Malphas continues the saga of demon ‘Malpas’ with their latest album Portal.
Preceding Portal was their 2015 EP The Conjuring and the 2018 album The 39th Spirit. With Paul DeSanctis on vocals and guitars, Damian DiFrancesco on guitars, Joshua DeJesus on bass, and Eric Dunleavy on drums, the four piece says this of Portal,
“It is a concept album about a man who makes a pact with Malphas to achieve his high political ideals; however, this backfires and ultimately creates a demonic totalitarian world government which sets the stage for The 39th Spirit.”
From ‘The City of Brotherly Love’ (Philadelphia, PA), Malphas has written a massive tale with Portal, which takes place two hundred years prior to that of The 39th Spirit.
With Portal setting up The 39th Spirit, the album lays the foundation of the nightmarish universe depicted in its predecessor. Set in a fictional and alternative world of the good ol’ USA, Portal explores conspiracy and corruption through political and economic themes.
Which to be honest doesn’t sound so fictional at all. Portal does give the fictional USA a demonic twist, but as an expat looking into my former home country’s political landscape as it now is, the demonic rise doesn’t even feel fictional because I am sure the GOP have sold their souls to ‘Malphas’ (or any other demon or god) for riches, gold, and control.
But I digress.
Politics aside, Portal is brutal. Lyrically. Musically. Thematically.
Whether Paul’s vocals are clean or harsh, he’s summoning power and his own inner demons to relinquish hell (or glory) upon the ears of one listening. He easily transitions between the two with ease and grace as the relentless battle drums and heavy riffs echo his cries.
What I enjoy the most out of Portals is the way each intricate note is destroyed with blistering speed and aggression. It shows Malphas’ meticulous attention to detail, be it the orchestral parts of songs or the brutally heavy parts of the song.
Each note has to carry its weight or the song falls apart. Also carrying a heavy load is the lyrical narrative of each song. For the band to “go back” in a narrative timeline and add a foundational story shows not only how imaginative they are but how their ‘Malphas’ story arc isn’t set in stone. It’s as fluid as it needs to be which allows Malphas to create a more detailed world for one to escape to.
Not gonna lie, I need an entire visual element to go with the ‘Malphas’ story from when Malphas debuted to now. They have created a wonderful narrative that needs to be visually seen.
But for now, the narrative will have to be heard.
With Portals, Malphas has created a tale of a demonic rising that was of course set in motion by humankind. It’s a brutal and truthful look at just how far humans will go to achieve power and how that desire will always be humankind’s downfall.
MUST LISTEN TRACKS: “Flat Empire”, “Red Shield Syndicate”, “Candle Hands”, “Leviathan’s Moonlit Sanctum”, “Pale Eyes to Snowy Skies”, “Man, Raven and the Portal
