Local Review: Portal to the God Damn Blood Dimension – Diluvium Cantos

Portal to the God Damn Blood Dimension
Diluvium Cantos
Self-Released
Street: 12.05.2025
Portal to the God Damn Blood Dimension = Samuel Barber + Paradise Lost

If you think traveling through a portal to the blood dimension seems life-changing, you’d be right. Portal to the God Damn Blood Dimension’s self-described “hardcorechestra” style is unlike anything that I’ve ever heard. Their Diluvium Cantos album is best described as primal. Diluvium Cantos is a unique gem that could only be forged in Utah’s cultural nexus. Past regrets, struggles with God and fear for the future are just some of the album’s cryptic themes.

Diluvium Cantos walks a delicate line between orchestral and metal. The album has a masterfully controlled balance between its ethereal and rock segments. Each new aspect of Diluvium Cantos flows naturally into the next. Portal to the God Damn Blood Dimension often utilizes transitions that are intentionally jarring — but never forced. Diluvium Cantos almost convinced me that metal screaming is an ordinary part of choral chants.

The 40-minute album consists of three long tracks merging into one seamless experience: ”Burst,” “Drift” and “Flood.” “Burst” starts with screaming vocals before quickly dropping into a suspenseful string melody. Quiet orchestral moments like these tie Diluvium Cantos together. Somber cello and plucked violins determinedly push through interludes of various genres. Just as “Burst” settles into a sorrowful ballad, unyielding percussion crashes into your ears. Haunting strings follow before you are dropped into a tango-like passage. Then, the percussion creeps back and carries “Burst” to an explosive finish — a dizzying introduction to the album’s genre-bending style.

The second track is a quiet break after the chaos. “Drift” is defined by a more choral sound. The piece is almost meditative in the way that it floats. “Drift” ends on a hauntingly unresolved note before “Flood” ends the album in a powerful wave of sound. “Flood” is the most rock-inspired track in Diluvium Cantos. While the other two pieces are suspenseful inhales, “Flood” is the album’s release. Screaming vocals are drowned out by explosive percussion and wailing strings as the album crashes to an end. 

Diluvium Cantos‘ cryptic lyrics are fragments of scripture and poetry. The album’s words don’t offer any cohesive story, which forces you to listen and find your own interpretation. While the lyrics themselves are unique enough, their delivery defines the album. The lead vocalist refuses to break into song. Instead, they whisper and scream to add emotional depth. These narrative vocals lend themselves well to the ethereal feel of each track. The lyrics complement the music of each given moment. Only once or twice did I wonder about the intentionality of a line. Modern phrases such as
“It’s up to you, man” shook me from the immersion of soaring choral passages. In most instances, lines like these are clearly intentional. One of the most powerful lyrics is a disturbing bastardization of scripture: “Naked came I out of the womb / and naked shall I return thither / face down in a hotel bathtub.” 

Diluvium Cantos is a jaw-dropping, rule-breaking album. It spits brutal words and powerful rhythms without apology. Portal to the God Damn Blood Dimension is here to tell their story — no matter how unconventional it may be. In today’s world of clean and synthesized music, Diluvium Cantos is refreshingly experimental. While the digitized album is mixed with precision, the word on the street is that Diluvium Cantos sounds best live. Surrounding yourself with the sound of these masterful musicians would be a powerful experience. If you want to hear music like nothing you’ve heard before, consider taking a “Portal to the God Damn Blood Dimension.” —Avery Good

Read more local music reviews below:
Local Review: Sego — Direct to DVD
Local Review: The Wildfires – Long Division

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