Posted by Horrid, July 19, 2007

So in the early 90s when I was a young industrial guy, I worked in a CD distribution warehouse with a crazy metal guy named Aragon. He was cool, he was gross and made me laugh. I was coincidentally in Providence, Rhode Island (H.P. Lovecraft’s hometown) when his band Profanatica was playing at Club Babyhead. I swung by, not expecting much when some Euro-metal dude burst out of the club yelling, "Hans, come quick, PROFANATICA is playing!"

Now all the bands I was friends with were small and certainly no Europeans had heard of them, so it sparked my interest. I peeked in the open fire escape door (I was too cheap to pay) and saw Aragon naked, covered in rotting pig’s blood, and smashing worms with a bible. I was sold. After the show he gave me the blood covered set list and a cd. I was new to black metal, and this cd was pulled me right in.

Soon after, Aragon asked if their new guitarist could sleep on my floor while in town to record the new cd. The guitarist, Wicked Warlock, was a very tall soft-spoken North Carolinian who was the perfect houseguest. He spent his evenings responding to blood covered fan mail and listening to black metal. Never once did he complain about drunk people stepping on him while asleep.

For those of you who have never listened to Profanatica, they sound exactly how they should, aggressive, evil, and driving. Paul Ledney on vocal and drums, sets a signature sound with sludgy aggressive guitar and bass from Aragon and various guitarists. Their main influences are bands such as VENOM, NECROVORE, SARCOFAGO and BATHORY. In the summer of 1990, they unleashed their first demo entitled "Putrescence Of..." and released a second demo called "Broken Throne of Christ" in December of the same year. Profanatica signed a deal with the label. In 1991 they released the "Weeping In Heaven" 7" ep, limited to 500 hand-numbered copies. In 1992, the band signed a deal with the French Osmose Productions to release the Tormenting Holy Flesh split 12" LP/CD with the Colombian band Masacre. This was the cd Aragon gave me. I only saw them perform once more with Wicked, apparently the only show with him actually. They were amazing but the attending metal crowd were a bunch of posers who could not appreciate them.

The release Wicked was in town for was initially entitled "The Raping Of The Virgin Mary" but the master tapes of these recordings were destroyed. Wicked left town, and Profanatica was no more.

The singer, Paul, formed Havohej (Jehovah spelled backwards) and Aragon pursued a new metal project called Contrivisti, a hardcore band called Sealed With a Fist, and did some work with Satania from Demonic Christ on their album “Deceiving the Heavens." I had not heard from Aragon for a while, when a mutual friend told me he had died in 1996, of unkown causes. Word on the street was he was in a car accident and was unharmed, but after getting examined by the doctor, got rid of all of his belongings and moved to France to be with his family. He was getting a drink out of the refridgerator when fell over and died. He is missed.

In 2001, the singer Paul Ledney recruited two new members, re-formed a new Profanatica and released a CD of of three live performances from ‘91-‘92 on his own label, Necroscope Productions. Later War Hammer Records released the Broken Jew/Fuck the Messiah 7 EP on Metal War Productions in 2002.

Discography:

Official Rehearsal Tape Demo, 1990
Putrescence Of... Demo, 1990
Broken Throne of Christ Demo, 1990
Weeping in Heaven EP, 1991
Ola de Violencia/Tormenting Holy Flesh Split with Massacre, 1992
As Tears of Blood Stain the Altar of Christ EP, 1993
Profanatica/Impiety Split, 1999
Live, Live album, 2000
Collection Best of/Compilation, 2001
Broken Jew single, 2002
The Enemy Of Virtue