Portal/Impetuous Ritual/Abduction – Rebellion, Manchester – 18/09/25 (Live Review)

When a rare chance to see Portal and Impetuous Ritual appears, you take it. The show being opened by the mighty Abduction is then simply the icing on the top.

Abduction

Very frustratingly, I miss a sizeable chunk of Abduction. When I arrive, the queue was easily the biggest I’ve ever seen at Rebellion. 20 minutes later, Abduction start up, and I’m still in the queue. 15 minutes later I’m at the door when I hear them announce they have two songs left, before launching into my favourite cut of theirs – Razors of Occam. Bah. I finally get in a few minutes later, and I really, really wish I hadn’t missed half of their set. Abduction are, predictably, rather good. They finish with Vomiting at Baalbek, and it’s great. Did they play the entirety of Existentialismus I wonder? Either way, Abduction remain a band not to miss if you can at all help it.

Impetuous Ritual

I think there are more people packed into the floor for Impetuous Ritual than I’ve ever seen before, certainly not this densely at any rate. It’s impressive. And why not? Who wouldn’t want to be abraded by the band’s caustic death metal onslaught? It’s harsh, and it’s a glorious assault on the senses. The extremity is withering. It’s a barbaric attack that’s somehow life-affirming, even as all it wants to do is kill you.

Initially there’s very little movement in the crowd. Partially because there’s no room to move, and partially because the grim brutality is mesmerising. Eventually though instincts as primitive and as violent as the music take over, and there is a sporadic pit that opens itself up. Me? I’m off to the side, soaking up the punishment like a willing sponge, rooted in place. It’s entrancing.

Impetuous Ritual are crushingly monstrous. The atavistic unyielding force of their performance was great to experience. I didn’t expect them to be as impactful as they were. Impetuous Ritual dominate.

Portal

Speaking of experience, it’s now time for the experiential existential nightmare that is Portal. The suffocating airlessness and uncomfortable proximity to other humans only adds to Portal’s otherworldly appeal. Curiously though, it seems fractionally less busy than it was for Impetuous Ritual, something which seems to become more apparent over time too. Shortly I’m closer than I was for Impetuous Ritual and also have some room around me. That’s not to say it’s not packed, as it still is. How odd. I can only assume every Portal show involves a number of the hapless audience being sucked into some Hell dimension by the band’s supernatural appearance.

Driven by a spectral power that’s sinister and unforgiving, Portal are merciless in the unleashing of their black/death metal terror. Theirs is a set of ritualistic darkness, of arcane hostility and atmospheric corruption. It’s inscrutable and abrasive, and the crowd are entirely subservient to it.

The growled utterances that emanate from the stage are even more inhuman than they are on record. Immersed in a warped version of extreme metal that’s ripe with unnerving texture and contorted aggression, while still primarily being about hideous feel and claustrophobic atmosphere, Portal are more forbidding than most. Their presence is one of pure malevolence, and the aura of menace and malice is off the charts. No other performance I’ve ever experienced has felt as otherworldly as this, I don’t think. It’s quite something.

Portal offer up a maelstrom of impenetrable esoteric devastation. Theirs was a singular display of masterful sonic horror. This was definitely a show to remember. Portal are one of a kind. For my enjoyment level, Impetuous Ritual win the night, but for the sheer experience of it all, it’s Portal all the way.