Wreck My Brain: EP Review | Portrait of a Nightmare

image credit: portrait of a nightmare

Taking the brutal, bone-shattering of industrial and alternative metal and the electronic, futuristic sounds of synth-based experimentation, the California-based Portrait of a Nightmare take an eclectic amalgamation of influences to create a sound that fits comfortably within the mold of American heavy metal.

Their 2017 EP Reach Inside offers three ferociously addictive songs - 'Dirtier You Dirtier Me', 'Despised' and 'Reach Inside' - that encompass the genres that bands such as Rammstein, Nine Inch Nails, Slayer and Marilyn Manson established in the 80s and 90s. Portrait of a Nightmare's obvious love for the genre they inhabit themselves in helps bring the greatest aspects of these genres to the forefront of each track, producing a distinctive separation between the trio of songs.

'Dirtier You Dirtier Me' has an obvious Manson feel, 'Despised' presents a juxtaposed mixture of thrash metal and almost dubstep like synth drops and loops; whilst 'Reach Inside' begins with a Nine Inch Nails-esque introduction that adapts to a metal version of the Pixies famed Quiet-Loud-Quiet verse to chorus structure.

It's obvious that Portrait of a Nightmare has an abundance of viciously enthralling compositions on offer, and that conclusion comes from just three songs. Three songs. That's when you know a band has so much more to offer.