Portal - Outre

[Zealotry]

:zombie:
I didn't think it was possible, but Portal have actually taken ludicrous, exorbitant, unfettered and unchecked musical extremity and made it worth something.
I swear I can feel the slimy fingers of the spectral elder horrors on my flesh when I listen to it.

Either this band is really fucking good, or I've gone soft on the whole 'more-extreme-than-thou' issue in my old age.

 

[Helm]

Checked it out. Really can't say it left any impression.

 

[Zealotry]

It appears that you and I are impressed by different things...

 

[Jim LotFP]

I notice that people are talking about something here, but nobody's really saying anything.

 

[Helm]

Zealotry, well yes, no harm in that.

Jim, it's a death/black metal album, I suppose. Great aesthetic sense, really focused concept. But the music itself is disconnectingly strange. It doesn't really sound like anything else but it doesn't really sound like something either. Closer in effect to noise than to metal, though probably not in the way it is designed. It doesn't seem to have ambitions it fails on, it just seems to have alien ambitions. Not for me. You should probably give them a listen on myspace or something just so you know what's up.

 

[Cheiron]

Ahh. I was somewhat confused as to me Portal is that pre-Cynic band.

 

[Zealotry]

It's just really abrasive, Lovecraft Mythos-themed black/death metal with absolutely filthy production and weird minimalist percussion. The overall sound is very otherworldly. I think 'alien ambitions' is a very apt way to describe what they're going for. But IMO it captures the lyrical themes phenomenally well.

 

[Cheiron]

I'll have to check it out sometime.

 

[Helm]

Zealotry: but it's not interesting musically for me, and if something is great conceptually but weak musically, I will not discredit it, but I'll probably look at it more as an aesthetic excerise than a record of good music. I need the (noneucledian is fine) hooks too, not just a good concept.

 

[AnTz0r]

Ahh. I was somewhat confused as to me Portal is that pre-Cynic band.

post-cynic

 

[Cheiron]

Ok fine

 

[Zealotry]

CD came in the mail today.
Packaging is awesome. A major 'fuck-you' to those who would pirate this album without purchasing it.

 

[Zealotry]

Review up
http://diabolicalconquest.com/reviews/portal-outre.htm

 

[Helm]

the subtle nuances of which can only be distinguished by the most astute of listeners.

...or those that are trying really really hard to like something.

 

[Zealotry]

...or those that are trying really really hard to like something.

Heh. That would mean something if you were, I dunno, psychic. But I know that I liked the album well before I realized how complex the music was.

 

[Helm]

well I'm just saying, I don't claim to be right. It's a common thing that happens. The more alienating and offputting a piece of art is, the more exclusive and elite the few that like it or select to like it will feel. Furthermore they will assign hidden meaning and purpose to it, just like the ANUS people your signature satirizes.

I wouldn't even be questioning your taste in this if it didn't sound like a rumbling rug cleaner and a thin drum set.

 

[Zealotry]

I don't think there's anything 'hidden' about the meaning this album holds. It's pretty clear by the lyrics and artwork Portal use that they're trying to create an atmosphere similar to what Lovecraft created with his writing. And obviously, I feel that they accomplish what they set out to do.

 

[Helm]

hm to be clearer because yes, the aesthetics of this release are clear, I ment assign value to it. Of course this is a subjective and very personal process, but I do fear for the worst when it comes to avant-garde metal like this.

 

[circus_brimstone]

Didn't really care for Seepia all that much. I usually prefer a cleaner recording when it comes to death metal, plus a lot of it is too jumbled-sounding for my tastes.

 

[Death Aflame]

Sorry to bump an old thread, but I have just been spinning this (and Seepia) lately, really killer stuff that goes woefully under-appreciated by the typical metal crowd. Yes, the band's sound is obtuse and fortress-thick initially, but under repeated and carefully attuned listens, their subtlety in technique and melody bleeds through in an extremely fulfilling manner.