Wednesday, August 23, 2017

Single Review: PORTRAIT Mine To Reap

Mine To Reap
From their upcoming full length Burn the World (Metal Blade), scheduled for release August 25
Three years since their last studio release, Portrait have released a new single titled 'Mine to Reap' from their upcoming album 'Burn the World', which is set to be released on August 25. Since their formation, the group have experienced critical acclaim from numerous sources. The group aren't without their negative critics, however. Some are quick to brand the group as "King Diamond copyists" - but is that really the case? Vocals aside, the structural quality of this particular song is a far-cry from the conceptual theatrics that King Diamond as a group are renowned for. In actual fact there's a stronger sense of realism here in the overall mood that the group conjures up as opposed to myth and fantasy. There's also a bit of a thrash-oriented groove going on, something the group may not have embraced to the fullest on one of their previous albums such as 'Crimen Laesae Majestatis Divinae'. It's a tad wordy and it probably reinstates the group with a new sense of direction that they haven't really had to this degree before. The sound is indeed more direct and there's probably less sections that rely on time signature / tempo changes. If anything it's probably more Mercyful Fate-influenced than King Diamond but even so it's more of a modernized twist and they seem to have discarded the eerie vibe that was quite prevalent at the beginning. Overall the song itself probably isn't overly shocking or exciting from a standalone perspective but it definitely sheds a fascinating light upon what the group have to offer and definitely leaves one wanting to hear more. -Jaime Regadas

No comments:

Post a Comment