DE PROFUNDIS – Kingdom of the Blind
- Posted on 27-10-2015
‘Kingdom of the Blind’ has been turning quite a few heads for British melodic prog deathsters De Profundis. It isn’t hard to see why really. For a start, the song writing is tight as hell, the lads can play up a storm and the production is first rate. They have obviously worked on each and every song until it is as polished as can be and they have extracted every single ounce out of it. So, if you are into death metal with a kind of narrative feel (and this kind of reminds me of Deceased in that way), then this could very likely be something that would interest you.
Having said all that you might wonder why the score is only 4.5. There are two reasons for this. Firstly, although I really like most of the songs on offer, I dislike the vocals quite a bit. They are just too ‘generic gravel’ for my liking. Not that they really detract in a major way, but they miss the opportunity to bring these great songs to the next level on just too many occasions. Secondly is the bass sound. 90% of the time, this is spot on but every now and then a fruity jazzy, bass sound emerges from the mix. This has two effects. 1. To proclaim ‘Look at me – I am such a fantastic lord and master of my 9-string fretless bass’. 2. To completely break the death metal spell and any atmosphere the song had conjured up.
So there you go. A great but slightly flawed record from a band with oodles of potential. Over to you.