PORTAL is back to render death metal obsolete, and I for one welcome their destructive return after four years of silence. With improved production, their rumbling, roaring cacophony is more discernible in terms of distinct riffs, sharper drums, and the like, but they still sound like the five-headed mutant bastard child of Napalm Death and Disembowelment. The guitars are no less angular and asymmetrical, the drums pound away with relentless brutality, and there’s a generally sick atmosphere that makes it all sound like an incredible nightmare, with raspy Cthulhu vocals emerging from the abyss. Basically, whenever death metal is caricatured for being incomprehensible blasting noise… Portal is the manifestation of what people think death metal is, and I love every second of it. FCC clean as far as anyone can tell.


1. Asymmetrical rumbling, blasting, harsh guttural whispers
2. Hail of apocalyptic riffage under a blood-red sky while aliens devour the atmosphere
3. Slow, dark rumbling, drum beat gradually emerges from lethargic marching while the riffs flay your flesh
4. Angular blasting and jagged black metal riffs filtered through aeons of primordial muck
5. FUCK I’M DEAD. Those fucking cymbals!
6. Short, fast, obliterating
7. Jagged bass intro, drums pound away until the riffs find their footing and the onslaught ensues