Track By Tracks: Profane Elegy - Exeunt Omnes (2025)

Profane Elegy is an independent black metal band from Pennsylvania, USA. Originally formed as a two-man recording project, the group quickly evolved into a four-piece unit and began performing live in late 2023. Writing and recording remotely across Pennsylvania and New Jersey, the band embraced the challenges of distance to craft their latest release, Herezjarcha — an album born through relentless file sharing, collaborative vision, and a shared passion for extreme music.

Herezjarcha represents a significant evolution from their debut When All Is Nothing, pushing deeper into melody, dynamic songwriting, and sheer sonic weight. Across eight tracks, Profane Elegy weaves together themes of existential dread, heresy, mortality, and defiance — forging a cohesive and intensely personal statement.

Here is a track by track journey through the album.

1. Exeunt Omnes:

Opening the album with a stark meditation on fate, Exeunt Omnes takes its title from the Latin stage direction meaning “all go out.” The lyrics draw heavily from Shakespeare’s Richard III, using the famous scene where the doomed king is abandoned on the battlefield as a metaphor for mortality and sacrifice. Musically, the song establishes a somber yet aggressive tone, blending tremolo-picked guitars and atmospheric textures. It serves as a fitting prelude, introducing the album’s core preoccupation with the fragility of life and the inescapability of death.

2. Haunted:

Haunted dives headlong into existential dread. The lyrics explore the terror of self-awareness—once we grasp the inevitability of death, innocence is forever lost. The band pairs these dark musings with icy riffs, shifting tempos, and bleak melodic lines that underscore the song’s psychological tension. The piece offers one of the album’s most direct lyrical moments, confronting the listener with the impossibility of finding peace once mortality is understood.

3. I AM:

An anthem of rebellion and self-assertion, I AM channels primal defiance through both its lyrics and sonic ferocity. The title references the Exodus story of Moses encountering God, who names himself: “I am that I am.” Here, the phrase is reclaimed as a declaration of human independence and resistance against dogma. Musically, I AM delivers one of the album’s most driving performances, with relentless rhythms and commanding vocal delivery reinforcing its empowering message.

4. As My Heart Turns to Ash:

This track offers a shift in tone, embracing a more introspective and mournful atmosphere. Lyrically centered on the themes of detachment and emotional survival, the song chronicles the difficult process of letting go and hardening oneself against pain. The instrumentation mirrors this journey — transitioning from subdued passages to climactic crescendos that evoke the burning away of hope and connection.

5. Immutable:

Immutable examines the inescapable aspects of human nature — the flaws and shadows we inherit and can never fully transcend. The lyrics reflect on the cosmic lottery of birth, exploring how innate traits and circumstances shape us, often beyond our control. Musically, the song combines dense layering with stark melodic elements, reinforcing the weight of the subject matter. It stands as one of the album’s most thematically rich and emotionally resonant tracks.

6. Herezjarcha:

The title track serves as the conceptual heart of the record. It tells the story of a man who, through visions and immersion in darkness, becomes the founder of a new heresy. Transformed by forbidden knowledge, he embraces his role as both prophet and pariah. Musically, Herezjarcha is a sprawling piece, balancing melodic intricacy with crushing heaviness. The track captures the album’s overarching themes of transformation, defiance, and the seductive pull of darkness.

7. And Then We Are Gone:

A standout moment on the album, And Then We Are Gone shifts stylistically toward doom-laden territory and prominently features clean vocals. This stylistic change reinforces the song’s existential message — a meditation on the fleeting nature of life and the insignificance of our works in the face of cosmic indifference. The band delivers one of its most emotionally vulnerable performances here, providing a somber pause before the album’s searing finale.

8. The Accuser:

Closing the album with venom and fire, The Accuser confronts hypocrisy and false judgment head-on. Drawing from the biblical figure of Satan as “the accuser of the brethren,” the song inverts this role — embracing the mantle of accuser to indict religious falsehood and moral corruption. The track is one of the album’s most blistering and intense, with unrelenting instrumentation and scathing vocals. It serves as a cathartic final statement, leaving the listener with a sense of defiant resolve.

Conclusion

Herezjarcha marks a bold evolution for Profane Elegy. The album expands on the foundation laid by When All Is Nothing, offering a more dynamic and cohesive experience. Songs range from funereal to ferocious, deepening the band’s melodic sensibility while amplifying their crushing power. Lyrically and musically interwoven, the album presents a unified vision — an exploration of heresy, mortality, and human frailty. The title Herezjarcha, meaning "arch-heretic," perfectly encapsulates the spirit of the work: an oath, a testament, and a new heresy born in sound.