album nella quale spiccano 'Release' e 'Unbroken (A Morbid Embrace)'. Eccellente il guitar work di Roman Subbotin e Shoi Sen esattamente come la performance dietro le pelli di Nick Tingle." [divine]

Link:
http://www.dagheisha.com/prod/music/reviewCd.jsp?idCd=6393

 

[lorenzo_kolony]

DE PROFUNDIS: new interview online @ Behind the Veil webzine!

1. First of all I’d like you to fill us in on what’s happening in the DE PROFUNDIS camp at the moment.

Shoi: Well we are gearing up for the May release of our third album “The Emptiness Within”, we have some shows coming up as well.

2. Please point out the most important moments and experiences you’ve had with the band thus far, be them good or bad.

Shoi: I think playing some festivals like March Metal Day in Greece or Rock in India with IRON MAIDEN early in our career was pretty amazing. Touring with ROTTING CHRIST was also great we learnt a lot from them and enjoyed the professionalism of Massive Music the booking agency. Sakis and I have become really good friends in the process as well. He even mastered one of the songs on the album, although it won’t be in the final version I am hoping we will be including it as a bonus feature in a future special edition version.
I think more than bad experience it’s frustration with the music business. When I look at some of the festival line up across Europe I know we could do really well but we are struggling like lots of other excellent bands. We played in India in front of 30,000 people just before headliners LACUNA COIL and really went down a storm. I am sure we wouldn’t have a problem killing it in a tent in some of the European festivals. But you know it’s all politics, we might not have the right contacts or maybe we are not licking enough arsesJ. Also we don’t participate in those Battle of Bands which is not about music but more about how many friends can you bring to the 15 different selection rounds so the organizers can make a killing on alcohol sales.

3. Can you present “The Emptiness Within” to our readers in a few words? Give reasons to our readers to check your work out. What will they find in it?

Good music J joking aside, we are very proud of the album but I would say that! I think “The Emptiness Within” would be appealing to a broad range of metal fans especially to lovers of black and death metal. It would also be appreciated by people who like the progressive element in metal and good musicianship.

4. How would you describe your sound? I’m asking this because your music obviously has a great deal of elements and it’s hard for someone to pigeonhole you.

This idea of pigeonholing us has either been a problem or a blessing. Problem because metalheads and the metal business love to pigeonhole, so unless you are part of a “scene” it’s difficult. However people who do see us or hear and get it become pretty dedicated to the band because I do think we have a unique sound. It comes naturally for us to mix an array of musical influences into our songs and making them flow. It’s something we have developed since the first album, and it’s represented at its best in “The Emptiness Within”. So I really struggle to put us in a category, I feel it’s just DE PROFUNDIS, that’s it! J

5. In which ways does “The Emptiness Within” differ from your previous works, “A Bleak Reflection”? How and in which ways has the band’s sound evolved and progressed all these years?

Shoi: The first obvious difference is the fact that Arran our bass player was part of writing process whereas for “A Bleak Reflection” he joined us one month before recording so he only had time to put his bass lines. This album was written with the five of us in the room so everyone had an impact on the writing and arrangement. I think the marked progression on this album is that we have trimmed down the songs without losing the progressive element. One of the main criticism we get from people that see us live is that we are amazing live but don’t sound that good on record. So we wanted to change that on this one. This is why the album is more compact and therefore has a bigger impact.

6. Why do you think you stand out from most extreme metal bands out there? What do you believe you can offer to the metal scene?

Shoi: This is going back to what I said earlier. I think we stand out because we don’t really belong to a particular scene we do our own thing. Our sound is our own which isn’t an easy thing to do today and it’s also not easy to promote a band with a different sound. People these days want everything to be delivered to them on a plate, they don’t have time to “discover” a band anymore. So musically if people are looking for something a little different yet melodic and aggressive then come check us out! Even visually we don’t wear make up or put on some gimmicky masks and outfits. We put on a high energy show with excellent musicianship a lot more in the tradition of old school metal like JUDAS PRIEST or IRON MAIDEN.

7. What kind of procedure do you follow when you compose songs? How easy is it for you to balance the melodic with the aggressive character of your music?

We basically get together at my studio and generally me or Roman the other guitarist will show some ideas we have and then we all jam as a band. Generally Roman comes with the more weird ideas and I come up with the more melodic side of things. Nick and Arran then focus on bringing their more jazz influence into the mix. Finally Craig our vocalist will be the glue, as the non-musician in the band he has a fantastic ear for the arrangement and flow of a song. So it’s really a team work with lots of arguments, frustrations, but ultimately a very creative environment. And we have all learnt to compromise with each other a bit more, everyone has parts on this album they don’t like but what counts is the big picture. I think that’s true of all good albums, there is always a degree of tension which makes the musicians in a band perform better.

