Profanatica
Encyclopedia
Profanatica is a black metal
Black metal
Black metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music. Common traits include fast tempos, shrieked vocals, highly distorted guitars played with tremolo picking, blast beat drumming, raw recording, and unconventional song structure....

 band from New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...

. They are among the American black metal bands to have emerged early during the Second Wave of black metal, and under the direction of Paul Ledney they have placed profound emphasis on blasphemous themes.

Initial formation (1990 - 1992)

After the founding members of death metal
Death metal
Death metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal. It typically employs heavily distorted guitars, tremolo picking, deep growling vocals, blast beat drumming, minor keys or atonality, and complex song structures with multiple tempo changes....

 band Incantation
Incantation (band)
Incantation is an American death metal band that was formed by John McEntee and Paul Ledney in 1989. They are one of the leaders in the New York Death Metal scene along with fellow bands Suffocation and Immolation, even though the band is currently located in Johnstown, Pennsylvania.The band has...

 split ways due to artistic differences, Paul Ledney, Aragon Amori and Brett Makowski adopted the name Profanatica while John McEntee continued as Incantation. In an interview was implied that Ledney did not recognise the legitimacy of Incantation under McEntee, and he claimed that it was he, Amori and Makowski who originally proposed the name. He has also claimed that McEntee was reluctant to pursue their interests in black metal, corpsepaint and blapshemous themes. However both parties have remained on good terms, and have often collaborated.

In the summer of 1990, they released their first demo Putrescence Of..., followed by "Broken Throne of Christ" in December. Brett Makowski was unable to participate in the recording of the latter demo, so the band recruited John Gelso to play guitar. Both demo tapes eventually caught the interest of After World Records. The band signed a deal with the label and in 1991 they released Weeping in Heaven on 7" EP, strictly limited to 500 hand-numbered copies. Following the success of this EP, After World chose to re-release it on cassette with two bonus live tracks the following year. Also in 1992, the band signed a deal with French label Osmose Productions to release a second EP. The EP turned out to be a split 12" with the Colombian band Masacre.

During this time, Profanatica extensively toured the north eastern United States, often shocking many with their sick and blasphemous live act. As the end of the year approached, Brett Makowski and John Gelso both officially left the band. Paul and Aragon invited Wicked Warlock of Demonic Blasphemy (nowadays known as Ixithra) of the band Demoncy
Demoncy
Demoncy is an American black metal band formed in 1989 by guitarist Ixithra . They are known for their sparse arrangements and ominous atmospheric chord progressions with emphasis on the interplay of rigidly structured harmonies against dissonant execution...

, to perform the guitar work. The three of them played one gig together, and were planned to participate in an American black metal festival that Halloween appearing with bands such as Order from Chaos
Order from Chaos
Order from Chaos was an extreme metal band formed in 1987 in Kansas City, Missouri, USA by Pete Helmkamp, Chuck Keller and Mike Miller. They are recognised as being an extremely influential group in the early US black metal scene, and served as a launching pad for its band members that went on to...

, Vital Remains
Vital Remains
Vital Remains is an American death metal band from Providence, Rhode Island formed in 1988.- History :Created in 1988 by guitarist Paul Flynn, Vital Remains' first line-up consisted of guitarist Butch Machado, vocalist Mike Flynn, bassist Tom Supkow, and drummer Chris Dupont. Searching for better...

, and Acheron
Acheron (band)
Acheron are an American black/death band, originally based in Florida.-History:Founded in 1988 by vocalist/bassist/songwriter Vincent Crowley , Acheron's musical output is almost exclusively Satanic and anti-Christian in content. Early albums featured interludes by Peter H. Gilmore...

, however this never took place.

The band entered the studio to record a full-length release, initially entitled The Raping Of The Virgin Mary, although in other instances the name was known as Sodomy of Sacred Assholes. The master tapes of these recordings were destroyed in the studio, and the band parted ways soon after.

Current line-up

  • Paul Ledney - vocals, drums (1990–1992, 2001–present)
  • John Gelso - guitar, bass (session 1990 - 1992, 2007–present)
  • Alex Cox - bass (session 2007–present)

Former members

Guitar:
  • Brett Makowski (1990–1992)
  • Wicked Warlock (1992)
  • Rod Ware (2001–2006)


Bass:
  • Aragon Amori (1990–1992)
  • Malcolm Tent (2001–2006)

Demos

  • Official Rehearsal Tape (1990)
  • Putrescence Of... (re-released in 1993 as As Tears of Blood Stain the Altar of Christ) (1990)
  • Broken Throne of Christ (1990)

Splits

  • Ola de Violencia/Tormenting Holy Flesh (with Masacre, 1992)
  • Unholy Masters of Darkness (with Impiety
    Impiety (band)
    Impiety is a Singaporean black metal band, formed in early 1990 by Shyaithan and drummer Necro-Angelfornicator. They are notable for being one of the first extreme metal bands to emerge from Singapore, including releasing records on notable Western record labels.-Biography:Impiety was originally...

    , 1999)
  • Trampling the Holy Faith (with Goatsodomy, Nuclear Desecration and Unholy Crucifix, 2008)

External links

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