Portrayal of Guilt have announced a new album, Devil Music, arriving April 20th via Run for Cover.
The LP is the most ambitious effort from the Austin band to date. It features five new songs on side A and a re-imagining of those five songs on side B using strings, acoustic bass, and brass. In a striking move, guitarist-vocalist Matt King’s rasps and howls remain in the mix on the orchestral versions.
Ahead of the album’s release date, Portrayal of Guilt have offered up the entirety of side B, which soundtracks a short film directed by Emmanuella Zachariou. The full 15-minute clip functions as a medieval silent film, with stark black-and-white cinematography and occult imagery (some NSFW). Zachariou cited inspiration from films such as the Czech epic Marketa Lazarová, ’90s black metal promo photos, and dungeon synth pioneer Mortiis, among other sources.
“When I first heard the B-side of Devil Music, I was extremely impressed by the cinematic nature of the music,” Zachariou said. “As a filmmaker and artist who started working in this industry through being an avid lover of music, especially heavier and darker sounds, it has always been a deep personal goal of mine to create more projects that not only highlight the extremely intricate nature of such compositions, but to really try to bring in a true cinematic atmosphere to help visualize them.”
It’s certainly an artful teaser for the rest of the album. The uncompromising vocals, dark chords and minors heard on the orchestral versions hint at another brutal offering from PoG, whose music continues to grow more evil and extreme with each subsequent offering.
Devil Music will be available on CD and vinyl beginning April 21st via Run for Cover. A bundled and standalone DVD release of Zachariou’s short film will also be available.
Watch the short film and see the LP art and tracklist below.
Devil Music Artwork:
Devil Music Tracklist:
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)