A late evening in 2007, a Saturday I believe, and as dark as only a late November-evening can be here in Norway. Portrait has entered a small stage in Oslo to perform tracks off their demo “Welcome To My Funeral”, their seven inch “Into Nothingness” and a couple of tasters off what is gonna become their first full lenght, released in about half a year’s time. Even though there is clearly some potential to be heard, the peformance leaves a lot to be desired, both vocally as well as instrumentally. I catch myself thinking that a lot of work and some member changes will need to happen before the band is ready for the next step. An evening, six and a half years later (the darkness is still there, if you wonder), one of two surviving members from that pitch black November night, the guitarist Christian Lindell gives me a call to talk about Portrait’s brand new, third album, “Crossroads”. Continue reading →