"The Curling Flame of Blasphemy" is PROFANATICA fourth full-length album. The band was formed in 1990 but only had a short first life-span and split up in '92. Paul Ledney resurrected the project in 2001, and the band has been productive ever since, taking advantage of the reprise interest in Black Metal.

Extreme sounds, rhythmic tempos, shrieking vocals, heavily distorted guitars, a raw production, and very atmospheric mood that is exactly what "The Curling Flame of Blasphemy" brings to life.

The album first two songs "Ordained in Bile" and "March to Golgotha" flow into one another lacking a bit of personality, but setting a hammering hypnotizing rhythm which is the backbone of the entire album. Almost like a marching parade of blackness. "Magic & Muhr" changes the game and starts with a tribal toms roll, soon to slow down and offer despairing feelings, interlaced with fascinating changes of speeds and rhythms. Bass and Guitars are given equal importance here as in many of the other songs, the bass is not simply a tool to sustain the guitar, it has its own prominent devastating place in creating the thick atmosphere of PROFANATICA.

"The Curling Flame of Blasphemy" gets really to its rotten core once we are introduced to "Rotten Scripture". This ruthless track is crude and raw, at the same time it gives true brutal Black Metal riffing and viciously uncomfortable vocals growls which suddenly stops to become solemn and seems to be starting celebrating a ritual. In "Bleed Heavenly Kingdom" the bass cadence with single root notes drives through the spine of the song setting speed and moods. The rough guitar sound here becomes almost melodic in comparison, marrying the two instruments into a perfect cooperation of completing and competing with one another. The final track "Curling Flame" is the song that names this wonderfully creepy album and fairly so. The track is a great journey into darkness, the doom is palpable with a prominent bass sound and long guitar howls, with no doubt best tune of this work.

"The Curling Flame of Blasphemy" is not love at first sight, but it slowly grows on the listener who will find intricate obscure patterns and secrets all throughout the journey with PROFANATICA's maddening concepts of sound.Production 8