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darkhness
Metal newbie

Joined: Sat Nov 15, 2014 8:57 pm
Posts: 30
Location: United States
PostPosted: Sun Dec 14, 2014 5:42 am 
 

Anyone else a big fan of these guys? This is one of those few bands that I can safely say I like all their releases. Crimen and Crossroads are both fantastic albums. The guitar work is fantastic and the vocals are up there also. What I like about these guys is that they don't try to down right copy Mercyful Fate to the dot. The strong influence is obviously there but they put a lot of effort into making their own sound, which works well. I'm not really familiar with them live but I would assume they pull it off well too. Anyone seen them?

On top of that they did an awesome cover of Judas Priest's 'Mother Sun', which previously was unreleased by them. It's a well executed cover if you ask me, they pulled out that whole 70's Priest vibe well, especially in the guitars aspect.

Here's the link to the cover if anyone hasn't heard it.
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true_death
Metalhead

Joined: Thu Sep 26, 2013 6:47 pm
Posts: 2390
PostPosted: Sun Dec 14, 2014 10:07 am 
 

Portrait are one of my favorite bands and "Crimen..." is one of my favorite albums of all time. To me, that album is just as good as all of the "untouchable" classics from the 80's like "Melissa", "Don't Break the Oath", and almost "Abigail". Everything about that album is totally perfect to me...the riffs, the songwriting, the production, the album cover, the vocals, the lyrics, and most of all...the atmosphere. I really like their self-titled (shitty vocals aside) and the new one, "Crossroads" too, but I consider "Crimen..." to be their crowning jewel and it's a shame people write them off as a "Mercyful Fate" ripoff.
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Lazarus Steel
Metal newbie

Joined: Fri Dec 12, 2014 5:42 am
Posts: 30
PostPosted: Sun Dec 14, 2014 10:36 am 
 

All three albums are great, but my favorite is «Crimen Laesae Majestatis Divinae". All sounds perfect to me on this album!

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GuntherTheUndying
Crimson King, Eater of Worlds

Joined: Mon Apr 24, 2006 4:36 pm
Posts: 2833
Location: United States
PostPosted: Sun Dec 14, 2014 1:48 pm 
 

They are a tremendous band, far better than most these days. Crossroads is an incredible album, better somehow than the other records they've put out, which were no craploads themselves. That split they did with RAM is also really cool; they contribute a new tune, a cover of a RAM track and an Exciter classic. That Judas Priest cover is excellent. I think the idea of covering a really obscure track from a well-known band is awesome (even Halford praised the cover and the band's willingness to take on a lesser-known anthem than, say, "Painkiller" or "Breaking the Law").
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Headless420
Metalhead

Joined: Wed Sep 27, 2006 5:22 pm
Posts: 431
Location: United States of America
PostPosted: Mon Dec 15, 2014 1:43 pm 
 

Crossroads is album of the year for me thus far, though I admittedly haven't heard too many new releases this year. Absolutely love this band and Crossroads is definitely their best work yet. Looking forward to the next one.

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Jophelerx
Metalhead

Joined: Fri Jul 09, 2010 2:22 pm
Posts: 1470
Location: United States
PostPosted: Mon Dec 15, 2014 7:58 pm 
 

Yeah I expected Crossroads to be AOTY until I heard Sons of Crom's incredible debut, but it's still an absolutely fantastic album. Super tight, great production and atmosphere, insane leads and multi-vocal tracking...Crimen is very, very good too but it's just not quite as consistent and tight for me.
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Jonpo
Hyperc6l6mb6wler

Joined: Tue Jul 31, 2007 10:05 am
Posts: 7735
PostPosted: Tue Dec 16, 2014 11:30 am 
 

I was initially a little disappointed with the vocals on Crossroads, they didn't have that same unrestrained quality, that same fiery Satanic passion. Crossroads isn't about that though. It's far more subtle than the album before it. It was a bit more of a "grower" but I would agree now that it's better. The sophomore still holds a special place in my heart though. It bowls me over how manic and passionate the whole album sounds. It's just one glorious hymn to Satan after another. And those riffs!! My god. They shed them off with such ease and such ferocity that it's mind numbing. Really really cool band, and it's a shame some people will write them off as a Mercyful Fate/KD worship act without really giving them a chance. They're special I think.

I still have yet to hear the debut. It's pricey these days, from what I've seen. I think it's cool that their original vocalist is the bass player from Helvetets Port. That's another band who really get it.
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Dragunov
Metalhead

Joined: Wed Dec 29, 2004 6:34 pm
Posts: 2260
Location: United States of America
PostPosted: Tue Dec 16, 2014 6:09 pm 
 

Crossroads was also one of my favorites from this year. Their guitarists are writing some of my favorite riffs nowadays, hopefully their hands continue to craft such high quality.

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iamntbatman
Chaos Breed

Joined: Sat Feb 21, 2009 5:55 am
Posts: 11421
Location: Tyrn Gorthad
PostPosted: Wed Dec 17, 2014 10:42 am 
 

The debut is like a less refined, not as good version of the sophomore, but with substantially worse vocals. Still a nifty album but I don't find myself going back to it often since the sophomore is basically a similar approach but just much better. Crossroads is definitely a grower and a hell of an album.

Portrait are definitely one of my very favorite currently active heavy metal bands. I hope the next album is something of a mix of the second and third: the adventurousness and scope of the third with the more direct riffiness of the second. Sounds like a bit of a contradiction but I think these guys are probably good enough to pull it off.
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PhilosophicalFrog
The Hypercube

Joined: Thu May 04, 2006 7:08 pm
Posts: 7631
Location: United States
PostPosted: Wed Dec 17, 2014 11:06 am 
 

decided to listen to Crossroads because of this thread and I'm really digging it - and I'm not the biggest heavy metal fan. Still, some awesome riffs on here.
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