Portal - "Lurker At The Threshold" picture disc 7"

Veteran Australian death/grind group Portal here unleash a reissue of their 2006 cassette demo, pressed on tasty (and highly-limited) picture disc 7" vinyl. The two tracks here remain somewhat muddy, but the sinister, blackened Lovecraftian vibe is intact. The A-side, "13 Globes", begins things off with an insane blast of grindcore that resembles a multi-tentacled leviathan battling a huge pirate ship, weapons flailing and hacking demonic flesh. Side B, "Omnipresent Crawling Chaos", is a frenzied lawnmower of sludgy grindcore madness with unintelligible gargled/grunted vocals. There's nothing lovely or melodic about Portal, not in the least. This is energetic death grind at it's best.
(Chrome Leaf)

Mondo Drag - "New Rituals" CD

Like a modern-day Hawkwind, Mondo Drag fall from the cosmos with the spaced-out 60's psychedelia of the title track. It's the sound of UFO's visiting an outdoor rock concert with an audience of stoned bikers and damaged post-Pink Floyd space travelers. That is to say, it's great! Moving on from there, "Love Me (Like A Stranger)" dares to meld Black Sabbath with early Syd-era Floyd, to wondrously lysergic sludge-rock effect. "Come Through" is on a similar flight path as the Brian Jonestown Massacre, with it's laid-back blissed-out vibe. "Serpent Shake" revs it up with a driving riff mantra. These are the true children of the bong, and "New Rituals" is a powerhouse stoner-rock album that reaches back to the past and brings it back to the future, bleary-eyed and on a whole different kinda trip. (Alive Natural Sound)

Mondo Drag site

Mondo Dragspace