DE PROFUNDIS
Bio:
De Profundis was formed in November 2005 by vocalist Craig Land and guitarist Roman Subbotin. Paul Westwood was recruited on drums and the band began writing material. Charles Allin (guitar) and Joel Wheeler (bass) joined within a few months, completing the first incarnation of De Profundis. However, with several songs written, the band made a radical reassessment of the music they were creating. The decision was taken to scrap their more melodic early attempts at song-writing in favour of a far darker, more bleakly atmospheric direction. At this stage, the legendary Christophe Szpajdel was approached to design a suitable logo reflecting the band’s music visually. Several compositions from this period would later appear on De Profundis’ debut album.
Autumn 2006 saw major upheaval within the De Profundis ranks, for reasons both professional and personal. Paul Westwood left to concentrate on To-Mera and Skaldic Curse. His exit was followed in rapid succession by those of Joel Wheeler and Charles Allin. Undaunted by these departures, the two founding members vowed to carry on, and in the space of two months had recruited Aleksej Obradovic (bass), Achilleas Gatsopoulos (drums) and Shoi Sen (guitar). This new committed and talented De Profundis line-up was unveiled in winter 2006.
Work on both existing and new material continued in earnest, with the band striving towards their ultimate goal of unleashing their own brand of despondency on the unsuspecting world. On completion of the material for the debut album, the rehearsals were stepped up both in frequency and intensity in preparation for the recording sessions, set to begin in April 2007. At this late stage, Achilleas Gatsopoulos and De Profundis parted ways due to conflicting work schedules. David Andrews stepped in to play the drums on the album just three weeks before the recording sessions.
De Profundis entered Warehouse Studios in Oxford on the 21st April 2007 as planned, to begin recording the debut album “Beyond Redemption" under the guidance of Steve Watkins. They emerged triumphant on the 9th May 2007 with a fully completed album containing five tracks with a total playing time of forty-five minutes. It was then mastered by the highly respected Tim Turan at Turan Audio.
In September 2007 the band’s search for a new drummer bore fruit as Sterghios Moschos joined De Profundis. Following several weeks of intense rehearsals, in October 2007 De Profundis officially launched their debut album, playing their first show at the newly-reinstated historic London venue, The Unicorn. In the further months that followed, the band embarked upon a busy live schedule and performed all over the UK to rapturous response of enthusiastic crowds. Positive media coverage and reviews added further momentum to the band’s assault on the metal scene, culminating in De Profundis being voted the 6th Best Unsigned Band by the readers of Terrorizer in the 2007 Readers’ Poll, despite the band’s music then being available for barely a few months.
In March 2008, De Profundis made their first major festival appearance, playing at the MMD Festival in Athens, Greece with James McIlroy (ex-Cradle of Filth) making a guest appearance with De Profundis as the third guitarist for a part of the set.
After the band’s return from Greece, De Profundis supported the French band Misanthrope on their UK tour, impressing their label boss enough to give De Profundis a distribution deal in France with Holy Records.
Following further glowing reviews, De Profundis was invited to perform at Bloodstock Open Air 2008 Festival. This performance marked the live debut of Nick Tingle, who replaced Sterghios Moschos following the latter’s move to Canterbury.
After a well-received performance at Bloodstock Open Air, De Profundis shifted its focus to writing the follow-up to “Beyond Redemption”. New songs began taking shape quickly as the band made use of Nick Tingle’s technical ability and improvisational skills. With the writing sessions progressing rapidly, over half of the material for the second album was completed before the end of 2008. The year was to end on a high with the band being hand-picked to perform at the Zero Tolerance magazine showcase event “The Day of Unrest” in December 2008.
In February 2009, De Profundis supported the legendary Iron Maiden in Bangalore, India, where an excellent crowd reaction further attested to the band’s growing popularity. Sony Music responded by giving De Profundis a licensing deal, which saw “Beyond Redemption” released on the major label in India in Summer 2009.
Following more UK dates, De Profundis continued to work on the new album. As the material for the second album edged closer to completion, De Profundis and Aleksej Obradovic parted ways as a result of musical differences. A replacement bassist was found in Arran McSporran, who joined the band in May 2009.
De Profundis entered studio on 5th June 2009 to record their second album “A Bleak Reflection” with French producer Fernando Pereira Lopes. Recording sessions took place in several studios across London over the following month, with session player Pippa Mason contributing cello parts to the album. The album was mixed at the renowned Parlour Studio; production was completed on 26th July 2009. Mastering was once again done by Tim Turan at Turan Audio.
August 2009 saw the band resuming its intensive live schedule with a show in Bucharest (Romania) and an appearance at Portugal’s Festival Ilha do Ermal 2009. In Autumn 2009, De Profundis performed in Paris (France) and toured across Northern England and Scotland with the UK black metal band Wodensthrone.
Following the European release of album "A Bleak Reflection" on Kolony Records in February 2010, De Profundis officially launched the new album with a show at the Underworld, London. The band then returned to play at the Underworld several weeks later at the “Infernal Damnation VI” festival. In May 2010, De Profundis undertook a two-week European tour with Ragnarok and Noctem, performing across Germany, Austria, Poland, Holland and Belgium.
Building on the positive reviews since the European release of "A Bleak Reflection", De Profundis signed with Relapse Records for exclusive distribution in USA and Canada. Sony Music released “A Bleak Reflection” in India in June 2010. With the support of the British Council, De Profundis returned to India on a headlining tour in October 2010, which included co-headlining Kingfisher’s Octoberfest 2010 in Bangalore in front of 30,000 alongside Lacuna Coil.
In April / May 2011, De Profundis went on a 14-date European tour with Rotting Christ and Omnium Gatherum, performing in 11 countries across Central and Eastern Europe.
The band is currently working on its third album, due to be recorded in 2011.
De Profundis Website
De Profundis @ MySpace