PORTRAYAL OF GUILT
Announce New Album, Devil Music
Out 4/20 on Digital, 4/21 Physical via Run For Cover
Release Devil Music Short Film For Orchestral Side B
Watch / Share Here
Album Artwork By Ben Roberts
Portrayal of Guilt eschew predictability. While the Austin, Texan outfit have released material at a rapid clip since their formation only six years ago, it has been near-impossible to predict what each ensuing release might sound like. The only window into what to expect has been those releases’ titles, wallowing in themes of affliction, isolation, and just plain underworld allusion. Naturally, this leads to…Devil Music.
After shifting their sound over several immediate releases (most recent, 2021’s widely acclaimed CHRISTF**KER), Portrayal of Guilt has transformed from masters of the traditional ‘90s screamo template, to fit a more blackened and sludgy metal intensity.
Citing a wide spectrum of influences, Devil Music, tracked in two different sessions in early 2022, is an experimental approach to writing heavy music. It offers five new original songs on Side A; and then a reimagining of those same five songs on Side B, replacing much of the traditional guitars and bass setup with an orchestral string section, acoustic bass, and brass.
The sludgy, thudding riffs of the album’s opening salvo, “One Last Taste of Heaven,” is transformed on the other side into harrowing violin waxing, while King’s unholy screech remains, nurturing the sound into a sort of chamber metal. It’s a paean to death and decomposition, with the original perhaps a violent aural display of the former and the unnerving rearrangement meant to convey the languid rot of the latter.
It leads into “Untitled,” an absolutely distressing depiction of purgatory with a nonetheless catchy rhythm, which the band manages to transform into a hellish near-waltz of sorts on its alternate version. Beyond that painting of torture, “Burning Hand” provides a brief foray into gory horror. The album’s pounding closer and title track sounds as though a Mephistophilean angel casts a scourge upon the narrator. Musically, “Burning Hand” even showcases some industrial drums, plus a rare spate of clean, semi-gothic singing to close it out. This uncharacteristic vocal detour helps build its counterpart to a demonic climax.
“Where Angels Come to Die” hints at the darkest of circumstances, possibly alluding to addiction and suicidal ideation, and is musically among the album’s most cacophonous; one hears it remodeled on Side B into a methodically paced number with lurching stop-starts on its bridge before a triumphant buildup to finish it.
Devil Music cements Portrayal of Guilt as a band of their own ilk, playing by no one’s rules but their own, which even here they bend to their will. The album sees its digital release April 20 and will be available on physical formats April 21 via Run For Cover. There will also be an accompanying Devil Music short film DVD, sold separately, which includes the short film and additional video content.
Pre-order / Pre-save Devil Music Here
Today they’ve shared the Devil Music’s orchestral Side B in its entirety, paired with a striking short film directed by Emmanuella Zachariou. She tells, “When I first heard the B-Side of Devil Music, I was extremely impressed by the cinematic nature of the music. As a filmmaker and artist who started working in this industry through being an avid lover of music, especially heavier and darker sounds, it has always been a deep personal goal of mine to create more projects that not only highlight the extremely intricate nature of such compositions, but to really try to bring in a true cinematic atmosphere to help visualize them. The string elements in the tracks really helped inspire the medieval blueprint in my mind's eye, and going off of that I wanted to implement slight nods to 90s black metal promo photos, and some of my favorite directors and films. Everything in this was a deliberate, carefully curated nod to some of my favorite films, books, artists and albums. Some examples include Marketa Lazarová (1967), The Wicker Man (1973), The Devils (1971), To the Devil a Daughter (1976), The Passion of Joan of Arc (1928), Wim Wenders, Jean Rollin, Jesús Franco, Mortiis, down to the choice of title card text (inspired by Medieval Marginalia and even Abigor’s 1995 albums, Nachthymnen and Orkblut - The Retaliation).”
Devil Music Track Listing:
Side A
01. One Last Taste of Heaven
02. Untitled
03. Burning Hand
04. Where Angels Come to Die
05. Devil Music
Side B
06. I (One Last Taste of Heaven)
07. II (Untitled)
08. III (Burning Hand)
09. IV (Where Angels Come to Die)
10. V (Devil Music)
Portrayal of Guilt Live Dates:
EUROPE
Apr 20: ANTWERP, BE - KAVKA OUDAAN
Apr 21: TILBURG, NL - ROADBURN FESTIVAL
Apr 22: KIEL, DE - KIEL SCHAUBUDE
Apr 23: AALBORG, DK - 1000FRYD
Apr 24: GOTHENBURG, SE - HEMLIGHETEN *
Apr 25: STOCKHOLM, SE - SLAKTKYRKAN *
Apr 26: COPENHAGEN, DK - BASEMENT *
Apr 27: BERLIN, DE - URBAN SPREE *
Apr 28: WARSAW, PL - VOODOO CLUB *
Apr 29: BRNO, CZ - KABINET MÚZ *
Apr 30: BUDAPEST, HU - INSTANT *
May 01: ZAGREB, HR - KSET *
May 02: LJUBLJANA, SI - CHANNEL ZERO *
May 03: BOLOGNA, IT - CIRCOLO DEV *
May 04: PARMA, IT @ SPLINTER CLUB *
May 05: MEZZAGO, IT @ BLOOM *
May 06: DÜDINGEN, CH @ BAD BONN *
May 07: TRIER, DE @ LUCKY’S LUKE *
*w/ MÜSCLE WÖRSHIP
JAPAN
May 25: NAGOYA, JP - HUCK FINN ~
May 26: TOKYO, JP - BUSHBASH ~
May 27: KAWASAKI, JP - BLOODAXE FESTIVAL ~
May 28: OSAKA, JP - HOKAGE ~
~w/ PALM
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