Information
Author: Mourning
Translation: Leonard Z
Line Up
Baked Bones - Bass
Meatgrinder - Guitar, Vocals
Christoph - Guitars
Jeff - Vocals
Skullcrusher - Drums
Profanation have been part of the German underground scene for more then a decade, in 2011 they released their fourth album "Contorted Bodies In Pain", let's have a talk with them.
Welcome on Aristocrazia Webzine. Usually we start with a short presentation of the band and its history, so please tell us something about you.
Profanation are a part of the german death metal scene since 1997. The main core of the band in it's current form plays together since 2000, consisting of Alex (guitar/vocals), Anton (bass) and Luxl (drums). Shortly after, a main vocalist was found in Hippi, who can be heard on the first 3 albums, but had to quit due to health problems in 2009. He was replaced by Jeff, a really talented lad. A second guitar player, named Chris, was added in 2005. As a band we're always working to deliver the best and most brutal deathgrind on albums as on stage.
How is having been active for almost fifteen years? Together with one of the German death metal band that I love, Purgatory, you are a real example of coherence and constancy. How much is it difficult to have always the same incentives to follow through your projects?
To be honest, we still feel like a young band, as we didn't get the reception we think we deserve, 'til now. So we don't care if it's a year or fifteen years, as long as we love what we do. Purgatory are a good example as they show, that when you're consistent at what you do, you will get the acceptance you deserve. I don't think it's difficult to stick to our style because we simply do what we like and that's just the blasting and groovy stuff, Profanation stands for.
You are a mature band, your line up is stable and with "Contorted Bodies In Pain" you released the fourth Profanation album, is there something that you miss of the past years? And a skill that you achieved during these years and that you still want to improve?
There's always room for improvements. Whe you're a small band, you always have only a limited time in the studio, so making every record better than it's predecessor will keep us going for a long time. Another point is, that we never had real record label support in the past and had to rely mostly on ourselves. I hope that changes a bit with Mad Lion Records. Being a death metal band, playing more and more live shows worldwide is a main aim, as the brutality works best in a live setting. Musically speaking, there's still a lot to come from us, as we're always working on improving our skills, trying new ways of songwriting and I think, Jeff - as he's still very young - will bring a lot of new influences, too.
The album is pleasantly inspired by the American death metal and grindcore scenes, I think of Dying Fetus and Cannibal Corpse for exapmle. Did your musical tastes change during the years or the base is always the same? Which are the bands that you love?
It seems, that a german band, playing brutal death metal, always gets compared to the american main forces. That's understandable, but a bit unfair. There's influences to be found for sure, but in the end we're working to establish a style of our own. It's real hard to make something new in death metal and keeping up the brutality at the same time. So we're just taking everything that's sounding good and create songs that leave out all boring parts. It's up to the fans to decide if we succeed at that, but we'll always stick to that simple formula. And I'd say the work of our vocalists is much better than in most other death metal bands as they're really bringing the lyrics alive. To name some influences: Suffocation, Exodus, old Lividity, Nile, old Benediction, Slayer, Behemoth and so many more bands. We've been compared to so many different bands...in the end it depends more on the listener than on us, whom we're compared to.
I like that the album is similar to a monolith, it doesn't sparkle yet it doesn't bore the listener, it can hit continuously from the first to the last track "Blowtorch Inferno" that is my favourite one. How was the platter born? Ho do you songs take life?
Listening to the album now, I'm always surprised how the songs turned out so fast. the first 4 songs just blast over the listener. No ballads, no weak parts, no wimpy melodies. That's the way, deathgrind should be. Speaking of a monolith, yeah, it's smashing you from start to finish. Even though I would compare it to a fast moving tank (we're a german band, haha). And I think, some small sparkles can be found, when you really dig into the songs, speaking of the short guitar solos. Most songs are created in our rehearsal space, starting with riffs by Alex or Chris and getting arranged by the whole band. I'd say, the main reason the songs come to life is the drumming of Luxl. We're really glad to have him in the band as he's the main reason, the songs get to groove. The vocals are added after the music is finished, sometimes at rehearsals, sometimes in the studio.
Why did you choose a title like "Contorted Bodies In Pain"? What is the pain that gnaws mankind?
