ALBUM REVIEW: The Corruption Of Virtue – De Profundis
London’s DE PROFUNDIS have, over the course of their 17 years as a band, become one of the institutions of the UK’s underground death metal scene. Tying together the technical prowess of death metal’s more progressive bands, whilst possessing the tightness and melodicism of some of the catchiest acts, they have developed a reputation as not only an excellent live band, but also as great musicians, with each new record showing a marked improvement upon the last. Their fifth album, 2018’s The Blinding Light Of Faith, garnered them some well-deserved critical acclaim that saw them gain a name on the international stage, and now their newest record The Corruption Of Virtue shows another marked step in the right direction, arguably being their best creative output to date.
Ritual Cannibalism starts proceedings in an incredibly muscular fashion, with huge rhythms interspersed with slick melodies and tight, energetic drumming to create a powerful sound right out of the gate. The monstrous approach of the vocals only adds to the domineering feel of this track, making for an impressive opening salvo. Sectarian Warfare is a faster and more frenetic offering, with rabid guitars and deep gutturals providing lots of feral hooks as the bubbling, fretless bass carves through the mix and adds a looser progressive edge to the music. Relentless March sees the sound shift into even more progressive territories, with the excellent, sludgy bass hooks that were present in the previous track being paired with a far more inspired and varied approach to the guitars. The grating extremity that underpinned the first two songs remains present too, albeit peppered more liberally with soaring, catchy riffs which lend a grandiose and uplifting quality that makes this song distinct from those that preceded it.
Weaponised Rape lurches back in the direction of harsher, more blistering death metal, with chunkier guitars, throaty growls and punishing percussion making for denser sound. Only the virtuosic leads inject any lighter components into the sound here, creating a slight counterpoint to the fiercer undercurrent of the track that works well and turns this into a livelier affair. Embrace Dystopia begins with a far more spacey and immersive sound, mostly due to the bass, but swiftly descends into a meatier, crushing death metal sound, with tonnes of focused, imaginative musicality from the guitars which jump from bombastic melodicism to thicker, groove-laden passages with ease, making for a captivating listen.
Desecrating Innocence is a whirlwind of dizzying musicianship that borders on the cacophonous, but with a precise quality and loads of technical flourishes that make this one of the more progressive and demented cuts from the album, with the punchiness of earlier tracks remaining dominant in the sound. It results in a slab of death metal that is as memorable as it is, at points, unpredictable. Religious Cancer showcases the band at their most unhinged and caustic, seamlessly merging one brilliant riff to the next, with sudden tempos changes throwing a sense of urgency into the mix as this short but exceptionally effective track stands out for all the right reasons.
By contrast, Scapegoat starts as a slow, rhythmic juggernaut, and suddenly morphs into a visceral and frenzied blend of angular guitars, adventurous leads and smooth basslines. It makes for a crowded but thoroughly interesting piece of extremity that brings together both the proggy and brutal sides of the band’s sound. The Sword Verses is an epic closing track, building from a grand opening motif to a razor sharp melodeath monolith, with lots of intriguing twists, notably the as always magnificent bass work, bellicose vocal deliveries and wide ranging approach to the guitars, heaping one fantastic riff on top of another to bring this record to an impressive conclusion.
This is an album that brings together many of the best elements of modern death metal, blending them together in a way that allows the myriad elements to complement one another rather than crowd each other out. From the underlying musical progression and technicality, reminiscent of the likes of Individual Thought Patterns-era DEATH or OBSCURA, to the slick, sharp riffs that wouldn’t sound out of place on a classic melodeath album, there’s so much going on musically here that makes The Corruption Of Virtue stand leagues apart from the overwhelming majority of bands in the underground death metal scene in the UK. This is an album that showcases that DE PROFUNDIS are near peerless when it comes to musicianship and songwriting – a shining example of British death metal at its best.
Rating: 9/10
The Corruption Of Virtue is set for release on October 7th via Transcending Obscurity Records.
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