Portrayal of Guilt eschew predictability. While the Austin, Texan outfit have released material at a rapid clip since their formation only a scant six years ago, it has been near-impossible to predict what each ensuing release might sound like. The only window into what to expect has been those releases’ titles, wallowing in themes of affliction, isolation, and just plain underworld allusion. Naturally, this leads to…Devil Music. The origin of this evil world lies in 2017, when the band formed from the slow dissolution of various heavy bands in their area, wielding the sort of experience and veteran chops to help make an immediate splash with a short but highly effective self-titled EP. It established Portrayal of Guilt as an instant player in a suddenly revitalized screamo scene, but also as a band with a uniquely metallic edge while citing classic forebear influences like Majority Rule, pageninetynine, and City of Caterpillar (all of whom they’d go onto play shows with). They continued to shift their sound over the course of several more releases, and by the end of that journey, they’d transformed from an act that had already mastered the traditional ‘90s screamo template, and were now molding it to fit a decidedly more blackened and sludgy metal intensity. Devil Music cements Portrayal of Guilt as a band of their own ilk, playing by no one’s rules but their own, which even here they bend to their will.