Portrayal Of Guilt – …Beginning Of The End (Review)

Portrayal Of Guilt are a hard band to categorize. The Texas three-piece are notorious shapeshifters and have never shied away from expanding and shifting their sonic palette. Be it the eerie Devil Music in 2023, which basically contained the same songs as the record’s first half but transformed into an impending doom soundtrack of claustrophobic string instrumentation, or the wild remix edition of Christfucker—these guys know how to throw some curveballs. With their fifth record, …Beginning Of The End, the obvious question is: which incarnation of the band are we getting this time?

After making a name for themselves with Let Pain Be Your Guide and fan favorite We Are Always Alone, the screamo-meets-black-metal punkers quickly gained a lot of attention due to their unconventional ability to blend several genres into one cohesive piece of sound. And with their latest record, they manage to dig even further into unknown territory. “Backstabber” opens with familiar dissonant and haunting chords that serve as a brief tone-setting introduction to the wild ride that is …Beginning Of The End. Pre-released “Human Terror” directly shifts the tone with its rumbling bassline and distant guitar notes that culminate in a Korn-esque, bouncy chorus. Accompanied by Matt King’s nasty screams, we’ve got the first hit in the books.

Following up the massive opener are “Heaven’s Gate” and the punky “Under Siege”, which amp up the chaos with blast beats, more dissonance, and rapid tempo switches. “Ecstasy” sounds like a messed-up version of grunge meets trip hop, but actually works well as a more pop-structured, bleak dance song. In general, Portrayal Of Guilt’s latest offering demonstrates a clear shift towards a more accessible direction. Thankfully, they still manage to keep their signature sound as the foundation for all these stylistic tweaks and turns.

“Chamber of Misery IV” even features rapper Slim Guerilla and comes across as a total oddball feature that pretty accurately demonstrates that the Texans don’t give a flying fuck when it comes to musical genre boundaries. On paper, this shouldn’t work, but somehow it does and even emphasizes the haunting atmosphere of the record.

The biggest asset of …Beginning Of The End, though, is its constantly dynamic flow that keeps surprising the listener with interesting changes of pace and mood. While the songs are drastically different from each other, nothing feels out of place or randomly attached. This is also evident in the record’s final moments. The one-two punch of the hauntingly beautiful “Object of Pain”, which wouldn’t feel out of place on a Nine Inch Nails record, and the closer “The Last Judgement” is a magnificent display of building and releasing tension. The latter serves as a perfect climax to the build-up of its immediate predecessor, with its blistering black metal aura cleverly juxtaposed by post-rock motifs before abruptly ending with an emotional gut punch.

…Beginning Of The End is a diverse and hard-hitting record that offers a unique blend of genres, all held together by the overarching bleak and menacing atmosphere Portrayal Of Guilt are known for. By adding new tricks to their book, the Texan three-piece have created a hauntingly beautiful and hard-hitting record full of interesting dynamics and gripping songs that function as a cohesive, dark whole—resulting in the band’s best record to date.

Ray Transcended

From: Neheim (Germany)
Favorite Artists: Black Sabbath – Every Time I Die – Dissection
Best Show: The Last Dillinger Escape Plan Show @Gloria, Köln
Band: Cold Gloom