Profond Barathre - Tinnitus (2021)

Moving forward as a musical entity doesn't always mean growing more complex, and it doesn't always mean adding on. Sometimes, as is the case with Swiss atmospheric black metal group Profond Barathre, the only way to go is down: strip your sound down to the essentials and, in that simplicity, find a new focus. After nine years, they're back with a new album that shows how subtraction can ultimately lead to a greater whole: Tinnitus is an austere, captivating journey that crashes down from the stars into fertile earth. Take that trip now with our full-album premiere.

There's no vocals and synths to be found here, just the resolute necessities of guitar, drums, and bass. On their previous albums, such as Snaar, those extra elements bolstered the band's atmospheric nature, but what remains has gained renewed emphasis that more than compensates. The bass, particularly, plays a huge role in the album's sound, cooperatively driving the melodies with guitar. More bass in black metal is always a good thing, I maintain.

How Profond Barathre approaches the field of atmospheric black metal with a limited toolset here is refreshing. It's simple, perhaps, but not minimalist: tracks like "Spiritus" have colossal walls of sound where interweaving motifs are backed by drumming that focuses on emphasizing meta-rhythm versus sheer power. The tremolo riffs, which can certainly border on staleness in some implementations, are given a dynamic cadence through how the rhythm section interprets them. Every note and beat here matters, and nothing is buried.