Category: Black Metal

Album Review: Portrayal of Guilt – …Beginning of the End

Rating: 8/10

It’s nice seeing barriers being broken in the current Metal community thanks to younger bands daring to blend differing genres and incorporate outside influences. Along with this forward thinking approach, comes the re-evaluation of a genre like Nu-Metal, particularly “Korn.” There was a time when liking a band like Korn was considered uncool amongst Metal elitists. Even during the bands chart-topping glory, there were those who dismissed the band and simply believed they were not “real Metal.” Now, we have a whole generation of young Metal fans who reject rigid views and gatekeeping, and it’s glorious. Korn’s influence is now celebrated and referenced sonically in the music of bands like “Chat Pile,” “Code Orange,” and Austin, Texas band “Portrayal of Guilt.” Fearlessly blending genres such as Screamo, Black Metal, Sludge Metal, Emoviolence and Noise Rock, Portrayal of Guilt have been gifting us abrasive and chaotic music rich in tumultuous blast beats, sludgy guitar riffs, heavily distorted bass, and shrieking vocals since 2017, and yet, with their distinct sound established, the band still manages to reinvent themselves with every album, which prevents their sound from slipping into monotony. On their new album …Beginning of the End, the band find themselves reinventing their sound once again, incorporating just the right amount of genres such as Nu-Metal, Trip Hop, and Industrial, to create more cinematically bleak soundscapes that echo some of the best 90’s gems like “Nine Inch Nails” or the “Spawn” soundtrack. Seriously, the track “Ecstasy” sounds like the band went back in time to 1997 to collab with “The Dust Brothers.” The track “Chamber of Misery Pt. IV” features a Trap-style verse from rapper Slim Guerilla, and “God Will Never Hear Me” is a slow but brooding track with a nightmarish ambience, which perfectly executes an unpredictable, but very “Portrayal of Guilt” experience, and that’s what makes this album work so well. The band never fully emulates a specific genre, but instead mixes various genres not often associated with the band, all while maintaining their usual harsh sound. Now, where does Korn come into play with all of this? Well, Portrayal of Guilt’s vocalist/guitarist Matt King has been very vocal about his love for Korn, and …Beginning of the End can be considered a continuation of the unique and innovative sound of those early Korn records. I mean, let’s face it, aside from a handful of good Nu-Metal bands that left a revolutionary mark on the genre, Korn unintentionally inspired A LOT of really bad imitators in the 90’s and early 2000’s, but in an alternate universe where more good than bad came from Korn’s mark, …Beginning of the End is the natural progression of what Korn pioneered. Oh why couldn’t we hear this stuff instead of “Last Resort” back in the late 90’s? Better 32 years late than never I guess. Whether it be the early Blackened Hardcore of Portrayal of Guilt’s early records, the Gothic-tinged sludge of Christfucker, or this new direction of Nu-Metal combined with Hellish Black Metal, it is certain that Portrayal of Guilt will continue to make whatever the Hell they feel like making, and the band happen to be very good at it. 

Written By: Steven Sandoval

Album Review: The Ruins of Beverast – Tempelschlaf

Artist: The Ruins of Beverast

Album: Tempelschlaf

Genre: Black Metal/Doom Metal/Gothic Metal/Death Doom

Label: Ván Records

Rating: 7/10

I’m just gonna start this review by admitting that I am a part time metalhead. I love me some Metal but I am picky. If the Metal starts off with kickass demonic I need an exorcism ass guttural growls and then transitions into the cleanest and prettiest vocals you’ve ever heard I’ve lost interest. If the Metal relies too heavily on shredding it just sounds like the Power Rangers theme song to me and I can’t help but think it’s morphin’ time, and some stuff (I’m not gonna name any subgenres) just gets a little monotonous after awhile. Um, if I haven’t pissed you off by now and you’re still reading this… well, if you’re a metalhead you’re probably not reading this anyway…. actually let’s be honest, no one is reading this… wait where was I? Oh yeah, allow me to introduce you to the kind of Metal that hits every note and strikes every fancy for me, THE RUINS OF FUCKING BEVERAST! “Fucking” isn’t actually in their name but you get the point. Lead by sole songwriter Alexander von Meilanwald, “The Ruins of Beverast” is a hard to categorize project with a myriad of genres such as Black Metal, Doom Metal, Gothic Metal, Death Doom, and Atmospheric Black Metal to their name, and yet none of these genres are a definitive category for the band’s sound. Whether it be the the Gothic-tinged Doom combined with shamanism of their album Exuvia, or the reverb soaked atmospheric and at times psychedelic dark and sinister journey of an album like The Thule Grimoires, it’s clear Alexander von Meilanwald has no intention to pigeonhole himself and every intention to experiment. His new album Tempelschlaf is no exception. Continuing with the epic and grandiose nature of the aforementioned albums, Tempelschlaf is a more refined album dialing back the atmospherics in favor of more precise instrumentation less focused on odd time signatures and more focused on direct heavy riffs and continuous blast beats, which I feel this was done to focus on the live aspect of these songs by stripping back the studio wizardry. This direction unfortunately makes this album the band’s least ambitious release, but it’s still a solid installment in their discography with plenty to enjoy. There’s even some shredding, and thank God it doesn’t sound like the Power Rangers theme. 

https://theruinsofbeverast.bandcamp.com/album/tempelschlaf

Written By: Steven Sandoval

Portrayal of Guilt Announce New Album “Christfucker,” Share New Single “Possession”

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:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xF8GfO_sxbs

Portrayal of Guilt and Chat Pile Release Split 7″

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:

https://portrayalofguilt.bandcamp.com/

Album Review: Ossuarium – Living Tomb

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Artist: Ossuarium

Album: Living Tomb

Genre: Death Metal/Doom Metal/Black Metal

Rating: 8/10

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.

Written By: Steven Sandoval

Date: 02/04/19