BLOODY PANDA FALL INTO A PORTAL

What do Portal and Bloody Panda have in common? Well, on the most surface level, members of Portal wear executioners masks on stage, and members of Bloody Pan used to wear executioners masks on stage. On a somewhat deeper level, though, is the fact that they’re definitely both of the “love ’em or hate ’em variety.” I personally can’t stand Bloody Panda — the best description I ever heard of their work remains “It always sounds like the song is just about to begin” — but I know people who would gladly follow them around and sprinkle rose petals at their feet; similarly, I loves me some Portal, but I totally get why some people are like “Ugh! It’s just noise.”

And now the two groups have something else in common: Portal has remixed Bloody Panda’s “Saccades II” for the latter outfit’s upcoming remix collection, Summon: Invocation (which is apparently all remixes of a 2009 release, Summon, but I didn’t know that because, y’know, me no likee this band). You can stream that remix at Brooklyn Vegan.

Like I said, I’m not a Bloody Panda fan, so I can’t speak intelligently to the differences between the original track and the track post Portalization; I will say that it even if the new version isn’t as heavy as Portal’s original material, it certainly comes with the same atmosphere as a Portal ditty. Which is to say, it’s atonal, intense, and about as welcoming as a black hole.

Check out Portal’s remix of Bloody Panda here, then weigh in with your thoughts below. The link also includes an interview with Portal’s Horror Illogium, so it’s definitely worth checking out.

Summon: Invocation will be released on November 15, and also features remixes by a ton of other artists I enjoy more than Bloody Panda, including Krallice’s Mick Barr, Jarboe, and Sanford Parker.

-AR