I am glad to say, that this is one of those, sadly quite rare, occasions when I feel an urge to thank a label for sending me a promo, and helping me finding another good band. So thank you, Kolony Records! The band in question is De Profundis, who hail from London, England. Their craft is dark, technical yet melodic death metal, and 'The Emptiness Within' is their third full length album to date.

I haven't been able to find a very many interesting bands in technical genres, to tell the truth. Too often it is about technicality over compositions, so it all feels just superficial. Thankfully this is not the case with De Profundis. It does not sound at all like this album was empty. Or soulless, or typical, or boring. No way! These fellows have carved their own niche and can comfortably explore its vast boundaries, which probably have yet to be found.

The intro sounds so typically British, that I was expecting for some Paradise Lost, My Dying Bride or Anathema style material, as I hadn't read the biography sheet which tags the band as extreme progressive metallers. 'Delirium' proved my expectations wrong, even though it has familiar British melodics on it. Technical flairs make De Profundis a very different beast, though. More peculiar rhythms and compositions pull the song into various directions, but it never disperses into too obscure or totally senseless rendering. I feel there is something similar with this and Russian daredevils Hieronymus Bosch. Both bands can go many ways within a song, but it always beautifully holds together, no matter if they suddenly introduce acoustics or whatever they have in mind. Some bits lifted from the likes of melodic death metal, especially Dark Tranquillity's 'The Gallery' (1995) style with classical music elegance. For example, the closing riff on the album sounds very much like a tribute to Swedish legends and to that album. Melancholiness is a big part of the band's state of mind, but so is shackled, delicate anger.

'Silent Gods' owes quite a bit to Death's technical era (e.g. 'Symbolic' [1995]). Generally, a fretless bass is utilized on this album, and it takes a big, quite trippy, role everywhere. Varying and able drumming is also an extremely important factor in the band's sound. The rhythm section isn't only doing rhythms, but are vital fragments to the whole. They are not technical just to make it sound eccentric, but because of coherence. Mainly the pace of the music is somewhere between mid-paced and faster, with some occasional blasting. Grunting and growling vocals are quite varying, too, with some more shrieking ones layered to give this demonic effect. Some clean vocals are heard, with low and wretched tone, not far from Garm of Ulver. Guitar solos are fantastic, as they are truly composed and not just burst out. There are synthesizers utilized sometimes, but just to back up melodically, or atmosphere-wise. The music of De Profundis is multi-layered. It is still coherent and not labyrinthine in a negative way. At times, it can be very clear, sometimes more murky. Whatever mood is preferred. 'Release' contains a jazzy ending, which is about the sole odd compositional decision I can find here. 'Parallel Existence' sounds surprisingly calming, before entering harsher realms. Here the band show the power of instrumental music. It's rather purposeless to point out, that there is a lot to hear and discover on 'The Emptiness Within'.

Instruments are nicely balanced between in the mix. The soundscape exhales and pulsates, sending big amounts of aural information all the time. It sounds timeless, as it harks back to the early 1990's, but still has the other foot in modern times. The cover artwork reminds of older Travis Smith creations. The lyrical themes can be seen on it, as they circle around human weaknesses, be it alcohol, religions, madness or other illnesses. Stylish writings show, that they speak in their mother tongue.

It's not often, when a technical metal release is as catchy as this, or as colourfully created and played, or simply put; so inviting. If melodic death metal and melancholic English stuff is what you enjoy, I think you can't go wrong with 'The Emptiness Within'.

Rating: 8 (out of 10) ratings explained

Reviewed by Lane
11/20/2012 12:59