There is just something about Italy that instantly makes me think that each band from that country is going to kick mayor ass. Most of the times I'm right, and PROFANAL are here to prove that. Sadly, the band fell into a shadow at the end of 2016. With the ton of albums that were coming out the entire year people simply couldn't keep up with everything. The Italian old school Death/Thrash Metal-oriented band PROFANAL (from Livorno, Tuscany) have been active for 12 years now, releasing 2 demo tapes, 3 splits, and 2 full lengths, with 2016's "Supreme Fire" being their latest.

The album clocks in at around 35:30, and has 9 brutal, Thrash-influenced Death Metal songs. What I immediately realized about the cover is that it is somehow a brother to the latest MAZE OF SOTHOTH album; even if they were done by the same artist, there is a weird, unexplainable connection between them, both lyrically and musically. Spoiler: BOTH kick ass. Now, back to our main band. The album starts off with the cool "Eternal Course Of Blood", and the first thing I hear is a female vocalist. Do I like it? A lot! Am I surprised? No. This does not mean that I don't like it, of course. It's just cool that female vocalists in metal, especially more aggressive genres are becoming more common. The vocalist, Rosalba Ninivaggi, packs a hell of a punch. Her growls, her screams, and her entire vocal approach are absolutely and undoubtedly on point. She is one hell of a vocalist.  The song itself is interesting, but it surely isn't all what this album has to offer.

Off to the second one, "Despise Mankind", and this one is almost a minute longer than the previous, but it's already a bit better. The production is awesome, the guitars don't overpower the vocals, and the vocals don't bother the instrumentation either. Perfect! The third track, "A Call for Revenge", is the shortest song on the album, yet it is also kind of faster than the previous ones, with raw drums, true adherence to this genre, nasty vocals, and epic albeit a bit slow and sludgy riffs. I can sense the perfect mixture of Death and Thrash. Both genres dominate equally, but none of them even touches the other one - they dominate in harmony!

The fourth song, "Close The Coffin", starts off with some slow drums and chilling, haunting riffs that slowly but surely play their way into the song before reaching the epic vocals of this amazing lady. They mix with the whole thing, creating a dark, but enjoyable atmosphere of music.

"Across Death's Path", on the other hand, is a different song. It doesn't characteristically begin with an earth demolishing riff or anything of the sort, instead it opens with a slow, nice, guitar intro; which sounds a bit sad, kind of like it has a message, just like the album itself, which does its best at creating a sad, post-apocalyptical atmosphere of doom and destruction. I supposed of course that the intro would not last long, and I was right, once again. The deep, DISMEMBER-influenced vocals finally kick in, the riffs get faster, the drumming reaches the speed of light, and everything gets very brutal, yet fully enjoyable. Nothing is too loud, but just like it should be. I have to admit, this is my favorite song, so far. Those screams are INHUMAN!

"Oracle Of The Supreme Fire" is the seventh song. More growl oriented vocals dominate on this track. "Burn The Altar", the eight track, however, contains more SCREAMS. I like the variations between the vocal styles, it makes me think that the vocalist knows what she is doing and this means that the album itself isn't monotone, the sound itself is original; most bands just use one type of vocal all the time, making an album boring as f*ck. NOT with this band, though! They combine the two perfectly, using any type they want and whenever they want it. They are unpredictable, and that's exactly why I'll remain a fan of them from now on! "Considered As Gods" is the final apocalyptic track of this nasty album. The vocals are more interesting here, and with this track being a bit more than 5 minutes, there is a lot of time to enjoy all of what's going on here. Also, this track will prove everything I said about the vocal types, because it kind of sums up the whole album, using small pieces of previous songs and showcasing how this album actually sounds, which, as you could've guessed already, is incredible!

If you want slow and brutal, old-school-oriented Death Metal from the land of fast genres, you won't go wrong with PROFANAL. Recommended for fans of: NIRVANA 2002, ENTOMBED, DEATHCROWN, FUNERAL WHORE. Enjoy.