AN NCS PREMIERE: DE PROFUNDIS — “BASTARD SONS OF ABRAHAM”

 

The rage and disgust displayed in the trappings of the new De Profundis album are palpable, from the album title to the song titles, from the cover art by Alex Tartsus to the band’s own explanation of the album’s conceptual focus: “The Blinding Light of Faith is an album about three of the most merciless and bloodthirsty institutions in human history. There is no nation or people on this earth who haven’t suffered under the savagery of at least one of the Abrahamic religions and to reflect that suffering we have made the heaviest, most aggressive record of our career.”

That sense of condemnation and anger are right up-front in the title of the song we’re bringing you today: “Bastard Sons of Abraham“. And it is indeed a heavy, aggressive song. But it’s not a brooding or bitter piece of music. To the contrary, it’s so supercharged with speed and sparkling vitality that it’s likely to inspire a kind of fierce, fist-pumping joy in those who hear it. It’s also the kind of song that will make guitar nerds slobber uncontrollably.

 

 

Leaping from the gate with a a lively, flickering lead over a head-hooking drum rhythm, and then moving quickly into a  frenzied riff and a blast of tumultuous percussion, the song wastes no time uncorking the adrenaline reserves in your body. A galloping, thrashing beat becomes something of an anchor point to which the song returns after going off in many different directions — tangents filled with scintillating leads and vicious, fret-jumping riff-work, as well as shimmering dual-guitar harmonies that emerge as the rhythm slows.

Apart from the blood-pumping speed and razor-sharp execution on display here, the nasty, feral growls underscore the music’s savagely aggressive core. But it’s the array of incandescent solos, both fluid and incendiary, that are going to especially light up the eyes of heavy metal addicts. And as versatile as all the performances are, the song maintains a coherent melodic through-line that becomes stuck in the head very easily.

 

 

The Blinding Light of Faith will be released by Transcending Obscurity Records on May 10th. The label explains that for De Profundis the album “is a bold step forward for the band into heavier territories as they eschew long, winding songs and go straight for the jugular.” And to mark the change, the band have adopted a new logo created by Gary Ronaldson (Misery Index, Benighted) as well as that gnarly cover artwork by Alex Tartsus (Sinister, Depravity).

A pre-order link is available below, and we’ve also included another, previously released straight-for-the-jugular track (“War Be Upon Him”), which my comrade DGR wrote about not long ago. Enjoy~

 

Pre-Order:
https://deprofundis.bandcamp.com/

De Profundis:
https://www.facebook.com/deprofundistheband

Transcending Obscurity:
http://tometal.com/
https://www.facebook.com/transcendingobscurityrecords/