When I received an exciting email asking if I’d like to review Portrayal of Guilt‘s latest album, of course I said yes! I had never heard of the band before, so I was looking forward to hearing them for the first time.
Portrayal of Guilt are: Matt King on vocals and guitar, Alex Stanfield on bass, and James Beveridge on drums. The band formed back in 2017 in Austin, Texas and are a black metal/hardcore band. Their latest album, …Beginning of the End, releases on 24th April 2026 with eleven tracks via Run For Cover Records. The record follows a recent huge UK and European tour as main support for Deafheaven, and past support from Metal Hammer, as well as Pitchfork, Fantano, Kerrang!, and beyond. Portrayal of Guilt released two singles on 4th March 2026: ‘Human Terror’ and ‘Ecstasy’. Their track ‘Chamber of Misery Pt. IV’ features Houston, Texas rapper Slim Guerilla.
This album is not what I expected at all. It is certainly unique and very different to anything I’ve heard before. It’s extremely heavy, intense, and raw. There are some hypnotic moments that creep in, which balance it out a bit. A lot of guttural vocals and screams throughout, with some haunting and lighter vocals within a couple of tracks. There were of course a few tracks that caught my attention and I will gladly share them with you.
The first track on the album, ‘Backstabber’, has no vocals whatsoever but has a lot of intensity within the music, preparing you for what’s to come. I also really like the name of the track too; it suits the music in a way. ‘Ecstasy’ is lighter music wise, hypnotic at times, but still holds that intensity and has heavy, guttural vocals throughout.
In ‘Death From Above’, the vocals are quite haunting, almost like you’re in an old school horror movie. There are some guttural moments but not as much as in other tracks. You can still feel the heaviness within. And lastly, ‘Total Black’ is very heavy and raw, with deep guttural screams. It’s one of the tracks that has some manic headbanging moments and certainly made me do some headbanging myself!
I like how unique, heavy, and intense this album is. I always love hearing different music, and I will definitely be checking out more of Portrayal of Guilt‘s music. Give this album a listen when it’s released and hear for yourselves how intense it is!
