Despite having a history that spans back to some of the earliest days of US black metal, Profanatica’s resurgence in 2001 has seen the group be more active and blasphemous as ever. It may have taken seventeen years for the first proper full-length to emerge, but since that time Profanatica has been a regular fixture on the Hells Headbangers roster. Each of their four albums has showcased some noticeable differences in production while offering familiar approaches to writing, and this holds true on this year’s Altar of the Virgin Whore mini-album. It’s unlikely to change your mind if the group’s material hasn’t clicked before, but those with an appetite for filthy, barbaric black/death metal will find this another worthy effort.
Given the methodical nature of Profanatica’s material and the singular focus of a lot of their riffing, shorter formats have often worked to their advantage. Thy Kingdom Cum and The Curling Flame of Blasphemy both kept things under forty minutes, which allowed the riffs and blasting drums to blaze a path of destruction without losing their impact. Altar of the Virgin Whore takes a similar approach with its eight tracks coming in at just under twenty minutes, which allows each song to lurch forward with the maximum amount of intensity and grit before moving on to the next. The recording and mixing have once again been tweaked from previous efforts, with the drums being the most prominent element this time around. While this may not seem like big of a deal on paper, it gives the material even more weight than before and the bottom heaviness of the sound seems to be channeling equal parts black and death metal. Some of the riffs do blur together a bit but tracks like the fast paced and brief attack of “Thorn King” and the tweaked version of “Fuck the Messiah” from the 2002 Broken Jew single are definite stand-outs.
Despite the density of the drums and guitar riffs, Paul Ledney’s distorted screams still tower over the material and add to the overall griminess. Ledney’s approach hasn’t changed over the years but it hasn’t needed to, as he has the type of raspy scream that feels like it has the ability to tear your speakers in half at higher volumes. While the overall pitch doesn’t deviate that much throughout the course of the eight songs, the singular focus suits the instrumentation and every single word is delivered with such an immense amount of grit that it doesn’t wear the listener down. For newcomers this may prove to be an acquired taste, but long-time fans are likely to once again find it part of the appeal.
At this point in their career Profanatica isn’t deviating from the type of methodical blasting and mid-tempo attacks that they’ve become known for, but the swirling riffing and dense drumming continue to leave a lasting impression. By placing most of the emphasis on the drums, there’s even more weight to the material than before and it feels like the group may just drag you down to the murky depths of hell with them. Altar of the Virgin Whore is out now on Hells Headbangers.
-Review by Chris Dahlberg
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