8. Which song or songs do you think are the most ideal to represent the whole album’s essence?

Shoi: This is a hard question because again everyone in the band has a favourite song and a least favourite. I personally think “Delirium” is a very good example of what DE PROFUNDIS is known for, longer epic songs with lots of twists and tails. However the shorter songs in this album like “This Wretched Plague” could also become representative of the other facet of DE PROFUNDIS, a generally more direct and in your face. To be honest I could see us evolving a bit like IRON MAIDEN in that area, with a mixture of long songs and shorter belters.

9. Which are your sources of inspiration when it comes to the lyrics? Which are the main topics you deal with?

Craig (Vocals): The lyrics are important to me as I write them. I don’t think the other guys care too much, and they don’t even get to read them until I’ve submitted them to the artist to incorporate into the booklet. As the vocal delivery is mainly growls and screams, it can be seen as just another instrument, so the vocal arrangement is probably more important to the listener than the lyrics, something that I worked on much more this time around. I took a slightly different approach to the lyrics this time as I’d been through a lot of turmoil in my personal life, which I haven’t spoken to anyone about, so I used them as a catharsis. The subjects I’ve covered this time very close to the bone for me, but they deal with issues that most people can relate to.

10. Why did you name the album “The Emptiness Within”? What do you mean? Are you referring to the fact that more and more people are shallow and that the social structures seem to crumble nowadays?

Shoi: Honestly we argued like hell on the album name, more than when writing the music. The actual title isn’t directly linked to any particular song. We had lots of words to describe the overall feel of the album and “The Emptiness Within” was the coolest and yes maybe a reflection of how we generally feel as human beings and musicians. The music scene today is pretty empty, there is a lack of depth, everything is consumed quick and then forgotten ever quicker.

11. Who created the cover artwork? It’s beautiful and I think it clearly depicts what you want to express with the album title! However I’d like to hear your thoughts about it.

Craig: I’m afraid you’d have to ask the artist, Costin Chioreanu. The last time we got involved in the artwork, it was a nightmare for all involved, so this time we agreed to remove ourselves from the process. We gave Costin the final mix of the album, the lyrics and the only brief we gave him was that the cover should feature a solitary human figure, as this has been a constant theme in our artwork. Other than that, he was free to interpret it as he saw fit. What he delivered was hardly altered at all, and I think he did a fantastic job of creating an image to embody the music, although it did have to grow on some of the others.

Shoi: I am very pleased with the artwork I liked it straight away. It’s funny how life is, we met Costin years ago when we played at March Metal Day, we spoke to him a lot that day. We sort of lost touch a little afterwards but when Kolony Records mentioned Costin for the artwork we were pleased to reconnect with him. Because he has been following us for a few years, he knew straight away what to do with our artwork.

12. Have you got any plans for live shows? How easy is it for you to play your songs live? Do you have to be in a certain state of mind in order to create the right atmosphere and feeling?

Shoi: We are going to be playing some shows, especially our album launch in London on the 4th May. We have some shows here and there but I am hoping we will be going on tour around the autumn. We are still trying for some festival slot so let’s hope it happens. Our song are not easy to play so we do rehearse a lot. Prior to a show we don’t drink and really try to warm as much as possible. Generally I tend to get changed at the last minute as I hate walking around in my leather pants J

13. Have you made any video clips? With YouTube I think videos have started becoming a necessity for bands again. How helpful is the Internet?

Shoi: Funny you should ask, we are actually about to shoot a video this Saturday for a song called “Twisted Landscapes”. It’s our first video so we are pretty excited. Until now our songs were just too long for a video and Craig our vocalist was never too keen. But with a few shorter songs and the popularity of YouTube as a tool for discovering a band a video has become vital again. To be honest the Internet is a massive tool except for the illegal downloading aspect otherwise it’s a vital tool for a young band. For example spending money on advertising in paper magazine is really becoming pointless.

14. What kind of feedback have you received thus far? Can you mention a comment, be it positive or negative, serious or funny, that impressed you?

Shoi: We have really been overwhelmed by the reaction to the album so far, some of the reviews that have come in have called it a masterpiece! We are really touched by the reaction, we think it’s a great album but to have other people beside your close friends, family and some drunken guy in a bar saying that is pretty exciting. The funniest thing I heard so far was a Swedish online magazine talking referring to “ear candy” when listening to “The Emptiness Within”.

