Italian death metal preservationists Profanal don’t hide their affinity for Swedish nastiness. From the opening blaze of “Eternal Curse of Blood,” Supreme Fire pairs Stockholm grit with Dismember’s searing riffage. While Profanal certainly favor bands who buy their HM-2 pedals with Swedish krona, their second LP doesn’t shun progression and pretend it’s still 1993. Just check out the hardcore propulsion and Gothenburg bite of “Close the Coffin” that withers into the disquieting ruminations of “Across Death’s Path.” But if you have “Nirvana 2002’s Disembodied Spirits or GTFO” tattooed on your back, fret not: Down to the final stomp of “Considered as Gods,” there’s enough grimy groove to please even the most nihilistic Nihilist diehards.
Supreme Fire will appropriately be released on October 31st from Iron Tyrant. That means you can celebrate the buzzsaw with Profanal, then watch that blood-drenched buzzsaw scene from French shocker Frontière(s) in the spirit of Halloween.
Burn alive in Profanal’s Supreme Fire, sink into Ivory Crux’s hellscape/album cover, and read some thoughts on death and organic progression from vocalist Rosy Ninivaggi and bassist Daniele Montagnani below.
After releasing Black Chaos in 2012, what were the band’s goals when writing Supreme Fire?
Daniele Montagnani: To write another platter of Old School Death Metal! A little bit of evolution is natural; we have improved in the arrangements section but especially in the sound. We’ve worked with the same sound engineer we used for “Close the Coffin” on the [Profanal/Into Darkness] split 7”, and we are very proud of the result. After the release, the plan is to do many gigs, as usual, in Italy and Europe.
The elegance of “Across Death’s Path” crashing into “Thanatophobia” is my favorite moment on the record. When did you make the decision to have a track of clean guitar?
Montagnani: It’s all spontaneous. Kristian [Cucchiara, guitarist] wrote this track, and we liked it so much we said: Why don’t we put it in the album? Right in the middle of it, to use as a break. Like “Embryo” on Black Sabbath’s Master of Reality!
There’s obviously a large Swedish influence in your style, but what outside of music inspires your music and lyrics?
Rosy Ninivaggi: Death, in a figurative way or not, is obviously the biggest inspiration because it’s the biggest mystery of human being. It’s related with all the aspects of life and it has a huge influence on it.
The album’s artwork from Ivory Crux is amazing. Did you offer guidance regarding what you wanted for the cover?
Ninivaggi: Our idea about the artwork was something about fire; a burning landscape. Ivory Crux is a young Italian artist and we just have relied very much on her creative talent. We’re proud of her stunning artwork, and it reflects what we wanted.
Supreme Fire will be released on Halloween. What plans do the band’s members have for All Saint’s Eve?
Ninivaggi: For the release date on October 31st, we’ll just have a party somewhere with friends which will result in heavy drinking as usual! The release party show of ”Supreme Fire” will be in November.
Order Profanal’s Supreme Fire from Iron Tyrant and start your Halloween with some top-shelf old school death metal.
