Unique and unsettling
Michael E. Mitchell | Minocqua, WI USA | 03/05/2008
(4 out of 5 stars)
"This is the first album by Portal I've heard. Let me begin by saying that I listen to a LOT of MeTal of most types, and usually of the most hideous kind! "Outre'" is certainly hideous; I imagine if I were not so jaded to MeTal and Horror, this would really, really creep me out. As it stands, I found their riffing and song structures to be unique. There is a scraping, whirling guitar sound prevalent that reminds me of nothing short of insects burrowing into flesh. The vocals, by "The Curator", are very low croaking intonations... quite close to typical Death MeTal vocals, but not in the idiotic burping/gurgling vein...more whispered and menacing. The production is clear; you can hear everything that is going on. But due to the murkiness and obscurity of the music, this is not really an album you can crank up and get maximum ripping MeTal power out of...it is more a great album to have playing while you are poring over eldritch tomes of mouldy lore. The version I got(unsure if they're all like this?) comes in a really cool digpak presentation with photos of the mysterious members of the band. It is not the same size as other digipaks or cds---like the music itself, it is a bit "off". HIGHLY recommended to fans of everything dark, and fans of progressive music will find much to impress them here, too (though I wouldn't label them as a "progressive" band). Has much of the same dark, bleak feeling of Deathspell Omega material."
Soundtrack to your nightmares
Merritt B. Clough III | Elkton, MD USA | 11/29/2007
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Extract the image of a haunted abode from your darkest recessed nightmares. You enter, closing the door behind you. You sense the dank odor of decay, mixed with antique hints of a time gone by. Restless shadows drift behind you and urge you forward. What lies ahead is a journey through blackened chambers and dankly light corridors. All of which host horrors that will meet you face to face, terror that will rock your core.
Such imagery fills my mind as an atmospheric track entitled 'moil' builds to a roar and the chaotic churn of guitar takes hold pulling you into 'abysmill'. This is the opening of "Outre", the latest release by Australian Death Metal act PORTAL.
This is my first experience with Portal, so I have no history their work to speak from. However, there have been a handful of times in my life where a single release has struck me so strongly. This is a masterpiece of macabre sound and imagery. Portal does not fit a 'death metal' label. This is a beast that stands out on its own with few comparisons. How this group of artists has managed to create a sound that is perfectly haunting and brilliantly horrific amazes me.
Guitars scrape and riff through track after track, with percussion driving the underlying complicated structure of these songs. There is never a moment of peace. Tracks build and deform in chaos. The vocals as sung by the Curator are a deep, haunting growl, but are 'sung'. No screaming or guttural burps here...this is the voice of the dead.
The imagery of the band adds a theatric vision to their packaging and in their live performance (as seen in a live track featured on youtube). The Outre CD comes in a beautiful digipak released by Profound Lore Records. There is a limited LP version soon to be released also.
PORTAL are an entity of extreme darkness, and will haunt your dreams. Enjoy
"
Avante-Garde Chaos!
A Pilgrim | San Jose, Ca United States | 01/25/2009
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Ou*tré [oo-trey] -adjective: passing the bounds of what is usual or considered proper; unconventional; bizarre.
Illogium - Guitar
The Curator - Vocals
Aphotic - Guitars
Elsewhere - Bass
Monocular - Drums
This album is a fine example of what might be called avante-garde metal- it defies easy categorization.
The way this album was produced reminds me a great deal of some black metal, in the sense that some artists of that genre like a very grimy or distressed recording style that makes you think the album itself is ravaged by the sands of time and about to fall apart. Portal often employs their aural assaults with this dirty recording style, peaks and valleys of jagged and distorted guitars, and seriously decrepit synthesizers (like the track "Outre"). The drumming stops, starts, slithers, plods, and pounds -never straying from a sense of unease and evil.
Portal are not afraid to incorporate some elements of thrash through an occasional foray into searing discordant riffing (most notably the aptly titled "Omnipotent Crawling Chaos"), however, it seems like they are far more interested in creating a miasma of non-linear horror, disorientation, chaos, and other-worldliness. Atonality, down-tuning, and a production technique that often makes the album sound as though it were recorded in some Stygian cave lends tremendously to creation of this malevolent cloud of sound.
The vocalist, known only as "The Curator" delivers a good but fairly standard buffet of death metal growls: mid to low range, somewhat raspy, and hardly decipherable. This isn't a criticism though, it's just an observation. Actually, "The Curator's" vocals are the perfect accompaniment to this album's sense of violence and unearthly horror. The Curator harmonizes (I use that term loosely) wonderfully with the chaotic and malevolent tone of the instrumentation, and provides yet another layer to this suffocating cloud of noise.
As an aside, I love the aesthetics these artists use in their album art, the sets and costumes are quite reminiscent of the quasi-metaphysical horror of the Silent Hill games, and I find that to be a little bonus of owning the album.
While it goes without saying, the extreme atonality and chaos of this album is not going to appeal to everyone or for that matter almost anyone. However, if you are one of those few individuals who appreciate unsettling, esoteric, and creative music, particularly metal, consider this album. Just bear in mind this is an album to endure for the sake of art, what pleasure you derive from this album -if any- may be of the perverse kind.
"
Track Listings (8) - Disc #1
