melodylane

MELODY LANE:  First of all, also if it can sound a bit expected…Can you tell us where does the name  DE PROFUNDIS  come from?  
Paul Nazarkardeh : The name DE PROFUNDIS comes from the ABRUPTUM song 'De Profundis Mors Vas Consumet', but I think it sums up our philosophy as a band quite well. We've never been interested in following the trends of modern metal – be that grossout gore, pseudo-occultism or whatever else. Great extreme metal has always come from the depths of the underground, and so we follow the same approach! When MORBID ANGEL made God Of Emptiness, they didn't give a damn about the trappings of the genre at the time, and it's that spirit which means everything to us.

MELODY LANE:  The line-up of the band is confirmed, is it the same from the beginning of the band…or have you had changes in the last years? Can you tell us something about the roots of  DE PROFUNDIS?  And where the band was born?
Paul Nazarkardeh : DE PROFUNDIS have existed for over a decade. While there's been a number of members come and go over the years, the current lineup has remained stable for the last four years. Though the band is based in London, our vocalist Craig Land is originally from South Africa, and guitarist Shoi Sen from France. The UK has some unique challenges for metal bands. Being an island nation makes international touring tough, especially when faced with something so outrageously stupid as Brexit making the practicalities of touring completely unpredictable. Unlike our fortunate and priviledged Scandinavian cousins, our government is actively at war with the arts. So there is no public support for musicians whatsoever AND geographical isolation... It's not good.

MELODY LANE:  Can you list us 5 songs, from  DE PROFUNDISdiscography (including new material), that can define the sound of the band … 5 songs that can help our readers to know  DE PROFUNDIS  at the best.  
Paul Nazarkardeh : Metal right now seems split between two approaches - a lo-fi, punk philosophy versus a polished, modern one. In Death Metal you can see this in the gulf between the HM2 fuelled Left Hand Path sound that has been popular lately and ultra technical, clinical sounding death metal.  In our new album The Blinding Light of Faith, we look for a third way! We make Death Metal that has the craftsmanship and ultra-tight musicianship of Tech Death, with the ruthless aggression and riffs of the traditional school of extreme metal. Sure – some people just want one or the other. Oh well – We aren't doing it for them, we're doing what we want to hear in this scene in 2018. The songs that I think show this particularly well are War Be Upon Him and Martyrs (both from The Blinding Light of Faith), An Orgy Of Grotesqueries (from Decayed), Kult of the Orthodox (Kingdom of the Blind) and Dead Inside (The Emptiness Within)

MELODY LANE:  Tell us something about the creative process of your music. Is there a main composer or we can talk about a team work? The songs come from ideas of a single member and then the band works on these ideas in the studio jamming together, or your songs are written in the studio and all the members compose together?
Paul Nazarkardeh : The DE PROFUNDIS creative process is quite democratic, with the songs being made between the 5 of us in our studio in North West London.  I think this is why there has been so many members in and out of DE PROFUNDIS – making this kind of music in a rehearsal studio isn't easy. To be able to 'jam' these ideas quickly you need to be on top of your game as a musician or you won't be able to keep up!

MELODY LANE:  Who writes lyrics and words in  DE PROFUNDIS? Can you tell us something about contents and messages of the lyrics of your songs?
Paul Nazarkardeh : Our vocalist Craig writes all the lyrics in DE PROFUNDIS. The themes of the Blinding Light of Faith are all about the horrors of the three Abrahamic religions. So what makes our approach different from a million other anti-religious bands? Rather than the same anti-Christianity themes that we have all seen for decades, it was important for us on this album that we wrote about all three facets of Abrahamism – Christianity, Judaism and Islam. All three have been used by evil people to achieve their sick, twisted ends, and so we do this without discrimination. There is no political undertone to this as some have mistakenly assumed. I'd like to be extremely clear – Fuck NSBM. The same goes for the idiots that hide their bigoted views under a veil of 'anti-religion'. All peoples on all corners of this world have suffered under the ills of Abrahamism, and so we kept this in mind when making this album.

