Review: “The Gospel Of Rot” by De Profundis

“The Gospel Of Rot is both a warning and a weapon – a sonic rebellion against the forces that seek to silence and subjugate. De Profundis offers not salvation but a wake-up call… the rot is everywhere – and it’s time to tear it down.”
~ De Profundis

Three years after their well received sixth studio album “The Corruption of Virtue” crawled out from the darkness with the help of Transcending Obscurity Records, London death dealers De Profundis return to infect our tiny minds with “The Gospel Of Rot“. Celebrating twenty years in the furnaces of Valhalla that have seen them evolve from Doom infused Death Metal sonic abrasions through an era of Progressive Blackened Death Metal and now simply to Death Metal, the record serves as an introduction to their next chapter. Across four fresh cuts that bleed through the bandages they introduce new vocalist Stefano Bassi, a man known for his time in Lunar Mercia, Autopsia and of course Havok as well as new bassist Simon McAuliffe of Trolls in the Mist, Formicarius and Phyrexia fame. Mixed and mastered by Matt Jones at Capsaarx Studios (Fury, Vanitas, Dakesis) and wrapped in wonderful artwork from Pierre-Alain D. of 3mmi Design (Necrodeath, Scar Symmetry, The Crawling), death is merely the beginning…

It has to be said the addition of two Metal veterans in Bassi and McAuliffe adds a certain intrigue to “The Gospel Of Rot“, the departure of vocalist Craig Land after two decades a sore one for many fans. Technically that leaves no founding member of the group in the current line up although guitarist Soikot Sengupta joined in 2006, a year before their 2007 debut “Beyond Redemption” was unleashed. Beside him former Carpathia pairing Paul Nazarkardeh and Tom Atherton have served since 2013 and 2014 respectively and so have each paid their dues with all three being part of the line up to provide us with arguably the bands finest hour (well… 43 minutes) in 2018 album “The Blinding Light of Faith“.

As a collection “The Gospel Of Rot” feels like a call for an uprising, a clenched fist of defiance and a manifesto of resistance against corrupt politicians and greedy corporations dragging humanity through the dirt for a dollar while the world around us burns. The order of the day is an old school Death Thrash onslaught and “Corruption” is a rampaging monster of an opening cut, the death growls from Bassi a vicious reminder of exactly that he is capable of when he puts his mind to it. Intricate riffs in the mid-section are majestic as the axe wielding duo flirt with Progressive Death Metal leads, adding a brightness and warmth to an otherwise brutal tune and in many ways capturing the essence of what made the likes of Morbid Angel so damn good.

Galloping drums from Atherton provide the framework upon which everything else hangs as “Deception” causes the death nerve to twitch. Instantly appealing with menacing vocals and sinister riffs, it feels like to should be the accompaniment to grave yard at midnight scene in a low budget horror movie. A headbangers delight from start to finish with a scorcher of a solo that leaves the fretboard smoking, it’s the very definition of what the genre has been about since 1983 and is utterly timeless. The throat splitting vocals on “Indoctrination” are enough to wake the dead, the demonic calls of a man possessed accompanied by the kind of adrenaline soaked riffs that other bands kill. Bursts of blast beats and a scream until you bleed chorus are all part of the fun, the musicianship being nothing short of impeccable throughout.

Nailing the guitar tone of the Sepultura classic “Subtraction” can’t have been easy but De Profundis have achieved it, making the song their own as Atherton batters the living daylights out of the kit. A couple of tasteful tribal drum fills and a blistering solo are very much on the money, the bass a little higher in the mix to give the track a real punch. All in all a mighty fine addition to the discography of an underrated band that bodes very well for their next full length album [8/10]

Track Listing

1. Corruption
2. Deception
3. Indoctrination
4. Subtraction (Sepultura Cover)

“The Gospel Of Rot” by De Profundis is out 1st October 2025