De Profundis is a London-based extreme metal band who formed in November 2005 and have released three full-length albums and an EP, with a fourth album recorded and ready for release in the future. They have toured Europe a number of times with the likes of Marduk, Immolation, Rotting Christ, Malevolent Creation and Ragnorok, and have even played as far afield as India, where they played a show with Iron Maiden as well as headlining their own tour. Ahead of their upcoming UK tour with Omnium Gatherum, we took the time to catch up with vocalist Craig Land to discuss it – check it out below!
Next year you’re going to be heading out on a UK tour with Omnium Gatherum. What are you most looking forward to about it?
I enjoy touring and love playing live, so always look forward to getting back on the road. We have toured with Omnium Gatherum previously, and they are really nice guys, to it will be cool to hang out with them again. I’m learning Finnish, so hopefully I can get some practice conversing with them in their mother tongue.
Is there any city or venue you’re most excited about playing?
Not so much this time as we have played in all the towns on this itinerary before. Having said that though, each place has it’s own charm, so I’m definitely looking forward to getting out and about in each place.
What can fans expect from the upcoming shows?
A kick-ass evening of entertainment. As main support, De Profundis will have a relatively short set, so we will focus on the EP and maybe a song from the upcoming album. Our music has always translated better live than on record, so if you haven’t had the chance to see us play yet, I suggest you get your ass down to the show.
What do you like most about touring?
I enjoy being out on the road generally, because it takes me away from real life and I get to fulfil my rock star fantasies. I love going to new places, especially if I get the opportunity to explore and it’s also cool to meet fans of the band.
Is there anything you don’t like about touring?
Sometimes it’s not possible to explore the city we’re playing in, which sucks. I’m a bad sleeper, so I really struggle with that, whether it be on a bus or an someone’s floor. Living off the crap yet expensive food found at Welcome Breaks isn’t great, especially when we have very long drives between shows.
Have you got any interesting stories from tours gone by?
Plenty of stories, but they’re generally not that unique – such as people being left behind in Welcome Break toilets, getting too drunk at the open bar backstage, or getting stopped by police who require a bribe of merch to let us proceed on our way. Then there was getting stuck behind elephants on the only road up the low Himalaya foothills…
You’re also currently working on your upcoming fourth album – how’s things going with that so far?
We recorded the 4th album and the Frequencies EP at the same time, and only decided which tracks to use where once it was all complete. We’re currently getting the album remixed and the artwork done before we really start shopping it around to labels.
So would you say it picks up where Frequencies left off, or are you taking another route with it?
We chose some of the more aggressive tracks for the EP as we wanted to showcase this upping on the ante from our previous album, especially as we were hoping that releasing it free online would help our music reach more people. The album is more balanced in terms of peaks and troughs, covering the various moods and quirks that our fans have come to expect from a De Profundis album, albeit faster and heavier.
What is your writing and recording process when it comes to your music?
Usually one of the guitar team will bring a riff or motif to the writing session, which we’ll jam and add to or amend as we see fit. We work on the music together and everyone has an equal say. We will consider the arrangement from the beginning to ensure the music flows. Once the music is written, I write the lyrics.
And if De Profundis could put their name to a product, what would it be?
It’s all about the music for us. We’ll let bands who care more about their “brand” worry about what next product to endorse.
