ALBUM REVIEW: The Blinding Light of Faith – De Profundis

London’s death metal juggernaut’s DE PROFUNDIS have been brutalising their way through the underground metal scene for over a decade now. Originally harnessing a death-doom style of extreme metal, over the past 13 years their sound has morphed into a more tradition, old-school death metal sound, with flairs of proggy technicality and sinister, blackened undertones. Their 2015 opus Kingdom of the Blind saw DE PROFUNDIS garner the attention and praise of the underground metal community worldwide, and, having signed a deal with India’s brightest record label, Transcending Obscurity Records, the band are ready to unleash their newest slice of brutality – The Blinding Light of Faith.

The Blinding Light of Faith is a record very different from the early offerings of DE PROFUNDIS. The band have shaken off any trace of doom metal in their sound, striving fist-first into the modern revival of the old-school death metal sound. However, rather than simply rehashing Leprosy or Altars of Madness, DE PROFUNDIS have taken that hyper aggression, raw, thrashy style of death metal, and carved it into their own being. Throughout The Blinding Light of Faith, there are subtle hints of progressive death metal, more akin to ATHEIST, PESTILENCE or later DEATH records than OBITUARY or MORBID ANGEL, and the record as a whole carries a blackened atmosphere, as sinister and raw as any of blackened death metal’s top-tier names.

The Blinding Light of Faith kicks off in a spectacular fashion, ignoring all possibility of an atmospheric intro and diving straight into the high-octane riffing immediately with Obsidian Spires. Delivering some hooky, melodic death metal riffs to spice up the grinding OSDM, Obsidian Spires is a memorable and energetic introduction to the record. War Be Upon Him follows, and shakes off any melodic pretence immediately, offering up some pure blackened death metal brutality. A truly crushing track, and one of the highlights from The Blinding Light of Faith, War Be Upon Him would be an intense, but welcome, addition to the live set.

DE PROFUNDIS slow things down a touch, easing off the grinding, high-tempo riffing in favour of a healthy dose of melody and a more mid-paced, stomping groove around the midway point of The Blinding Light of Faith. Bastard Sons of Abraham sees this in full-swing, with only occasional bursts of speed, and a collection of NWOBHM-inspired lead-breaks, while Godforsaken focus almost entirely on groovy, OBITUARY-esque death metal, with a hint of a blackened twist. The Blinding Light of Faith ends on a spectacular note with Bringer of Light, a seven minute opus that perfectly channels the essence of DE PROFUNDIS‘ sound – a blackened/melodic/progressive twist on classic sounding old-school death metal.

There is almost nothing to object to with The Blinding Light of Faith. The song-writing across the whole record is excellent, perfectly mixing hooks with brutality. The progressive elements present throughout the record are subtle and understated, enhancing the sound without pushing DE PROFUNDIS into full-blown OPETH or GOJIRA territory, and the blackened vibe The Blind Light of Faith carries gives a truly evil feel to the record. Make no mistake though, this is an old-school death metal album, and it showcases just how well the atmosphere and sonic aggression of OSDM scene of the ‘90s translates into modern metal. There is no doubt here, if The Blinding Light of Faith had been released in the mid ‘90s, DE PROFUNDIS would have been catapulted to the vanguard of the UK death metal scene – a position they rightly deserve.

Rating: 9/10

The Blinding Light of Faith is out now via Transcending Obscurity Records.

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