Maximum Metal Rating Legend

There is nothing about Dark Funeral I can say that black metal fans don’t already know. And with “De Profundis Clamavi ad te Domine” being a live album, there isn’t any new material here either. Instead, we get fourteen songs (plus an intro) of overblown, extremely Satanic, and relentlessly pounding Swedish black metal. It’s much easier to appreciate black metal that’s more thoughtful and less “666,” but then again it would just be silly to expect something like that from these guys – just like with over-the-top, ultra cheesy power metal, no one would listen to them if there weren’t fans out there who were suckers for this kind of stuff (I’ll admit - I’m sort of one of them). As Dark Funeral’s first official live recording (as it’s likely countless bootlegs exist), however, we can see a slightly different perspective of their music. Or perhaps I should say the potential exists.

In fact, this album isn’t much different from any of Dark Funeral’s studio recordings. Oftentimes production suffers on live albums, since it’s easier to capture a more, how shall we say, refined sound in the studio as opposed to a club. However, as with several other black metal bands, the production on most Dark Funeral albums is anything but perfect. Therefore, the recording quality “De Profundis Clamavi ad te Domine” isn’t much different from any of their other albums. The one unique thing about this recording is the interaction with the Spanish-speaking crowd (this album was recorded at a show in Santiago, Chile) is pretty good – they can always be heard cheering and sometimes even chant along with the songs. Good crowd interaction is a must for a live album to get my seal of approval, and this effort at least has that going for it.

Dark Funeral has always struck me as one of the most intense and passionate black metal bands of all time. Regardless of the fact that I think their material is more or less average, I cannot deny the extreme passion with which Masse Broberg shrieks or Matte Modin pounds on his drum kit. For those of you who value intensity over musical quality, Dark Funeral is definetley a band for you. Anyone who’s already a fan, well, you’re obviously going to want this album. Any other passionate black metal fans would be getting a decent acquisition to their collection – but nothing especially stellar. In all cases, it’s probably a better idea to wait for their next studio release, expected later this year. It’ll probably be more of the same, but I know some serious fans just can’t resist – and I don’t blame them.