The album title just came up when Alex looked for cool sounding word in the dictionary, haha. It just fits our music perfectly. Speaking of mankind's pain...just watch the news. Wouldn't say we're conceptually dealing with such problems, even though there's a lot of them around. But that is the case since mankind exists and not only today.
How do you live and see the German extreme scene? There is a "worrying" proliferation of hyper-technical and core-addicted bands (read these words with their worst meaning), what do you like and what do you not like of the today scene?
I totally agree with you on that. So we're the small band fighting the demise of the german scene, haha. It's easy to see, that the scene for that kind of stuff is really big but I think it's way beyond climax by now and getting back to more old school stuff at the moment. I don't care too much for that and listen to anything I like. There's good bands coming up in every genre with a lot of crap bands in their tail so just pick the best and fuck the rest. It won't bother us in the way we play.
How was your first approach with the metal world? The first album that you listened? And the first one you bought?
A good question. My first metal song was "Enter Sandman" by Metallica. I had just read the songtitle in an Bravo magazine and liked the word sandman, because of the figure in kid's tv of the GDR. I recorded the song from DT64 radio and started liking that stuff. Lend some metal stuff in the library like the "Reign in blood" lp and fell for metal. The first own cd was "No Prayer For The Dying" by Maiden. Not the best album if you ask the older fans, but my first, so I like it very much.
The growing of importance and speed with which internet guarantees to you get in touch with an alubum is an advantage in your opinion? I noticed that the younger guys are less interested in waiting or consuming an album before listening to another one, is this a "pop" attitude?
Internet, as any media brings advantages and disadvantages. You can listen to nearly any band worldwide and get anything for free. It's easier for smaller bands to get their music spread. The problem with that is, that finding good bands becomes like looking for a needle in a haystack. The younger generation just chooses the best songs of bands and doesn't care for buying full albums. I wouldn't call that pop attitude, It's just that listening to music has become more casual. In the end there's always a broad mass of people just consuming and some real music lovers. So that's just a mirror image of today's society. So I'm not spending too much time, bothering about the situation. We have to live with it and use any options, the internet provides us with, to make our music heard.
Let's get back to "Contorted Bodies In Pain", how was it received by the critics? And by your fans?
Sadly enough, we didn't get much reviews 'til now, as the promos still wait for mailing. There's only a good review at metal.de. The fans who listened to the album showed really delighted reactions, so we hope it stays that way and brings us a huge step forward.
How are Profanation on stage? What should we wait from your live shows?
I gotta say, we really take no prisoners. Expect an intense live show and pure high speed brutality. Lots of banging and an stage that's always to small for us.
Are there any shows programmed? Maybe someone around Europe?
At the moment there's a lot shows in the planning but none confirmed, yet. Mostly it will be shows in germany next year, some smaller festivals and clubs. More would be fine, we just have to wait and see.
Which is your greatest satisfaction up to now?
Having a new album out is always a satisfaction. It gives you a load of new energy, waiting for the first reactions and the feeling to go a step further. Other great moments are nearly everytime we hit a stage, as that's just awesome. Touring Australia was a high point, too. Still a lot to achieve.
If you could organize a festival in which you could invite the bands that you want, which bands would you choose? Say five bands.
I'll keep it diverse: Dying Fetus, Dissection, Exodus, Lord Belial, My Dying Bride.
Which are the bands that represent the death/grind scene today like in the past?
Most of all, Profanation, hehe. I'd say, the same as in the past: Cannibal Corpse, Suffocation, Dying Fetus. All bands that can put up a real intense death metal show are best to represent the scene.
Which are your plans for the future? Are you already working to something new?
We're planning a spit cd with our buddies in DEFLORATION but the songs still have to emerge. At the moment we're really busy, promoting the new cd on the internet, hoping to get more live shows. That will be the most important thing for us in the next months. Hope to make it to Italy someday, too.
FINE. Recommending to our readers the listening of "Contorted Bodies In Pain" and thanking you for your willingness, I leave you the last word to close the interview.
A huge thank you to you, Gabriele for doing the interview and preparing real good questions. Keep up your great support for the underground. All the best to you and your zine.
Thanks to anyone reading this, for the time. Hope to see you soon!!!
Cheerz from all of Profanation.
