Full Album Stream: Portal: Vexovoid – new album

 

Feared by metal music's who’s who (read ‘Vexovoid’ reviews here (MetalSucks), here (CVLT Nation), here (Spin), here (About.com) and so on), the surrealist death metal terror unit's, PORTAL, fourth longplayer is now definitely out (since February 19th, 2013) through Profound Lore Records: 

“Taking their sound of singular death metal psychosis by creating their darkest and most-dense sounding album to date, ‘Vexovoid’ carries the tradition PORTAL have laid upon since their inception [nearly 20] years ago.  Through the band's strange, unsettling, avant-garde, and polarizing take on death metal (on a musical, lyrical, visual, and aesthetical level), throughout the years, PORTAL have shape-shifted and inverted the genre into multiple realms of dementia.  ‘Vexovoid’, as expected, is another dreadful and frightening observation of unorthodox death metal terror unparalleled,” [reasures the label]

“I remember the first time I heard PORTAL,” [wrote CVLT Nation reviewer] My first feeling was oddness, but at the same time I became intrigued with what I was hearing. It created this feeling in my head almost like an increasing migraine as I sank deeper and deeper into ‘Seepia’ [PORTAL's 2003 album].”

“When the most evil and vilest heavy metal fails to chill you, that’s where PORTAL step in - providing a surreal and powerful voice for abomination and corruption, and doing so with polarizing and malevolent glee. PORTAL make for petrifying listening,” [admitted Craig Hayes, About.com]

“… by attempting to speak the same language as the rest of metal, PORTAL is even more terrifying. The notion that they’re bridging some sort of gap between their angled, concussed world and ours means they know how we think and probably where we live. We’re most likely not long for this world,” [gave up Sammy O’Hagar, MetalSucks]

If still in need of convincing, let me relate to you that Spin's Kory Grow describes PORTAL as “a quintet of thirtysomething headbangers likely too ugly to compete with younger, better-looking heshers”. Besides, you’ll find plenty of their music below. With artwork created by Reverend Kriss Hades, ‘Vexovoid’ awaits your order here (Profound Lore Records store):

 

Well, they definitely come from down under, Brisbane, Australia that is, and are rumored to be active since 1994 – proudly and fiercely producing a sound that has been compared to “among other things, a leaf blower, a vacuum cleaner and an aeronautics tunnel”. Now, Eduardo Rivadavia (AllMusic) would describe PORTAL's sound as an “attempt to demolish the boundaries of extreme metal with a death/black/grindcore hybrid style as technically ambitious as it is purposely mired in waves of distortion” (more here), wouldn’t he? Be as it may, PORTAL, keeping their identities hidden under masks and costumes and ludicrous names, released their first EP, ‘The End Mills’, in 2002, followed by their first LP, ‘Seepia’ in 2003 (which was later reissued remastered by Profound Lore Records). 2004's ‘The Sweyy’ EP preceded 2006's ‘Lurker At The Threshold’ demo which came before PORTAL's second full-length, ‘Outre'’, released in 2007:

Then, in 2009, came ‘Swarth’:

“Do you judge the music based on volume? On gutturalness? On degree of sacrilegious profanity? Some death metal bands offer guitar pyrotechnics, but PORTAL doesn’t even throw you that bone - every song on this album (with the possible exception of ‘The Swayy’) consists almost entirely of undifferentiated roar. You’ll be nearly halfway through the title track before you realize that there’s even a voice in the mix - and it’s a good thing you can’t hear it well, because PORTALs lyrics are the purest pseudo-occult twaddle: “Domus lacunae/Meta matriculant/Theta genus/Fait accompli” runs the opening stanza of the first song, while others string together lines like “lapsing tidal sinergy pulpittates” and “symbionts molten behest” and still others command the listener to “harbour the spleen” and “be as our gruel”. (Is it possible that this whole thing is a joke?),” [asked Rick Anderson, AllMusic – more here:]

PORTAL features: The Curator – vocals, Horror Illogium – guitar, Aphotic Mote – guitar, Omenous Fugue – bass and Ignis Fatuus - drums