History Music / Portal

[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/portal_band.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:350:The lads themselves.]]

Portal (not to be confused with [[{{VideoGame/Portal}} the video game of the same name]]) are a technical/avant-garde death metal band from Australia known for their chaotic sound, CosmicHorror inspired lyrical themes, and being DarkerAndEdgier even for death metal. They are an AnonymousBand, known only by various stage names and dressing in executioner hoods (or in the case of lead vocalist The Curator, a bizarre outfit made to look like a grandfather clock) when playing live. Their sound is an immensely dense, dissonant, and noisy fusion of DeathMetal and BlackMetal, characterized by ''extremely'' distorted guitar riffs, UncommonTime, and vocals that range from [[GutturalGrowler guttural growls and grunts]] to menacing roars. Their anonymity and legitimately evil, hideous sound have led to them being acclaimed as one of the few truly frightening bands in the world of death metal.

Band members: [[note]]These aren't their real names [[/note]]
* The Curator - Vocals
* Horror Illogium - Lead guitar
* Aphotic Mote - Rhythm guitar
* Ignis Fatuus - Drums
* Omenous Fugue - Bass

Discography:
* ''The End Mills'' (EP, 2002)
* ''Seepia'' (2003)
* ''The Sweey'' (EP, 2004)
* ''Outre'' (2007)
* ''Swarth'' (2009)
* ''Vexovoid'' (2013)
* ''ION'' (2018)
* ''Avow'' (2021)
* ''Hagbulbia'' (2021)

!!Portal provides examples of the following tropes:
* AnonymousBand: The Curator, Horror Illogium, and Aphotic Mote have never been identified,[[note]]Omenous Fugue is Brad Lee-Leong of Impetuous Ritual, while Ignis Fatuus is Kevin Kevinson of Grave Upheaval and is also Loong's bandmate in Impetuous Ritual; additionally, Horror Illogium is known to play guitar in Vomitor[[/note]] and all members perform with their faces obscured live.
* BlackCloak: All of them when playing live, though the Curator has a more elaborate outfit modeled after a grandfather clock.
* CosmicHorrorStory: Their lyrics and artwork are very heavily inspired by H.P. Lovecraft, and their music ''sounds'' like what would happen if an EldritchAbomination formed a band.
* CreepyLongFingers: The Curator has long, tentacle-like fingers as part of his stage outfit.
* DroneOfDread: Used very frequently, especially for intros and outros.
* EpicRocking: "Olde Guarde" is almost 10 minutes long.
** Also, "Werships" is 8:36 (the EP version is 6:15), "Sourlows" is 7:18, "Marityme" is 6:53, "The Endmills" is 6:41, "Catafalque" is 10 minutes, "Manor of Speaking" is 9:49, "Bode" is 7 minutes, "Of Straw and Cloth" is 8:36, "Weptune" is 6:49, and "Hexodeus" is 11:44.
* GratuitousLatin: Ignis Fatuus' stage name literally means "Foolish Fire", but it is [[https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/ignis_fatuus used as a term]] for a will-o'-the-wisp or (more metaphorically) a false hope or delusion.[[note]]The correct plural form is "ignes fatui", in case you're wondering.[[/note]] Horror Illogium's stage name might also sound like an example, but it seems to be made up to sound like Latin (a "[[https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/logium#Latin logium]]" is a breastplate, particularly of a priest, but there's no such thing as an "illogium"; "horror", however, has [[https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/horror#Latin several meanings]] in Latin, including the same one it has in English).
* HarshVocals: The Curator's vocals are somewhere between a standard death metal growl and a sort of sinister, whispered spoken word.
* IndecipherableLyrics: Some of the Curator's vocals are actually quite intelligible, but they're generally hard to make out from the chaos of the music.
* KayfabeMusic: A much more serious example than most.
* LastNoteNightmare: The last five minutes of "Olde Guarde", which are pure, creepy dark ambient.
* LongestSongGoesLast: "Olde Guarde", "Sourlows", "The Endmills", and "Hexodeus".
* MetalScream: The Curator utilizes a deep, cavernous Type 2.
* MindScrew: Their music is incredibly technical and difficult to decipher, and their surreal Lovecraftian aesthetic and WordSaladLyrics combine to make them a musical version of SurrealHorror.
* NewSoundAlbum: ''ION'' has more concise arrangements with a far more prominent bestial black metal undercurrent and a cleaner production style.
* NothingIsScarier: The last few minutes of "Olde Guarde", which are dark ambient DroneOfDread with distorted voices and something that sounds like a phonograph skipping.
* {{Retraux}}: The [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Vyw_FGIhAE music video]] for "Curtain" is done in the style of an old silent movie.
* SurrealHorror: They are this trope distilled into music. Their extremely abrasive, hideous sound and surreal imagery combine to give the band a literally nightmarish feel.
----

* AnonymousBand: The Curator, Horror Illogium, and Aphotic Mote have never been identified,[[note]]Omenous Fugue is Brad Loong of Impetuous Ritual, while Ignis Fatuus is Kevin Kevinson of Grave Upheaval and is also Loong's bandmate in Impetuous Ritual; additionally, Horror Illogium is known to play guitar in Vomitor[[/note]] and all members perform with their faces obscured live.

* LongestSongGoesLast: "Olde Guarde", "The Endmills", and "Hexodeus".

