ALBUM REVIEW: Portraits – Perennial Isolation

Spain definitely isn’t one of the first countries that springs to mind when it comes to ice-cold atmospheric black metal. That’s something Barcelona’s PERENNIAL ISOLATION have been looking to change for a little while now though. Formed in 2012, the quartet have since released a string of nature-inspired records that tick all the genre’s requisite boxes. Portraits is the band’s fourth album. It follows 2016’s Epiphanies Of The Orphaned Light – easily their best and most focused work thus far. This record may come a fair while after its predecessor, but fortunately for us, the band haven’t lost a shred of their intensity. Portraits is a powerful, emotional listen which more or less holds its own with some of the best atmospheric black metal releases of recent years.

For this album, the band wanted to share their admiration for “the border area between Autumn and Winter.” Quite why they’re releasing it just as our days in the northern hemisphere are becoming longer and warmer is a mystery, but there’s no denying that the seasons in question lay heavy on this record. It starts, for example, with The Fall Awakening, a quiet intro piece laden with distant wind and growing rain. These return on the album’s fourth track, Unceasing Sorrows From The Vastness’ Scion, this time joined by claps of thunder. There’s wind again on To The Withering Womb directly after it too. Of course, as well as all this, there’s a general black metal frostiness which runs through the whole record to bracing effect.

PERENNIAL ISOLATION’s two guitarists, known only as M. and I., are quick to shine on Portraits. In the second half of the album’s first song proper, Autumn Legacy Underlying The Cold’s Caress, one of them provides soaring atmospheric leads while the other riffs away beneath them. It’s impressive, melodic work which never strays into overly self-indulgent territory. Their playing remains a highlight throughout Portraits. As well as absolutely nailing the rapid tremolo picking they seem to teach in black metal 101, they go on to offer up plenty more great leads and riffs in equal measure.

The duo are by no means alone in their impressive performances on Portraits. Music like this tends to require a lot from drummers in particular, and PERENNIAL ISOLATION‘s V. is more than up to the task. Throughout the record they seem to nail the essential blast beats and double kicks without even breaking a sweat. The band’s vocalist, who goes by the name of A., is equally strong. Again, A. shows no struggle with the genre’s basics – their icy fry screams a perfect fit with the band’s music. Refreshingly however, they also manage to vary up their style from time to time, particularly with more guttural vocals, as well as with gloomier, more haunting sung chants. 

In terms of stand out songs, the album’s already-mentioned fourth track, Unceasing Sorrows From The Vastness’ Scion, is definitely among them. This one’s a lengthy, dynamic piece with a stunning, mournful break of relative quiet sandwiched between the band’s usual high standard of atmospheric black metal fare. Again, the guitars shine here, especially on the track’s massive emotive outro. The best song of all however may well be the record’s seventh track, Embers In The Slumbering Threshold. This has a real emotional weight to it too, boasting a sparse chugging breakdown and another powerful outro in particular. 

PERENNIAL ISOLATION primarily deal in rather traditional atmospheric black metal elements on Portraits, but that’s not all there is to it. For example, at around the first minute mark of Unceasing Sorrows… the band kick into the kind of crushing riff a post or even tech-metal band would be proud of. Elsewhere, fifth track To The Withering Womb carries itself with a slower grandiosity for much of its first half. Of course, these are the exceptions rather than the rule, but they do provide solid proof that the four-piece are capable of even more than the one thing they do so well.

Clocking in at just over 50 minutes, Portraits is hardly the longest black metal album out there. It does however make for a reasonable undertaking. While the quality remains high until the very end, it is maybe a fraction too long. On the last couple of tracks for example – both good black metal pieces – listeners may drift ever so slightly. That said, Portraits is still an excellent record. On it, PERENNIAL ISOLATION hit all the right beats, and make a decisive case to be added to the long list of great atmospheric black metal bands we seem to blessed with at the moment.

Rating: 8/10

Portraits is set for release on March 26th via Non Serviam Records.

Like PERENNIAL ISOLATION on Facebook.