Band:	Portrayal Of Guilt
Album:	Devil Music
Style:	Post-Hardcore, Screamo, Sludge metal
Release date:	April 2023

01. One Last Taste Of Heaven
02. Untitled
03. Burning Hand
04. Where Angels Come To Die
05. Devil Music
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)

This is like the trope of having a devil and an angel on each shoulder trying to convince you. Except both the blackened screamo and the chamber strings are devils in this case.

Portrayal Of Guilt is a band that has been pretty prolific in its six years existence. From EPs and a bunch of splits to releasing two separate albums in 2021. Maybe not the most prolific, especially when most of the releases are very much on the shorter side, but it was enough to really make them feel like a constant presence. I did end up reviewing one of their albums and missing the second one, even though Christfucker, aside from having one of the edgiest titles in existence, was their most punishing record to date. Titling your record "Devil Music" is quite in line with the same edgy school of thought that Christfucker came from, but certainly what really sets Devil Music apart is its structure.

You might notice that the second side is basically the same as the first side, being different takes on the same songs. With all of it being original material, I don't want it to come across like one side is just alternative versions and one side is the actual album, since you could also say that the first side is the alternative of the second side, and both of them contrast each other very well. But one side is something that is a continuation of Portrayal Of Guilt's sound. The other side is an orchestral take on the sound. And also one side has the song titles themselves while the other has to name them in parenthesizes. But both are just as vital. I mean, it is the "alternate side" that has the short movie set to it.

The first side isn't really as "screamo" as the band's previous work, which was a trajectory already apparent on Christfucker, their least emo album. Sludge and black metal pretty much take center stage, creating a very bassy and destructive soundscape that often alternates with black metal's more gothic tinged dissonance and some hardcore pummel in the faster paced moments. For barely fifteen minutes of music, it explores a lot of territory and it shifts the sounds around quite a lot. I would've loved if this was expanded into something where each of the sounds could've been explored more, but that would've made it work a bit less as a package. Something that's already shaky having to listen to basically the same songs twice, even if the second side is wildly different.

The second side keeps the harsh vocal styles as basically the sole remnant of Portrayal Of Guilt's original sound. Alongside them, strings, horns, percussion of a chamber orchestra join in, somehow managing to create a sound even more somber and dark. I appreciate the limitation of a chamber orchestra opposed to a larger one, which makes the sound feel a bit more direct and less needlessly bombastic. The mix of the two elements is still very odd, and I can tell why people weren't shrieking over orchestras back in the 19th century, but it's exactly that oddity that makes it so enticing. It works better than it should in theory, and the new take does accentuate different sides of the song, giving the sound a bit of breathing room without taking away the weight of the original music.

And maybe now I can forgive myself for skipping their set because they clashed with Deafheaven.