MELODY LANE:    After time, are you totally satisfied with your choices about sound and the writing of your old albums? If you could… would you change anything?  
Paul Nazarkardeh : I have the greatest respect for BOLT THROWER because of their honesty – they didn't make another album after Those Once Loyal because they just couldn't make a record that would beat the last. What is the point of making music if you aren't trying to make the best record you've ever made on EVERY record? So yes, there is a few things I would change! In retrospect, I wish the producer of The Blinding Light of Faith, Pete Dowsett, produced the last record Kingdom of the Blind. If he did, it would be a completely different sounding record. But there's nothing to be gained in looking to the past, only the future.

MELODY LANE:   So will you tour in the next future? Have you already a touring schedule? Any chance for us to see  DE PROFUNDIS  playing live here again in Italy in the next months/year?
Paul Nazarkardeh : We were in Italy just a few months ago in June with BELPHEGOR and MELECHESH. Since then we've had a few people ask that we return! Bari has been mentioned a few times, and indeed we didn't get a chance to play the south of Italy. First though, there are some countries which we haven't been able to bring The Blinding Light of Faith to yet... Next up is Spain with Iberian Warriors Festival in Zaragoza in November.

MELODY LANE:  Could you tell us two bands, from the actual international scene, you’d like  DE PROFUNDIS  to tour with?... Two bands that would represent a perfect line-up for DE PROFUNDIS to play with. And why these bands?
Paul Nazarkardeh : First of all – KING DIAMOND. I don't care that he doesn't make Death Metal. He made some of the greatest metal records of all time, and even today in his old age after major health issues, he still makes the biggest metal bands of today look slow and tired in comparison. Touring with him would be the highest possible honour. Besides that... TED NUGENT. Just to give the silly old bastard a heart attack!

MELODY LANE:  We know that ‘to define is to limit’… but how do you define  DE PROFUNDIS sound? Are you a Death band…a Prog/Death band…Old school death metal band? Or…
Paul Nazarkardeh : It's a fine line... I would call The Blinding Light of Faith old school death metal, but in the progressive vein. To me the greatest Death Metal is and always will be bands like DEATH, ATHEIST, PESTILENCE, Focus era CYNIC and David Vincent era MORBID ANGEL. All these bands can be called 'Old School Death Metal', but they pushed new ground. We want to carry on this spirit of Death Metal in 2018. 'Old School' should mean more than stealing the riffs that were made in 1992. It's a spirit, a bravery to be unique before this genre had so many 'rules'!

MELODY LANE:  Which musicians are/have been your main musical inspirations? And which are your favorite bands nowadays?
Paul Nazarkardeh : If I could give one piece of advice to anyone making Metal music, it would be to NOT only take influence from Metal. No piece of great art has ever been made by only taking influence from once source. Any good writer will tell you this, but it is a fact that it sometimes ignored in metal.
So with that, we all have a very wide variety of musical influences. Each member of DE PROFUNDIS will give you a totally different answer, but right now on my phone I have a variety ranging from Immolation, Death Grips, Russian choral music, Mahavishnu Orchestra, Paradise Lost, traditional Persian music, Rotting Christ and Yngwie Malmsteen. In a month, maybe these will all be completely different too!

MELODY LANE:  As a musician, what has been your biggest achievement to date and what do you want to achieve in the near future? 
Paul Nazarkardeh : My personal proudest achievement is the reaction that we have seen to The Blinding Light of Faith. In an era where we are all distracted by millions of different albums from millions of different bands, it's incredibly humbling that so many people are messaging us saying how much this album stands out to them! As for our next goal? There are a lot of festivals in Europe that DE PROFUNDIS have not yet played, and we want to get on them! The stages of Wacken, Hellfest, Summer Breeze, Party San would all be major goals. Here's hoping for some of them next summer!

MELODY LANE:  In  the end…A message from you to all  MELODY LANE  readers.
Paul Nazarkardeh : Thank you to Melody Lane and everyone for reading my rantings! Best regards and all the best!