15. I know you are a signed band, but still do you think that the contemporary metal scene has a place for record labels? I mean more and more bands do everything on their own and more and more labels don’t support the bands or pay them any money… What’s your view on this phenomenon?

Shoi: I don’t think the purpose of getting signed to a label today for a smaller band is money. A label is more a quality gauge otherwise you will get totally ignored by the business. Yes we pretty much do everything on our own, the album was financed by us, but Kolony Records are the ones putting the album out and putting the money to promote it. We need their distribution network and someone outside the band objective enough to push the band, otherwise it’s very difficult to promote yourself all the time. Everyone thinks their own band is the best! Here’s the question, how many non signed band have you seen making a big impact, it’s all good and well saying labels are not needed but I have not yet seen an act breaking through without some kind of label support?

16. What kind of feelings and thoughts do you think your music creates to your listeners?

Shoi: I would hope one of excitement of hearing something different, with plenty of hooks that make you go back to the album over and over again.

17. Is there a phrase that you think describes DE PROFUNDIS in the best possible way?

Shoi: Twisted Landscapes!

18. With what criteria did you choose your moniker? Doesn’t the fact that there are other bands out there with the same name create problems to you?

Shoi: We are aware of some other bands with the same name but so far it hasn’t bothered us at all. I think we have done a bit more than the other bands with the same name, so let them come and sue us, we’ll see who wins J To be honest we have had more comments about the fact that our name is linked to VADER’s most popular album. I think Massive Music, VADER’s management and booking agency even took us on the road because they liked our name J

19. Thank you! Is there anything else you’d like to add?

Shoi: Well Christine thank you for the great review and interviewing us. I hope we will get to play in Greece very soon again, we could have a good glass of ouzo with you, hell we’ll have a full bottle J. March Metal Day was back in 2008 which is a long time ago, the band has come a long way since. We went down really well that day. I would love to see what would happen now. You know what, let me email Sakis now and ask him to invite us to support them for one of their shows J

[Christine Parastatidou]

Link:
http://www.behindtheveil.hostingsiteforfree.com/index.php/interviews/468-de-profundis-interview

 

[lorenzo_kolony]

DE PROFUNDIS: new review of 'The Emptiness Within' by Metalindiamagazine.com - 8 out of 10!

"2009 was a historical year in Indian Metal Scene when the mighty Iron Maiden headlined the Rock In India. Being a Maiden fan from years, I wasn’t personally bothered about the other bands on list apart from few Indian acts since I was in a state of shock that I am about to witness the legendary Heavy Metal band in front of my eyes. But I wasn’t aware that there was another hungry band from U.K. ready to demolish Bangalore on the very same day. Yes folks, I am talking about UK’s own Progressive Metal Dude’s DE PROFUNDIS. Exactly one year after the Rock in India, I witnessed them at Great Indian October Fest on 24th October, 2010. Indeed they gave an awe-fuckin-some performance on both the events.

So when I was given a chance to review them on India’s Oldest Extreme Metal Portal “MetalIndia Magazine”, I was excited about their new album “The Emptiness Within”. I have been following their music for quite sometime and fortunately they were successful in confusing me whether they wanna be a black metal band or something on the lines of extreme metal. The previous efforts by the band and the logo clearly justify the black metal elements. It’s indeed a fact that I like the way these guys fuse various genres and arrange it brilliantly but after listening to the entire album I was in a dilemma. In-fact the main reason being the final product, which sounds well executed sometimes and the very next moment it feels disconnected.

To some extent, the fact is evident in tracks like “Delirium” and “Silent Gods”, which have all the elements right from doom to jazz to extreme metal. The catchy melodic elements fused with fret burning solo followed by extreme brutality sounds phenomenal. Sadly as the song grows, it just feels hollow. The structure of “Silent Gods” reminds me the way Iron Maiden usually conclude their songs. “This Wretched Plague” on the other side has an epic opening followed by surprising death metal elements sure to blow your mind.

“Twisted Landscapes” and “Release” are the major highlights of the album. It’s clearly felt that they focus a lot on atmosphere and mood. Progressive elements remind me of Swedish Giants Opeth & Pain of Salvation. Although there is just something about the precision attack of the compositions and the sheer viciousness of the delivery that makes “The Emptiness Within” sound like more of a progressive extreme metal opus every time I spin it. Right from Progressive to Black to Doom to Extreme to jazz and what not, everything flows smoothly in few tracks while the rest just don’t continue the combination of fusing elements & murderous aggression. Oh boy, the jazz element with piano on “Release” and on “Parallel Existence” is sure to gain them a salute. Rest of the tracks continue the aggression, it could be the furious pace or the lethal chord progressions of the duo, which rip out some lacerating solos. The patented screams and distinctive growls might even be more psychotic this time around.

