Time Signature A force to be reckoned with...

Genre: thrash metal

For some reason, I was under the impression that Profane Omen were an all out death metal band. Boy, was I wrong! The aptly titled 2011-album (to be released in in late September) is a slab of thrash metal with loads of groove and elements of speed metal and more traditional heavy metal and hard rock.

The only death metal element is the use of harsh vocals and the occasional blastbeat (and perhaps connoisseurs will detect elements from melodeath, too), but these are combined with clean vocals and more raw rock-oriented singing. Most of the tunes are mid- and uptempo groove thrashers, with the heavier 'Feed on the Wasted' (which draws on both thrash metal and alternative/grunge rock), the melodic hard rocker 'Bad Dreams' and the ballad 'Acedia' being the odd men out.

Fans of extreme and aggressive metal may perhaps be disappointed at the amount of melody and rock elements found in this release, but I quite like how Profane Omen integrate classic metal and hard rock into their melodeath -tinged brand of thrash metal on this release. I also quite like the drumming, as there are a lot of nice wee details on the hi-hat and ride cymbals - but, of course, the overall level of musicianship is quite high. I also like how Profane Omen, while to some extend adhering to the melodeath ethos, do not embrace the Gothenburg sound, but rather strive after a crisp and more bright sounding, yet aggressive and not-to-polished sound.

Recommended to fans of melodeath, thrash metal and melodic metalcore (but do not get your hopes up if you like heavy breakdowns, as there aren't that many of those).