THE SWEYY

THE SWEYY is an EP released by PORTAL between their debut 'Seepia' and their second album 'Outr' that was limited to a mere 150 copies on CDs.

This EP contains 5 tracks, 3 new studio tracks, 2 of which ('Werships' and the title track) would be reworked and appear on the third album 'Swarth.'

The last 2 tracks are live performances from the Bloodlust III Festival in 2003. Both 'Atmoblisters' and 'Transcending A Mere Multiverse' were taken from the debut album 'Seepia.'

The studio tracks of the EP would also find their way onto a split with the band Rites Of Thy Degringolade titled 'The Sweyy / Our Dreadful Spire.'

The only track that never would appear elsewhere in any form is 'Doors.'

The studio tracks continue the same brutal and technical blackened death metal submerged in a dark ambient atmosphere and comes off as some of the most surreal tech death metal to be experienced, however the riffs are slowed down a bit from 'Seepia' and don't sound as chaotic. These are clearly easier to follow than the unrelenting bantering and jagged zigzagging delivery of the debut.

The live tracks display the band in a reverberant concert setting which shows an adaptation of the surreal extreme metal quite well to perform in front of a audience. Absent are the ethereal and otherworldly production effects that exude dark ambient doom and gloom but on the metal side of the equation they deliver the bizarre formless compositions exquisitely without missing a beat. Only the audience screams at the end reveal a live setting.

This is one of those that's interesting to experience but not particularly essential either since nothing on here is better than the studio albums that sandwich it. Well worth a listen or two for fans as it's played quite well and offers an insight into another dimension of the band's music but hardly a must-have.

"The Sweyy" is an EP release by Australian death metal act Portal. The EP was released through Blacktalon Media in July 2004. It bridges the gap between the band´s debut- and sophomore full-length studio albums "Seepia" (November 2003) and "Outre'" (September 2007). "The Sweyy" consists of 3 studio tracks and 2 live tracks (recorded at the Bloodlust II Festival in 2003). Both live tracks were featured in their studio versions on "Seepia". The 3 studio tracks were also released on a split with Rites of Thy Degringolade the same year. Otherwise the material is exclusive to this EP release, and doesn´t appear on the two full-length releases surrounding the EP.

Stylistically Portal continue to play their cacophonous, dissonant, murky, and almost avant-garde death metal style and "The Sweyy" is a natural successor to "Seepia". The sound production is maybe a little more clear than the case was on the preceding album, but since it´s Portal we´re talking about, you should of course not expect anything clean or sterile sounding. This is still murky, brutal, raw, and filthy death metal, which is both unusual in structure, and anarchistic in the way it´s performed. Think how Incantation would sound if they were put through an avant-garde grinder and played even more raw and extreme death metal than they already do. Both the opening title track and "Werships" sound like that, but "Doors" is an experimental noise/sound effect track. An eerie atmospheric instrumental track which could well be used as a horror movie soundtrack. The two live tracks are lo-fi recorded and they are so murky and raw that you´re not really able to hear what´s going on. Not a great way to end the EP.

"The Sweyy" is both a hard and a harsh listen and like everything Portal have ever done it´ll make some people confused and terrified, while others will devour the foulness, the chaos, and the adventurous progressive nature of the music. The two new original studio tracks are great, "Doors" is dragging and lasts too long, while the two live tracks feature a sub par live recording quality, so the EP is actually a bit hard to rate, but a 3 star (60%) rating isn´t all wrong.

(Originally posted on Metal Music Archives).