Being one of the most prolific bands in the Hardcore scene today, two full-length albums in one year doesn’t seem out of the ordinary for Austin, Texas-based trio “Portrayal of Guilt.” Back in January the band released a dark, but enticing record titled We Are Always Alone, and following their split single with Oklahoma’s “Chat Pile,” the band have announced the release of their follow-up album Christfucker, which will drop on November 5th via “Run for Cover Records.” You can listen to the album’s first single “Possession” below:
Austin, Texas-based band “Portrayal of Guilt” released an absolute monster of an album earlier this year titled We Are Always Alone, which featured their usual infectious blend of genres primarily affiliated with the Metal or Hardcore scene, Genres that don’t usually intertwine, but the band dispelled all elitism with the record, informing us that there are parallels between these genres that shouldn’t go unnoticed, and that we can all co-exist while we watch the world burn. Oklahoma-based band “Chat Pile” released two unsettling but enticing EPs back in 2019 that flourished on the uneasy state of the human condition. Incredibly manic, dark, and devoid of joy, which if you’re like me, brings you intense feelings of satisfaction, and….. joy. Funny how that works. “Chat Pile” are hard at work on their debut full-length album, which won’t be released till next year, but today the band along with “Portrayal of Guilt” have gifted us new music. A split 7″ released via “Portrayal of Guilt’s” own record label “Portrayal of Guilt Records.” The aforementioned parallels between genres such as Hardcore, Punk, Black Metal, Screamo, and with “Chat Pile” in the mix, Doom, Sludge, and Noise Rock are on full display on this release. You can listen to, as well as purchase the split 7″ below:
Upon hearing Portland’s own “Ossuarium’s” new album Living Tomb, one can make the assumption that there were preceding albums before it given the attention to detail and technical skill Living Tomb has, but this is impressively the band’s debut album. This album gives off a vibe that the band have been doing this for years and that there has to be a lo-fi debut album littered with kinks in their discography, but that is definitely not the case here. Living Tomb couldn’t be a more polished, unique, and frightfully focused debut album. It is a heavy odyssey that uses “Death Metal” with it’s low growls, wicked guitar riffs, and fast as Hell drumming as a backdrop for immense experimentation in atmosphere, gloom, and of course doom. These tracks often start off with a fist to the face heaviness that will make you head bang to the point where you may need to see a chiropractor afterwards, but they often stray into a territory that incorporates elements of “Doom Metal” with dark drop-tuned guitar melodies, and even “Post-Rock” with reverbed out chorus effects, and atmospheres that are beautifully dark and even dreamy, well… more nightmarish than dreamy, because this is as dark as it gets, it’s an unrelenting odyssey, and I do mean odyssey because this whole album is a journey down the rabbit hole of chaos. There’s even an intro at the beginning of the record that kind of echoes the frightening pre-opening scene in Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey where the screen is pitch black but backed by disturbingly eerie music. If the band is already this good on their debut album, there’s no telling what they’re capable of doing in the future.
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