(Heavy Metal) Portrait - Crimen Laesae Majestatis Divinae - 2011, FLAC (image+.cue+scans), lossless

The relentless, Swedish beast known as PORTRAIT spawned in the year 2006 with the intention to bring back the dark energy that was once the cornerstone in many a classic metal release. Having taken the underground by storm, the band signed to the small labels Iron Kodex and High-Roller Records and released a celebrated debut album in 2008. The album received rave reviews in magazines like Terrorizer (8,5/10), Rock Hard (8/10) and Sweden Rock Magazine (8/10) as well as in the underground press. The release was crowned by two European tours and several appearances at well-known festivals like Keep it True, Sweden Rock, Headbangers Open Air, Hole in the Sky, Hell's Pleasure, Up the Hammers and Muskelrock.
In 2010, Portrait signed a multi-album deal with Metal Blade Records, and will now unleash its second opus upon the world.
http://www.myspace.com/portraitmetal
http://www.portraitband.se/
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Portrait/67969460585
http://www.metal-archives.com/bands/Portrait/73691

If Mercyful Fate were to reform and put out a brand new album tomorrow, it would hopefully sound a lot like Portrait’s latest release. Portrait are the latest band out of Sweden desperate to recapture that classic metal sound that everybody fell in love with in the early eighties, and that seems to have gotten lost somewhere along the way. Crimen Laesae Majestatis Divinae is Portrait’s major label debut on Metal Blade Records and the first with Per Karlsson on vocals, who sounds as if he was lifted directly from a King Diamond cover band and thrown into the studio to record this album. Despite their many similarities to bands thirty years older than them, Portrait has found a unique niche in today’s metal community.
The minute you pop this album in you will be taken back to 1980. Despite being picked up by Metal Blade, this album still sounds as if it was recorded in a basement (they couldn’t get to the garage to record because it was snowed in) in a little Swedish village somewhere. However, that statement should be viewed as a compliment. The recording is raw, but that does not make the band any less talented. Guitarists Richard Lagergren and Christian Lindell shred their way throughout the entire album with classic dual harmonized guitar solos, and aren’t even afraid to bring out their acoustics on “The Wilderness Beyond.” Drummer Anders Persson and bassist Joel Pälvärinne round out this powerhouse of a band.
The album opens with “Beast of Fire” and tears up any expectations formed by the cover art. While the creepy cover art depicting a lone church in the distance amid a cracked wasteland may lead some to believe that Portrait were simply the latest doom metal outfit, “Beast of Fire” is a ripping classic metal masterpiece in the vein of Judas Priest and Accept, with a satanic twist. Although the lengthy songs do start to blend together about halfway through the album, “Bloodbath” and “The Passion” provide additional highlights.
In a world where the metal genre becomes more convoluted every day, it is nice to hear a band like Portrait who seem to be going way back to the roots of the genre. This band offers poorly produced riffs in the vein of the new wave of British heavy metal with the blackness that can only come out of Northern Europe. Even King Diamond would not be able to help cracking a smile of appreciation if he were to hear Crimen Laesae Majestatis Divinae.
http://www.portraitband.se/releases.htm
http://www.portraitband.se/store.htm
http://www.nuclearblast.de/de/produkte/tontraeger/cd/cd/portrait-crimen-laesae-ma...ics-divinae.html
http://www.metal-archives.com/albums/Portrait/Crimen_Laesae_Majestatis_Divinae/296683

Christian Lindell - Guitars: ex-Helvetets Port, ex-Cross Bow
Richard Lagergren - Guitars (formerly bass): Eidomantum
Per Karlsson - Vocals: Overdrive, ex-Unchained
Joel Pälvärinne - Bass
Anders Persson - Drums