Review by Felix on January 1, 2022.

From today’s point of view, the debut of Portrait sounds a bit strange to me, because Per Lengstedt was not yet a member of the group. Instead, Phillip Svennefelt lent the dudes his voice and he is mainly responsible for the obvious Mercyful Fate influence that characterizes the self-titled effort. But Portrait is not the result of copycats at work, and, just to avoid misunderstanding, Svennefelt does not sound like the reincarnation of King Diamond. He just adapts his style to a certain degree without creating a slavish imitation. The bottom line is that his adventurous singing fits the music and its aura very well. Vocals and instruments create the occult touch right from the beginning and it is evident that Portrait knew the direction of their musical mission from the outset.

This mission contains a tendency to pretty complex tracks. The technical dates (eight songs, 46 minutes) indicate the quite excessive structures. Sometimes newcomers choke on their own ambitions, but here the songwriting guitarists Lindell and Lagergren have penned pieces that find a good balance between a smooth flow and the right number of twists and turns. The songs are neither repetitive nor over-complicated. Their best feature is their freshness. Portrait does not sound tired at any second. The often fast compositions, headed by the ruthless 'A Thousand Nightmares' with its glorious solo and instrumental part, spread timeless vibes. Of course, the Swedes can be seen as representatives of traditional metal, but already on their debut, they were much more than this. They offered more than typical traditionalists in terms of energy, speed, courage and song patterns. Portrait is light years away from the “riff-screams-chorus” scenario that has its right of existence without being the last word on the subject. Nevertheless, one can identify a few Maiden-like guitar lines, inter alia in 'Bow Unto The Devil', where they lead into a short drum solo (or excessive drum break, however you want to name it).

Many details want to be discovered, for example the tiny “Killers” similarity after the first riff of 'Beware The Demons' many various parts want to be fully consumed. Especially the fast-paced opener and the rather epic closer hold a lot different sound colours. But even while listening to the longest songs, you will not stumble over half-baked parts. Everything is meticulously constructed and even though I am not in a state of euphoria during the entire 46 minutes, I enjoy the album in its entity. All songs reach a good level, a few of them are still candidates for best of compilation. This is a merit of the production, too. Maybe it lacks five or ten percent power, but the album sounds clear and professional. In view of this situation, there are not many reasons to ignore Portrait. It’s simply a debut which already showed the greatness of its spiritual fathers. And despite many line-up changes, this greatness is still alive. Everybody who knows the title track of At One With None will agree.

Rating: 7.7 out of 10