(written by Islander)
The Norwegian symphonic black metal band Profane Burial was formed in 2013 by Kjetil Ytterhus (Haimad, Khôra, Babels Tårn) and André Aaslie (ex-Funeral, Images At Twilight, Omnia Moritur, Vitam Aeternam, ex-Abyssic). They assembled a full band for both live performances and the recording of their debut album The Rosewater Park Legend, which was released in 2018.
We’re told that after 2020 the band entered “a new creative phase” as a trio, with Aaslie assuming guitar duties, Ytterhus stepping forward as vocalist as well as keyboardist, and Bjørn Dugstad Rønnow (Borknagar, Trollfest) as drummer. That led to the creation of their second album, My Plateau, which was released in 2024. Now, again working as a trio, Profane Burial will be releasing a third full-length on July 24th through These Hands Melt.
The title of the new album is Desolate Echoes of Turmoil, and today we help introduce it through the premiere of a lyric video for the album track “Triumph of Dreadful Aftermath“, which arrives third in the running order.
We can share this album preview delivered to us on behalf of the band and These Hands Melt:
While the album retains the unmistakable core of the band’s sound – grandiose orchestrations, bleak atmospheres, and razor-edged black metal – the new material ventures further into progressive territory. Intricate arrangements, shifting structures, and frequent use of odd time signatures push the band into a more contemporary and expressive realm, without sacrificing the grim, cinematic essence that defines them.
The song you’re about to hear is a vivid reflection of these qualities. Lyrically, it is also (as you will see) quite harrowing, with a protagonist (or protagonists) narrating the afflictions of insomnia, the fracturing of thoughts, the shredding of sanity, bitter disillusionment, and the cosmos viewed as a hostile void. These are the song’s final lines (just so you don’t get your hopes up for a happy ending):
Galactic cloaks – draped in obsidian mesh
Whispers of nebulae, a spectral quest
Cosmic shadows
The universe cedes
How can you kill me (when I am already) dead
The music isn’t happy either, but as noted, it does vividly manifest the qualities identified in the album preview quoted above.
In the lyric video, the severe mental turbulence captured in the lyrics is paired with the turbulence of severe storms — and the music also storms. Drums furiously hammer; the riffing abrasively scathes the listener; tormented voices howl and scream in barbed-wire tones; the bass thunders; and keys flash like lightening and brilliantly swirl.
The music expansively sweeps and powerfully pounds, but also eerily contorts, frantically jolts, and flares into a guitar solo that beautifully spirals. Ominous symphonic strings emerge and then ecstatically soar. The pacing is in constant flux, and so are the moods — ranging from episodes of violence and madness to visions of spine-shivering terror, terrible bleakness, and mystifying wonder.
The song is a head-spinning labyrinth, by turns elegant and savage, peculiar and predatory, wondrously celestial in its scope but also brutally destructive and authentically insane. The drumming and the bass-work are highly variable, but as elaborate as everything else. The vocals are a non-stop nightmare.
In short, “Triumph of Dreadful Aftermath” is a great introduction to an eagerly awaited new album.
PROFANE BURIAL:
Kjetil Ytterhus (Vocals, Keys)
André Aaslie (Guitars, Bass & Keys)
Bjørn Dugstad Rønnow (Drums)
SPECIAL GUESTS:
Tom Alexander Trones (lead guitar on song 1,2 & 3)
Torstein Nipe (lead guitar on song 1,4 & 6)
Frank Mikalsen (nothing)
Desolate Echoes of Turmoil was mixed and mastered by Børge Finstad at Toproom Studio, with drums recorded at Strand Studio. The album is visually framed by a striking Rorschach-inspired artwork created by Ella Kunst, complementing the psychological and existential tension woven throughout the music. The band’s logo is the work of Christophe Szpajdel.
On July 24th the album will be released on vinyl LP and CD formats by These Hands Melt. For more info as the release date approaches, follow the locations linked below — and pre-orders should become available later today:
PRE-ORDER:
https://profaneburial.bandcamp.com/album/desolate-echoes-of-turmoil
THESE HANDS MELT:
https://thesehandsmelt.shop/
https://thesehandsmelt.bandcamp.com/
https://www.facebook.com/these.hands.melt/
PROFANE BURIAL:
https://www.facebook.com/profaneburial