** Also, "Werships" is 8:36 (the EP version is 6:15), "Sourlows" is 7:18, "Marityme" is 6:53, and "The Endmills" is 6:41.

* LongestSongGoesLast: "Olde Guarde" and "The Endmills".

* MohsScaleOfRockAndMetalHardness: 10-11, easily. They sometimes dip lower for ambient segments, but even those are incredibly dark and abrasive. A few of their songs, such as "Spores", almost sound like HarshNoise.

* SurrealHorror: They are this trope distilled into music. Their extremely abrasive, hideous sound and surreal imagery combine to give the band a literally nightmarish feel.

* MetalScream: The Curator utilizes a Type 2.

* GratuitousLatin: Ignis Fatuus' stage name literally means "Foolish Fire", but it is [[https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/ignis_fatuus used as a term]] for a will-o'-the-wisp or (more metaphorically) a false hope or delusion.[[note]]The correct plural form is "ignes fatui", in case you're wondering.[[/note]] Horror Illogium's stage name might also sound like an example, but it seems to be made up to sound like Latin (a "[[https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/logium#Latin logium]]" is a breastplate, particularly of a priest, but there's no such thing as an "illogium"; "horror", however, has [[[[https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/horror#Latin several meanings]] in Latin, including the same one it has in English).

* GratuitousLatin: Ignis Fatuus' stage name literally means "Foolish Fire", but it is [[https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/ignis_fatuus used as a term]] for a will-o'-the-wisp or (more metaphorically) a false hope or delusion. Horror Illogium's stage name might also seem like an example, but it seems to be made up to sound like Latin (a "[[https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/logium#Latin logium]]" is a breastplate, particularly of a priest, but there's no such thing as an "illogium").

* GratuitousLatin: Ignis Fatuus' stage name literally means "Foolish Fire", but it is used as a term in Latin for a will-o'-the-wisp or (more metaphorically) a false hope or delusion. Horror Illogium's stage name might also seem like an example, but it seems to be made up to sound like Latin (a "logium" is a breastplate, particularly of a priest, but there's no such thing as an "illogium").

* GutturalGrowler: The Curator.

Band members: [[note]] [[CaptainObvious These aren't their real names]] [[/note]]

Portal (not to be confused with [[{{VideoGame/Portal}} the video game of the same name]]) are a technical/avant-garde death metal band from Australia known for their chaotic sound, CosmicHorror inspired lyrical themes, and being DarkerAndEdgier even for death metal. They are an AnonymousBand, known only by various stage names and dressing in executioner hoods (or in the case of lead vocalist The Curator, a bizarre outfit made to look like a grandfather clock) when playing live. Their sound is an immensely dense, dissonant, and noisy fusion of DeathMetal and BlackMetal, characterized by ''extremely'' distorted guitar riffs, UncommonTime, and vocals that range from [[GutturalGrowler guttural growls and grunts]] to menacing roars. Their anonymity and legitimately evil, hideous sound have led to them being acclaimed as one of the few truly frightening band in the world of death metal.

* DroneOfDread: Used very frequently, especially for intros.
* HarshVocals: Well duh.

* MindScrew: Their music is incredibly technical and difficult to decipher, to the point where it actually does sound like a nightmare.
* MohsScaleOfRockAndMetalHardness: 11, easily. They sometimes dip lower for ambient segments, but even those are incredibly dark and abrasive.

* SurrealHorror: They are this trope distilled into music. Their extremely abrasive, hideous sound and nightmarish aesthetics have been known to frighten even lifelong metalheads, who are generally [[NightmareFetishist Nightmare Fetishists]].

* AnonymousBand: None of them have ever been identified. They all conceal their identities with masks and hoods on the rare occasions they play live.

Band members: [[Note]] [[CaptainObvious]] These aren't their real names]] [[/note]]

Portal (not to be confused with [[{{VideoGame/Portal}} the video game of the same name]]) are a technical death metal band from Australia known for their chaotic sound, CosmicHorror inspired lyrical themes, and being DarkerAndEdgier even for death metal. They are an AnonymousBand, known only by various stage names and dressing in executioner hoods (or in the case of lead vocalist The Curator, a bizarre outfit made to look like a grandfather clock) when playing live. Their sound is an immensely dense, dissonant, and noisy fusion of DeathMetal and BlackMetal, characterized by ''extremely'' distorted guitar riffs, UncommonTime, and vocals that range from [[GutturalGrowler guttural growls and grunts]] to menacing roars. Their anonymity and legitimately evil, hideous sound have led to them being acclaimed as one of the few truly frightening band in the world of death metal. They have released the following albums so far:

* AnonymousBand: None of them have ever been identified. The vocalist is known as "The Curator", their lead guitarist is "Horror Illogium", the rhythm guitarist is "Aphotic Mote", and "Ignis Fatuus" and "Omenous Fugue" are the drummer and bassist respectively. They all conceal their identities with masks and hoods on the rare occasions they play live.

* DroneOfDread: They sometimes use this for intros and outros.

* AnonymousBand: None of them have ever been identified. The vocalist is known as "The Curator", their lead guitarist is "Horror Illogium", the rhythm guitarist is "Aphotic Mote", and "Ignis Fatuus" and "Omenous Fugue" are the drummer and bassist respectively. They all conceal their identities with masks on the rare occasions they play live.

* CreepilyLongFingers: The Curator has long, tentacle-like fingers as part of his stage outfit.