Blast Rites: Profanation – Skull Crushing Violence Review

No matter what France’s Profanation name their next release, they aren’t going to top the title of this, their debut EP. Skull Crushing Violence isn’t just the name, it’s just about the most apt description for what these five dudes are delivering within. Profanation play death/grind so intense you’ll be glad this thing is only 19 minutes long, because you might not survive this racket if they hit the 20-minute mark.

Want some comps to give you a better idea of the absolute rudeness on display here? LET’S GO. Skull Crushing Violence is like some serious glutton for punishment tossed From Enslavement to Obliteration, Misery Index, Morbid Tales, Vulgar Necrolatry, and Hear Nothing See Nothing Say Nothing into a blender, turned the setting to liquify, and then left the gas stove running so everything goes kablooey when your blender shorts out from all the ferocity. It’s a crusty, feedback-happy, insanely blasty (fasty blasty… very fasty blasty), and bonkers hefty set of death/grind that only lets up on the speed to show off a delightful caveman side (“Graveyard Stomp”). But don’t call these slower moments reprieves, as such passages allow the riffs to get fatter than usual, which is a little scary, because even at full speed this stuff is popping buttons left and right.

Are there solos? Maybe! There are certainly parts when one guitarist is doing something on his own, sure, but I’m not sure what you hear across this EP really constitutes solos. Whatever whammy bar, wah peddle, and string bend misuse is happening in “Global Terror” isn’t going to impress your jazz friends. Rather, such embellishments are abusive enough on the ears to make a Kerry King lead (of the dying cat variety) sound like Al Di Meola.

From all the pummeling riffs and wicked good drumming ‒ blast and roles and roles and blasts ‒ to the synchronized band impacts, gruff, extremely pissed off vocals, and perfectly raw production, everything here is designed for maximum destruction. So maybe the next release will be called Even More Skull Crushing Violence or Return of the Son of Skull Crushing Violence or something, because when you’ve clearly accomplished exactly what you’ve set out to do, the only thing to do is run it all back again.