PORTALS
VENUE EARTH, LONDON
DATE 23/05/2025-24/05/2025
All good things must come to an end. After almost a decade of championing post-rock, math rock, prog and more, London two-dayer Portals is sadly unable to continue. The organisers blame financial burdens for the end of the festival, which books acts for all three stages at Hackney’s EartH venue, but nonetheless they’re bowing out with one of the strongest line-ups they’ve ever put together.
On Saturday, Newcastle prog metal four-piece Giant Walker open the second stage. The band told us last year that they hope to make their genre as “accessible” as possible, and that goal is quickly realised. Drummer Alex Black gives their otherwise avant-garde music an infectious bounce, while Steff Fish’s vocals are as powerful as they are melodic.