PORTRAITS blend thunderous riffs with anthemic vocals to bring back the essence of metalcore on new album "At My Darkest"

Finnish metalcore band PORTRAITS (members of Cleansing, Baron) have refined their sound of classic metalcore in the likes of Killswitch Engage, As I Lay Dying and Trivium, drawing from the base of heavy riffs and big, memorable choruses. Originally formed in 2011, the band members have spent their youth writing and playing music together in the form of multiple lesser releases and shows, until eventually regrouping under a new name to finish off writing their debut full-length.

After two years of composing new material, revisiting unused songs or ideas from the past, and everlasting studio sessions spread-out the summer of 2019 combined with music video shoots, At My Darkest, the album the band had always desired to make, was finished. The first single Hands of Guilt was released on the 29th of July with a music video, setting the tone for the upcoming full-length and the new direction for the band.

At My Darkest forms a tale of forgiveness, consisting of stories spread throughout a journey of self-awareness and guilt. When the only escape seems to lie somewhere deep within, you start to shape your reflection in a new manner. Realising you cannot cast aside your darker self, you’re forced to accept this co-existence and begin the struggle towards peace as equals. Learning to forgive, crawling towards a place you can call your own. – Mark My Words Records

Portraits’ debut album was released 22nd of September through Mark My Words Records accompanied by the preceding singles and a music video for the song Haze. Acting as the ending track of the album, Haze is the pinnacle of the story and is the most heartfelt set of lyrics; intended to remain open to the listener’s personal interpretation.

*Portraits by Patrik Pesonen Photography*

The concept for most of the songs and/or for the album as a whole was present even before the lyrics or the title were complete, therefore leading the final process. As the title settled in, the album began to shape up as more of a journey rather than a collection of songs. The tracks fell into their places on the album and the thoughts behind the songs turned into a coherent story.

𝐴𝑡 𝑀𝑦 𝐷𝑎𝑟𝑘𝑒𝑠𝑡 𝑖𝑠 𝑎𝑛 𝑖𝑛𝑡𝑟𝑜𝑠𝑝𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑜𝑓 𝑜𝑢𝑟 𝑑𝑎𝑟𝑘𝑒𝑠𝑡 𝑠𝑒𝑙𝑣𝑒𝑠, 𝑠𝑒𝑎𝑟𝑐ℎ𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑎 𝑤𝑎𝑦 𝑡𝑜 𝑏𝑒 𝑟𝑒𝑙𝑒𝑎𝑠𝑒𝑑 𝑓𝑟𝑜𝑚 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑔𝑢𝑖𝑙𝑡 𝑤𝑒 𝑐𝑎𝑟𝑟𝑦 𝑖𝑛 𝑜𝑢𝑟 ℎ𝑒𝑎𝑟𝑡𝑠. 𝐿𝑜𝑜𝑘𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑢𝑛𝑑𝑒𝑟 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑠𝑢𝑟𝑓𝑎𝑐𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑚𝑜𝑟𝑡𝑎𝑙 𝑓𝑟𝑎𝑚𝑒 𝑠𝑢𝑟𝑟𝑜𝑢𝑛𝑑𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑢𝑠 𝑡𝑜 𝑓𝑖𝑛𝑑 𝑜𝑢𝑟 𝑡𝑟𝑢𝑒𝑠𝑡 𝑓𝑜𝑟𝑚. 𝐴 𝑡𝑎𝑙𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝑓𝑜𝑟𝑔𝑖𝑣𝑒𝑛𝑒𝑠𝑠 𝑤𝑒 𝑎𝑙𝑙 𝑜𝑤𝑒 𝑡𝑜 𝑜𝑢𝑟𝑠𝑒𝑙𝑣𝑒𝑠.

Dive into each and every track of this outstanding record through the track by track commentary below.