Portrayal of Guilt’s ‘…Beginning of the End’: Two Cent Review
Portrayal of Guilt seemed to come out of nowhere in 2017, but once they did, they stuck their tongue to the frozen light pole and released five LPs, six EPs and three singles while our heads were still trying to catch up to their murderous maelstrom of metal. Once we got a good look at ’em, the brilliance of the band was on their collective face. On paper, one would’ve sworn numerous bands had melded black metal and post-hardcore. But what makes Portrayal of Guilt’s music so magical is that whatever one deigns to describe in words (and yes, this writer is fully aware of the irony at play here) doesn’t do justice to the sound that bursts out of their amps like flames from a nuclear explosion. That Portrayal of Guilt has surreptitiously tried to sidle up to the “grunge” qualifier is as laughable as the band is serious: Be proud of what you’ve accomplished, guys, by continuing to marry two heavy subgenres (to reiterate, black metal and post-hardcore) with the same success that Deafheaven did with black metal and shoegaze.
We begin this review with an encapsulation of Portrayal of Guilt’s history because the name – and the sensibility — of this record suggests that they might be getting prepared to have their last rites read to them. “The promise of a second coming slips further and further away. Another life in shambles, only constant agony. Everything comes around,” guitarist/vocalist Matt King screeches on the second track, “Human Terror.” “Strangled by selfishness and paralyzing hopelessness, this terrorizing mental warfare can feel depleting. They’re dead in their eyes behind rose-colored glasses, witnessing the horrors of a hemorrhaging world. Soon you’ll all be punished because of your own disgusting greed.”
But while the message is on point on that classically hoarse-sounding beatdown track …Beginning of the End quickly loses its thread musically. “Heaven’s Gate” and “Under Siege” are half-baked songs placed at a critical place where the identity of the album would be formed. While not terrible, those two tunes are succeeded by the limp “Ecstasy,” an unfocused song that someone in the band should’ve insisted be relegated to B-side status. That sets the tone for the dull “Death From Above” and “God Will Never Hear Me,” songs that have little promise of getting crowds at Portrayal of Guilt shows as hopping mad as they would behave during performances of the band’s earlier material.
But while some might enjoy the morose groove of the album’s middle tracks, Portrayal of Guilt’s irrefutable “tell” that they don’t believe in this record they’ve created is evidenced by cop-out guest appearances by artists who are ostensibly brought in as hype men and women (or members of Portrayal of Guilt’s entourage, which they probably have, given that fame has clearly gone to their head). Rapper Slim Guerilla, viral sensation Jenna Rosa, country musician Tyler Dozier and electronic industrial musician Mack Chami don’t elevate Portrayal of Guilt’s artistry in the least and only lead to questions as to whether they were roped in for social media dividends.
“Total Black,” the ninth song on the record, reignites the band for a few minutes — but it’s followed by “Object of Pain” (featuring Dozier), which effectively lays a turd on what could have been a sense of gaining momentum. King screams as scarily as he can on the concluding song, “The Last Judgment,” but by that point, the fate of the record has been sealed. As for the fate of the band, that remains to be seen — but, all in all, … Beginning of the End smells like a swan song.
The Bad Penny (beta) 
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