PORTAL — Lurker At The Threshold (review)

PORTAL — Lurker At The Threshold album cover Demo · 2006 · Technical Death Metal Buy this album from MMA partners
4/5 ·
UMUR
"Lurker at the Threshold" is a demo release by Australian death metal act Portal. The demo was released through Beer in Your Ear Records in 2006. It´s the follow-up release to "The Sweyy" EP from July 2004, but the demo is ultimately more connected to Portal´s then upcoming second full-length studio album "Outre'" (September 2007) as all three tracks from the 15:33 minutes long demo would be re-recorded and included on "Outre'".

The tracks however appear on "Lurker at the Threshold" in quite different versions than the versions which are featured on "Outre'". Here they appear in more detailed, less chaotic/dark atmospheric, and much less abstract versions, which are arguably easier to follow. I would never call Portal accessible, but this is by far one of their most accessible releases as a result of how defined the instruments are in the soundscape and the generally less murky nature of the sound production. The riffs are still chaotic, brutal, and dissonant, so in that respect Portal are as unconventional and sometimes downright odd as usual. The growling vocals appear low in the mix and they ultimately add more texture than punch and aggression.

So upon conclusion "Lurker at the Threshold" is for those who are interested in Portal, but just can´t penetrate and appreciate their usual murky and suffocating take on death metal. This is still a highly experimental, and at times avant-garde type of death metal (..."The Sourlows" is for example a really weird track), but the sound production makes this sound a little more normal...at least occasionally. A 3.5 - 4 star (75%) rating is deserved.
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