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Profanatica is a Black Metal act from New York that formed back in 1990. Since then, the band has only issued one full-length recording prior to this, entitled Profanatitas De Domonatia. However, the group had issued enough split releases to comprise a full-length release. The group broke up in 1992, but reformed back in 2001, which is when the band really started hammering away at studios and their fans with their brand of vile anti-Christianity Black Metal, and, for Disgusting Blasphemies Against God, the title says it all. This album is disgusting, but that's what makes it such a gem. First of all, of course the production quality on this release isn't the most top notch digital recording out there, having a rather raw quality to it. However, the audio levels on it are fantastic. Nothing is really lost in the mix except for the double bass kicks, and that is simply due to them not having a quality that stands out and are very muffled and flat to beguin with, but chances are you wouldn't even notice it thanks to the high volume level of the bass guitar until the slower paced "Covered in Black Shit". But, regardless of the bass kicks, all of this makes Disgusting Blasphemies Against God more enjoyable since everything winds up working together so well. The vocals are performed in a slightly different manner, and are still a bit low in the mix due to the traditional Black Metal rhaspy style being incorporated, but in a low and slightly deeper tone then normal. There are also moments where the vocals come in much deeper for a spoken word segment, and seem to be digitally augmented to the point where you would actually expect them to appear on a Death Metal release moreso then this, but just don't bridge the gutteral gap, such as during the song "Pious Piece of Shit". Aside the vocals, another aspect of the recording that greatly stands out is the bass. While the bass lines aren't all that different from the main guitar lines, they still enhance the audio due to how loud it is in the mix, leaving the album a bit rough to play at full blast due to the thunderous nature of the bass. But, the fact that it's so clearly audible adds a whole other layer to the recording in the first place and really sounds great with the guitars, which seem to be just a little lower in volume then they probably should be, but are still clear enough on the album to be heard without a problem. The perfect example of how loud and booming the bass can get happens during "Christ's Precious Blood Poisoned", as the song essentially stops for a few moments, and all you hear is the deep rumblings of the bass shaking your speakers. But, that's not the only reason to be careful blasting this album at max volume. It's loud in general. The music being played here isn't too bad outside the loud bass, but there are times where you'll have to go through loud feedback, such as the start of the aforementioned "Christ's Precious Blood Poisoned", and other such noises thrown into the mix to make this release just sound generally angry and minimize the space between songs. The only complaint about this record stems from the quality of the music itself. While the music is generally angry and does the job well at creating that kind of an atmosphere, there are just moments where things sound too robotic, and it's noticable right from the start. "Black Cum" kicks off the album perfectly with fast paced furious Black Metal and vulgar lyrics that are just disgusting and blasphemous, living up perfectly to the album's title, but after the first two, three minutes of the song, you'll start picking up on how the drumming just sounds very mechanical, but not in the sense of it being a drum machine, just that it gets rather repetitive after a while and doesn't necessarily offer anything too spectacular to the music. You can also pick up on sections where you can clearly tell the band looped something. At the end of the song "Smashing Religious Fucking Statues", you can hear the drumming slightly skip with some static in there commonly associated with a copy and paste job gone awry, clearly indicating a looped piece of audio, which more then likely covers the robotic-sounding drumming. The only time the drumming really sparks anything too technical is near the end of "Fuck the Blood of the Lamb" where the music changes up and actually becomes a bit more upbeat. One thing that Profanatica does on the album, which is debatable as far as whether it's a good idea or not depending on the listener's preferences, is that some tracks are introduced as if this were a live recording. "Christ's Precious Blood Poisoned", "Fuck the Blood of the Lamb", and "Covered in Black Shit", are all announced prior to the song actually starting, often bridging the gap between the songs, as if this were being performed on stage. Honestly, it works, though it is something you'll have to get a bit accustomed to since the first time you hear it on "Christ's Precious Blood Poisoned" sounds insanely amateurish and out of nowhere. However, the further you get into the album and see how the band handles the spaces between the songs, it all makes sense, but again, as far as how much you'll enjoy this goes, it depends solely on the listener's personal preferences for how studio albums are handled. Personally, it really ties the album together and pushes it along nicely, keeping a strong flow from the start of the album until the very end. In the end, Disgusting Blasphemies Against God does start out rough thanks to the quality of the recording and the robotic-like drumming incorporated, but after a few songs, it will quickly grow on you once you realize how the band approached this release. Consider this album a studio recording of the band running set, and you'll appreciate it much more then if you expect to hear a full-length studio album from a band with the intention of recording a good quality studio album only and nothing else. The music here isn't the most technical, but for the most part it gets the job done of creating a heavy atmosphere to accompany the vile lyrics that sometimes are so disgusting you'll more then likely chuckle from the over-the-top attitude they possess. Disgusting Blacphemies Against God may have taken a good amount of time to see the light of day given how long this band has existed, a traditional band's discography track record, and Profanatica's unfortunate breaking up that took further time away, but Disgusting Blasphemies Against God more then makes up for all that time lost. |
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