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Kampfar-Profan-NO-CD-FLAC-2015-CATARACT
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ARTIST : Kampfar STOREDATE : 00-00-2015
ALBUM : Profan RIPDATE : 12-09-2015
YEAR : 2015 RUNTIME : 40:09 min
GENRE : Black Metal LANGUAGE : Norwegian
LABEL : Indie Recordings GRABBER : EAC Secure
SOURCE : CDDA ENCODER : FLAC 1.2.1
QUALITY : 1034kbps Avg 44.1kHz 2 channels SIZE : 311.7MB
URL : http://tinyurl.com/nk9fhe3 TRACKS : 7 Files
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01 Gloria Ablaze 4:31
02 Profanum 5:35
03 Icons 5:00
04 Skavank 7:35
05 Daimon 5:54
06 Pole In The Ground 6:29
07 Tornekratt 5:05
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40:09 min
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│ There really is nothing like putting together an annual top-ten │
│ list. Critiquing, organizing, selecting, re-selecting, and │
│ rearranging right up to the deadline, like creating a haphazard │
│ grocery list as you suffer through a 48-hour fasting. As is the case │
│ with many of my colleagues, I pretty much had my list nailed down at │
│ the beginning of November with everything listed in an order I was │
│ 99% confident with. Well, that was until Kampfaræs Profan hit my │
│ inbox a week ago. Not that itÆs a band thing that Kampfar (much like │
│ Mors Principium Est before it) upset my 2015 order, but they │
│ single-handedly fucked everything up. So for those of you who think │
│ youÆve heard all there is to hear this year, I offer you another for │
│ your listening pleasure. │
│ │
│ Ever since the departure of Thomas (Kampfaræs longtime │
│ guitarist/bassist) in 2010, the Kampfar kamp has seen some │
│ separation in their fanbase. Personally, IÆm a Thomas-era fan of the │
│ band. Albums like Mellom skogkledde aaser and Kvass still stand as a │
│ couple of my favorites for the entire genre. However, as the band │
│ honed in on their recent ôaccessibleö black metal period (beginning │
│ with 2011Æs Mare), theres been a steady increase in impact and │
│ staying power. This resulted in albums that retain that Kampfar │
│ sound and emotion, but deliver it with a fresh new twist. Last │
│ yearÆs Djevelmakt expanded upon the sound of Mare, but Profan showed │
│ up to solidify it. Profan represents another slab of solid black │
│ metal from a band thatÆs not only one of the most consistent, but │
│ also one of the more progressively successful. │
│ │
│ Opener ôGloria Ablazeö and closer ôTornekrattö are not only the best │
│ tracks on the album, but proof of the aforementioned honing. Kicking │
│ off with powerful, blackened riffs and a holistic sense of emotion │
│ and atmosphere, they build to deep-breathing, orgasmic relief when │
│ their respective ôchorusesö finally arrive. The aggressive, │
│ emotion-stricken ôcleansö that lurch and belt forth are so good that │
│ latter may have trumped all contenders for Song oÆ the Year. ItÆs │
│ the kind of power and emotion I long for and when itÆs achieved │
│ almost as perfectly as on ôTornekratt,ö I canÆt help but be swept up │
│ and away by it. ItÆs the equivalent to the crippling emotions on │
│ last yearÆs Behemoth outing. I canÆt fully explain or comprehend the │
│ feelings I get from these songs but they are real, and to resist │
│ them is not only stupid, but futile. │
│ Thankfully, these two songs arenÆt the only good ones. Each of the │
│ seven links on Profan stands with their own individuality. However, │
│ when chained together, Profan weaves a concise theme from beginning │
│ to end. Within that chain youÆll find a straight-forward black │
│ assault like ôIcons,ö the epic seven-and-a-half minute ôSkavank,ö │
│ and the slow, creeping ôDaimon.ö While ôIconsö pairs with ôProfanumö │
│ as the ôweakerö songs on the album, its simple approach helps to │
│ provide variety in this mix of highly melodic numbers. One such │
│ number would be ôSkavank;ö providing the kind of melody and emotion │
│ that makes Profan an auditory weapon. Chugging along as only a │
│ crushing black metal song can, it takes a turn to create an ending │
│ itching with desperation and the ripping-from-oneÆs-skin moments │
│ found in Profanæs alpha and omega. ôDaimonö drops a mind-fucking │
│ ditty in the middle of the album that includes a didgeridoo, piano, │
│ and a slow-churning riffage complete with low-end vocals reminiscent │
│ of The Vision Bleak. As with most of Kampfaræs catalog, Profan is │
│ not in any danger of settling into a groove or boring the listener. │
│ │
│ Profan spends its entire forty-minute length building up to │
│ something. That ôsomethingö finally bursts from the soothing, yet │
│ unsettling synths in the closing minute of ôPole in the Ground.ö │
│ Profan is a great album and a natural progression from Djevelmakt. │
│ The production is rich and clean, though it suffers from high │
│ compression (which is not surprising for a Jonas Kjellgren mix). And │
│ to wrap it all up, you get that stunning artwork thatÆs worthy of │
│ not only a vinyl print, but a hook on your wall. So, for all you │
│ list-makers out there, be sure to free up a spot. Just in case. │
│ │
│ 7 tracks, 4 Norwegian, 3 English. -NO- tag. │
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