Portal
Band Members
- Current Line-Up
- Illogium (aka Knowmad) (guitar)
- Aphotic (guitar)
- The Curator (vocals)
- Elsewhere (aka Myscarriage) (bass)
- Monocular (aka Hellhorse) (drums)
- Former Members
- Werm (bass)
- Mephitic (drums)
- Obsidian (drums)
Website
Formed
Brisbane, QLD, 1994
Band Information
Portal is an evil, obscure and avant-garde death metal band from Brisbane. The band has been active since the mid-90s at least and several members were also part of the Invocation line-up for some time. Due to their deliberately obscure nature, it is sometimes unclear if the band members are different, or just using different pseudonyms; founder Illogium was originally known as Knowmad, Elsewhere (The Great Righteous Destroyer from StarGazer) has also been credited as Mys-Carriage and Monocular (The Serpent Inquisitor, also of StarGazer) has also been called Hellhorse.
Portal's music is utterly extreme and almost inaccessible beyond most limits of taste with little or no thought to riffs or structure and arcane lyrics that border on the incomprehensible, taking their inspiration from the works of HP Lovecraft. On stage they appear cloaked and hooded or wearing tall conical hats with vocals shouted through a megaphone.
Portal appeared at Metal for the Brain in 2005 and since then has stood down from live appearances to concentrate on further recordings. The 2006 demo "Lurker at the Threshold" served as a three-track sampler of the band's next album. Outre was released in late 2007 and proved to be one of the year's most bizarre releases, sounding something like diSEMBOWELMENT played backward at times. The next phase of their existence was marked by the release of Swarth in October 2009; the band is booked to appear at the Maryland Deathfest in May 2010.
Discography
Albums:
| 2003 | Seepia | Blacktalon Media | |
| 2007 | Outre | Profound Lore |
EPs:
| 2002 | The End Mills | self release | |
| 2004 | The Sweyy | Blacktalon Media |
Compilation tracks:
| Year | Track Title | Album Title | Label |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | "Tempus Fugit" | Barbaric Onslaught: Australian Metal Attack | Decius |
| 2004 | "The Sweyy" | Legions: Opening of the Southern Gate | Blacktalon Media |