Signs of Nine

2010 seems to be the year for the revival of thrash metal. We’ve been seeing a rise in some solid thrash metal albums in the recent past (Endgame and Formation of Damnation comes to mind) and after spectacular releases by Overkill, Heathen, Exodus and Witchery among others, its time for Profaner to join the list. Profaner’s debut album ‘Signs Of Nine’ released by Northern Storm Records is among the best I’ve heard from Canada, a land that also boasts of other metal powerhouses such as Exciter, Annihilator, Voivod, Sacrifice and many others.


‘No Fate’ is the first song off the record and the distortion kicking in over the acoustic guitars on this 9 min long instrumental marks the start of a very memorable album. ‘Through The Depths’, the second song is a throwback to early Metallica and as the album progresses, I could hear influences by several varied bands across genres. The band has captured the melodic pentatonic licks that stands for all Iron Maiden represents and has fused it with the aggression of Metallica and has thrown in loads of heady grooves, juicy hooks and a lot of speed for good measure. ‘Marked For Death’ even has some grungy rock n’ roll bits along the middle that all make up for a very interesting listen. ‘Symbol Of Supremecy’ leads into track #8, ‘Waylaid By Evil,’ which is among the fastest and heaviest on the record and along with the title track ‘Signs Of Nine’ would probably make my picks off the album.


Despite the fact that the album is excessively long for a thrash metal band (9 tracks adding up to about 71 minutes), the band has got enough tricks up their sleeve to keep you interested along the length of the journey. There are parts that sound like the band might be losing their way but they always rein themselves in together, and that’s what is most heartening to hear. The album has been mastered by Dan Swano (Edge of Sanity, Katatonia, Bloodbath etc) and is a veritable assault upon your senses. A fine release and despite being only halfway through the year, I’m already convinced that ‘Signs Of Nine’ will feature on my top 20 list of the year.


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Written by Madhav Ravindranath for Headbangers India
http://www.headbangers.in