Swarth

Some things are not of this world. They seethed in from perforations in space-time. Things so unimaginably harrowing and visceral that one would be unable to observe them even in light. Welcome to the portal. The portal to that dark place, where extra-dimensional beings can only tread. Five of their number are amongst us now. Meet The Curator, maniac sayer for the portal's perpetuaters. He speaks in riddles wrapped in algid enigma. Horror ILLogiuM and Aphotic Mote, twin brothers of dissonance and chaos. Their invocations shake the walls of all our houses. Ignis Fatuus, manifestation of temporal rhythms. His slight of hand dictates our paths. Omenous Fugue, purveyor of the sunken frequency. He feels the weight of eternity. Never before has the portal been known to us. We sat, contented in our ignorance, knowing nothing of the horror within. Yet into the air, drifts a sound. The effluent of evil, a distillation of ills that flesh is heir to. It cloggs our fear-stricken arteries with soot and tar, burying itself deeper into our psyche. We are compelled to shut it out, but we are driven to witness its passing. The claws of aeons never birthed tear at your skin. The thrash of mandibles unseen cause you to recoil in terror. How did it come here? Can we ever put it back? No... thus will the portal stay open, and hell shall boil out through the aperture.

Portal is definitely the most innovative death metal act these days. Swarth, the 3rd full lenght release (there's a hard to find ep also) is the perfect soundtrack of a horror movie, and epic horror movie, something like a disturbing vision of our future, as we could hear a monster approaching, getting near and near, the chaos being installed in our lives, the panic of things to come...that's what you feel when listen those songs.The artwork is perfect, somber and dark, fitting the sounds perfectly. If you are sick of the million death metal bands that sounds the same, give Portal a try.

Very Lovecraftian.

Defying convention is the first concept one must accept when visiting Portal's music for the first time. This might be placed into the genre of "Death Metal" or "Black Metal" or even "Avant-Garde Metal", but these are mere tints in the vast spectrum of wavelengths that encompass the band called Portal.While there is no shortage of brutal death metal bands out there, Portal are a welcome breath of putrid air that warrants multiple listens. If you're looking for super speed, look elsewhere. If you're looking for ultra-technicality, don't bother. If it's moshy hooks you want, Portal will not provide. In fact, there are few bands that play this type of noise. I would say that early Incantation is a definite influence in their sound. This precise influence being very loud, distorted guitars; muddy, pounding drums that are the aural equivalent of a migraine; dry, guttural vocal growls that don't deviate much from their constant drone.Portal's song structures are just the opposite of the word: there is no conventional structure to be had. But don't think this means they just can't write a song... No, this is implicitly structured to be as schizophrenic as possible. Their namesake is the musical equivalent of the opening of Pandora's Box; or, the darkest, dirtiest room in an insane asylum; or, that dream you keep going back to - the one that makes you wake up in a cold sweat, heart racing uncontrollably, leaving you on edge and in no hurry to fall back to sleep. This is not music to enjoy whilst walking around the lake in the summer sun. This is meant to be blasted loudly at night, either on your most powerful stereo or else with headphones, allowing yourself to be pulled down into the swirling abyss of horror and chaos that Portal unleash.The standout feature of this album has to be the guitars. Seven stringed, down-tuned, and distorted, the two guitarists Horror IllogiuM and Aphotic Mote's heavily processed axes are the highlight of Swarth. They represent the best recorded sound Portal has achieved in the 18 years of the band's existence. And they are the most forward sound in the mix. The bass guitar of Omenous Fugue is not at all distinguishable. It is merely the low tone that underlines the darkness represented with their music. Drums aren't much better, and skinsman Ignis Fatuus could do with some practice. Tomas Haake he is not. He does, however, manage some pretty spectacular blast beats interspersed throughout the recording to great effect. I also like the intermittent tympani-style booms that augment the songs in such a way that adds another layer of excellence to this mass of dissonant darkness. And there are many long passages that are not accompanied by vocalist The Curator's strained yell. The lyrics are howled in a disjointed fashion, delivering the meaning behind each song, and are pushed aside so the guitars can chug along and the music can pull you down the filthy drain with it.This album is the sound of despair. There is no happiness here, no uplift. No empowerment, only destruction. Musical styles on Swarth range from classic death metal in "Larvae" to doom/sludge in "Writhen". From start to finish, this ride is not one to be taken with a chip on your shoulder, or a point to make. Just let yourself writhe in agony as Portal drags you down to the depths of hell...

Portal provide the soundtrack to one of the most horrifying, riveting and shocking movie that was never made with "Swarth". There's is the nightmare that you never thought could exist and yet there is an element that is completely addictive about their avant-garde take on death and black metal. If you ever experience Gorguts' "Obscura", just imagine it twisted ten times over and set on fire. There are no rules for these men of absolute shadows and I haven't heard a band yet that can compare to the crushing darkness of their sound. Grinding chord progressions and unholy and fast sweep picking are (dis)order of the day. It all may seem total chaos, but there is an insane order to the creepy chaos of "Swath" that those who are sonic adventurers must hear.

This recording is like some kind of unholy disfigured thing that lives in the mustiest corner of your basement. Only this thing is in reality a pan-dimensional, galaxy roaming beast that can only achieve a debased simulacrum of human form. To call it ugly is too simple, for it is awesome in its hideousness.