The raging, technical, brutal, and really extreme German force of Death Metal, PROFANITY are back with a new album after 17 years! Just allow for that to register in your brain, because I'm still shocked by the fact that this monstrous band is about to release some decent material that is actually over a half hour (almost 40 minutes) long!

Following the extremely successful 2014 release called "Hatred Hell Within", the band proved that they are still a huge and well-respected force in the German and International Death Metal scenes. Although their last release was only 3 tracks and 20 minutes in length, it was awesome and swift, and I'm really glad I own that album on CD.

Although the band have been active since 1993, they are still pretty underrated, and they certainly do not deserve to be treated that way. They have released two full-length albums throughout the years - "Shadows to Fall" back in 1997 and "Slaughtering Thoughts" in 2000. Although the have released a few demos and a single called "Humade Me Flesh", a new full-length has been really anticipated by many fans, including myself.

The new album, "The Art of Sickness" was recorded in Iguana Studios with great patience and care throughout the years. It has 6 songs, and it is truly malicious. It starts off with a near 7-minute long opus called "The Great Obstacle". I was actually having a small connection problem whilst trying to play it when suddenly it just jumped in my ears with its incredibly fast and brutal riffs, the sweet and beautiful bass lines and the incredible Songwriting this song instantly became one of my favourites from the release. Although really fast, it concentrates on quality and thorough songwriting skills and playing that is actually well-practiced instead of simply fast. It shows how much the guys have worked their asses off to create a brilliantly brutal and kind of Melodic, Technical and incredibly Brutal Death Metal release!

 Thomas's guitar and vocal abilities on the aforementioned song are beyond amazing, and I'm seriously, seriously in love with the song, and am beyond surprised. I can't even find the correct words to describe what I felt. The song itself has a lot of vocal passages - most of them being really deep, guttural growls - and not too many screams; and the riffs are also very deep. The overall atmosphere might be fast, but it does slow down from time to time, alongside the riffs, the furious drums, and the tasty bass lines - which are somehow packed to beautifully into the mix.

Now onto something that is available for everyone to stream, and that is "Who Leaves Stays" - which is the second track on the album and the only song currently available to listen to on Youtube, but from what I have heard so far, there must and should be more songs released. I heard the song a few days after it debuted online, and I experienced a lot of changes since the latest release. Although I was a big fan of songs such as "Melting" from the previous release, "The Art of Sickness" is a lot different. It has so much guitar work, so many incredible melodies, and the second song doesn't lack those at all! The vocals get deeper and deeper, almost giving you a blood-chilling feeling - or call it apocalyptic feeling. I was truly scared of the vocals and the riffs.
"Mouth of Nepotism", the next track, is a bit more Technical than the previous two, but still on point with its raw brutality. I forgot to mention that although there are "only" 6 tracks, all of them will require a lot of time to listen to, since they are all over 6 minutes; not surprised by that fact, since we are talking about an underground gem of a band, run by uncrowned masters of the genre. I was not disappointed with this track at all; its semi -fast, not focused on speed but on overall technicality and pretty amazing writing skills. It's just beyond comprehension how good the songs actually are. They are so organised and not too hyped or overproduced. The mix is perfectly balanced, the guitar riffs are loud enough, but not too loud, the bass has a lot of presence at some points, and at others is purposefully silent - but still very much on point.

Although there are only 3 members, they really, really know their jobs! "Recreating Bliss" is a bit of slower, deeper, nastier track. It is kind of based on old-school riffs, extreme, SUFFOCATION-inspired vocals, and the track is focused more on brutality, unlike the third and second tracks that are a bit more technical. A lot of people might have mentioned this, but Apostasy Records really pick their bands for their roster carefully, and I fully respect that, because almost everything that they actually sign are unfinished masterpieces of groups, and this band is just one of them. The fifth track, "Specific Souls", is a classic track, and reminds you a bit of the band's early material, with fully "beast-mode" vocals, on-point fast guitar riffs, and dark, suffocating drumming. This track reminds me of their 2002 release, which consisted of one original song and two covers of the bands DEATH and TERRORIZER, and those covers showcased a piece of what the band was inspired by.

That was an overall great track, but now we're off to the last one...sadly. "Better Left Alone" contains some differently oriented vocals - growls, of course. Still, they are slightly different and remind you a lot of the album's start. This is also another track that showcases that speed isn't everything, for you might be a "technical as f*ck as band" but without actual knowledge of your playing surroundings, you're worth nothing.

PROFANITY have returned with an extremely energetic release, a release that will probably crush everything this genre will have to offer this year; and I'm being 100% serious now. Also, on a side note, I would like to thank the band's vocalist/guitarist for sending me a shirt inspired by their latest release back in 2015 - I will never forget that. You are amazing Tom! Keep up the good work, all of you. To the fans, if you're a fan of extreme yet on-point Death Metal with lots of technicalities and brutal passages, or you're into old-school bands that are similar to DYING FETUS, SUFFOCATION and MORTAL DECAY, give PROFANITY the support that they deserve!!