ALBUM REVIEW: PROFANE ORDER - TIGHTENED NOOSE OF SANCTIMONY
Canada is a beautiful country; a nation filled with stunning landscapes, fantastic food and the kindest people you will ever meet. Canada is also a haven for extreme metal. With that in mind, Montreal based quartet ‘Profane Order’ have re-released their second EP ‘Tightened Noose Of Sanctimony’ along with their debut record ‘Marked By Malice’ in a handy package that contains their entire current discography.
‘Profane Order’ are a mixture of black and death metal that play with a ferocity that will make your ears bleed. ‘Tightened Noose Of Sanctimony’ is not an easy record to listen to, but it is difficult not to get sucked in as each track pummels you with a relentless collection of death metal riffs and hideous growls. Opening track ‘Sick Seed Eradication’ wastes no time introducing you to the record as you are instantly hit with a wall of noise that doesn’t stop for the entire 54 minute running time. The EP starts to get a bit repetitive after a while, but there is enough variety within the tracks to keep you interested. This is particularly effective in ‘Total Sacrifice’ and ‘Terror Worship’ which both feel like multiple songs merged into one.
Where ‘Tightened Noose Of Sanctimony’ is a relentless collection of death metal, debut record ‘Marked By Malice’ is a very different beast that has more in common with the black metal sub-genre. Opening track ‘Rats Nest’ starts with a long and dirgy doom intro and the vocals are much clearer and higher pitched. It is fascinating to see how much the band have progressed in such a short time period. The songs are still great, but lack the depth and variety of their more recent output. With such a noticeable shift between the two records, it is impossible to guess what direction ‘Profane Order’ may take in their next record but we will be very interested to hear it.
6/10
Personal Highlight: Track three ‘Terror Worship’ is a great mix of everything that the band excels at. Evil riffs, crushing breakdowns and discordant shredding solos. ‘Terror Worship’ is uncomfortable and haunting in the best way possible, far and away the most varied and diverse track on the record.