I heard the album almost 3 times not knowing why. Maybe because it was too awesome or maybe just to see if there was anything new in it for me to hear. The riffs absolutely grind, just as the rhythms pulverize and the vocals thunder. Interesting rhythms and tempos with catchy guitar tone has really hooked me in. Except for few tracks that just don’t stand out, The Emptiness Within is the sound of a band that is out to prove that it can be among progressive extreme metal’s elite. Finally, the subtle bits and pieces in the arrangements don’t necessarily stand out until after the first few listens, so spend some time with this one. The more you listen, the more you’ll hear, and the more you’ll appreciate this bloody good time of a progressive metal album." [Owais Nabi]

Link
http://www.metalindiamagazine.com/reviews/review-de-profundis-the-emptiness-within

 

[lorenzo_kolony]

Midwinterfires.com rated 'The Emptiness Within' 8 out of 10!

2De Profundis is a progressive death metal band from the UK. The band is comprised of five members that are each skilled in their own right. The Emptiness Within is the band’s third album which is to be released under Kolony Records in May 2012. The guys have already made a name for themselves sharing the stage with the likes of Iron Maiden and Rotting Christ and performing at Bloodstock Open Air.

I have come to expect high quality releases from Kolony Records and The Emptiness Within is certainly no exception. The production and sound quality is top notch and expertly put together with mixing taking place at Studios Davout (AC/DC, THE ROLLING STONES,OZZY OSBOURNE) in Paris and mastering being done by Tim Turan (EMPEROR, MOTORHEAD). The guitars are crisp, yet heavy when need be. Every note comes through clearly to reveal the technical guitar work of Roman Subbotin and Shoi Sen. The bass really stands out which is something of a treat. So often the bass is hidden behind the rhythm guitars. The drums have a good sound to them with just enough punch to pound the speakers the way metal drums should. I tend to like loud drums but if you are one of those picky listeners you might think the kick drum is a tad too loud. The vocals are a typical death growl that is sometimes layered with high and low growls but there are also clean vocals used more sparingly.

As I have already mentioned the music is progressive death metal which means you can expect the music to take a more technical approach. The guitar work is quite good and I like the fact that the guys can be technical without loosing that melodic edge. In fact the music as a whole has some great melodies and is highly melodic. The music is filled with some interesting and unexpected melodies which give the album a unique feel. The music is very tight and the guitars play well together in intricate harmonies at a high level of skill. Whether they are palm muted, tremolo picked guitar or slowed down mellower arrangements they are always interesting and always highly melodic. There are some great guitar solos as well which do some pretty nifty things. One of the highlights of The Emptiness Within is the bass playing. Simply put it’s amazing. As a bass player myself I tend to seek out and pay attention a lot to bass lines in the music I listen too. If I’m not mistaken the bass which is performed by Arran McSporran is actually done using a fretless bass. The bass lines are very technical and act as a third guitar which in a lot of cases steals the show. They are performed with an obvious level of skill and are always interesting and though they seem to have a mind of their own they get along very well with the guitar work.

The drums and vocals are of course performed well. There’s plenty of double kicking and some good fills. The drums, performed by Nick Tingle, drive the songs steadily with varied patterns that compliment the guitars and bass. The pedal work is great. There is the standard double kicking but there is also a lot of interesting kick patterns that don’t necessarily come across as expected but they sound great and really add a lot of depth to the overall sound. The vocals come in a couple different flavours including the standard growl and clean vocals. The growls are pretty decent and provide good impact when layered together. The clean vocals provide breaks from the action though I’m not really sure how I feel about them. They almost remind me of the Rotting Christ clean/spoken word vocals.

As a whole the album flows seamlessly from the first note to the last. It took me several listens before I began to get a feel for the music. At first it didn’t really strike me in any way but the more I began to listen to each instrument on it’s own the more I began to really appreciate what I was hearing. I’m not going to go through song highlights as I often do because there really is just too many to count. It’s one of those albums that you can’t really go wrong with any of the songs which is a testament to the strength and consistency of the song writing. At the same time because of this very reason I find the songs tend to blend together and I have a hard time remembering certain sections or arrangements that I liked. The Emptiness Within is a solid example of skill and musicianship but tends to lack any real feeling or emotion. This is to be expected though given the technical nature of the music. I still highly recommend this album to fans of progressive, melodic death metal." [James]

Link:
http://www.midwinterfires.com/2012/04/review-de-profundis-the-emptiness-within-2012/