When it comes to modern heavy metal there are few bands operating at the same level as Portrait. For a decade and a half the Swedish unit have been forging their own path, and in the process infusing life into a longstanding, well-established genre and taking it in new directions. “We are not striving to keep an old school sound fresh,” states guitarist Christian Lindell. “We are striving to develop our own sound. Old school was important maybe on the first demo up until the first album, the main goal since has been to develop our own style and add something to all that has already been done. In the beginning you take inspiration from others, from the outside, other bands, albums etc, but at some point you have to be able to channel inspiration from inside of yourself instead. That is when things start to become interesting.“