OUR LIST OF 2014’S MOST INFECTIOUS EXTREME METAL SONGS: PART 19

 MOST INFECTIOUS SONGS-2014  4 Responses »
Jan 152015
 

 

We’ve arrived at Part 19 in the continuing rollout of our list of 2014′s Most Infectious Extreme Metal Songs. For more details about what this list is all about and how it was compiled, read the introductory post via this link. For the other songs we’ve previously named to the list, go here.

Such an overused word, “epic” is. A couple of years ago I promised one of my then co-writers that I would stop using it. Add that to the list of promises broken. If the list of broken vows weren’t already so long, I’d be disturbed by my lack of faithfulness: These two songs are epic.

PANOPTICON

I went on at excruciating length about Roads To the North when I reviewed the album. I will be more brief here. I’ll quote only a part of what I wrote after I noted some differences between this new album and works that preceded it, because it’s relevant to what I’m doing today: Continue reading »

LISTMANIA 2014: A YEAR-END LIST FROM AUSTIN LUNN (PANOPTICON, SEIDR)

 LISTMANIA 2014  18 Responses »
Dec 082014
 

(We are grateful to Austin Lunn for accepting our invitation to share his favorite releases from 2014.)

There are a lot of releases this year that I have really enjoyed….so in no particular order here goes:

 

Wheels Within Wheels – Thirty Five Thoughts to Nineteen Elements

Mesmerizing, horrifying… a blown-out, hypnotic soundscape forming beauty out of the ugliness that man has made. This record, as all WWW records, is not for the faint of heart, but if you like blackened, doomy, droned-out dirges, this is for you. Don’t miss out.

Continue reading »

SEEN AND HEARD: MACHINE HEAD TOUR, WINTERFYLLETH, PANOPTICON, KEN MODE, THE WAGAKKI BAND

 Metal News, RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  3 Responses »
Jul 292014
 

I haven’t managed to compile a round-up of noteworthy new things in a few days, so this one is largish, though still not large enough. I’ll try to keep my own verbiage to a minimum so you don’t lose interest and drift away like hyperactive children, or like me when I hear a firetruck going by. I’ll begin with a trio of news items and then move into the music.

MACHINE HEAD / CHILDREN OF BODOM / EPICA / BATTLECROSS

Yesterday came an announcement that Machine Head, Children of Bodom, Epica, and Battlecross will tour North America together beginning on October 4 in Denver and ending on November 1 in Hollywood. Tickets go on sale this Friday at 10 a.m. Eastern. Machine Head’s new album on Nuclear Blast should be out around the time of this tour. I can’t honestly say that I’m very lathered up about this tour, but if you are, please send photos of yourself. Here are the dates (continued after the jump):

10/04/2014 The Summit Music Hall – Denver, CO
10/05/2014 Aftershock – Merriam, KS
10/06/2014 House Of Blues – Dallas, TX
10/07/2014 House Of Blues – Houston, TX
10/09/2014 Hard Rock Live – Orlando, FL
10/10/2014 The Masquerade – Atlanta, GA Continue reading »

PANOPTICON’S “ROADS TO THE NORTH” — A REVIEW AND A NEW SONG TO STREAM

 Album Reviews  9 Responses »
Jul 142014
 

 

Let’s face it: Kentucky is a very hard act to follow. In my case, it would probably be impossible for anyone, including Panopticon’s Austin Lunn, to re-create that experience of slack-jawed wonder when I first heard it. But Panopticon’s new album Roads To the North isn’t a re-creation of Kentucky, any more than Kentucky was a repetition of the albums that preceded it. It is, however, every bit as good.

The Panopticon albums with which I’m familiar (from Collapse on) have been very personal records. They’re a function of Lunn’s moods and the subjects that happened to inspire him when he wrote the songs. Social Disservices was full of righteous fury. Kentucky reflected Lunn’s deep feeling about the history and culture of the state he then called home; it dealt with tragic aspects of Kentucky’s coal-mining industry, but you could also hear in the music that it was at least equally inspired by feelings of affection and passion for the place.

Unlike the last two albums, political themes don’t run through Roads To the North, or at least not as overtly. As Lunn has disclosed in interviews, it’s more a reflection of changes in his personal life over the last several years, including time spent in Norway learning a new profession (as a craft beer brewer), relocating from Kentucky to Minnesota to practice his new skills, and becoming a father, as well as changes in his perspectives about the world around him. But although the music may not be as politically charged as before, it’s no less passionate. Continue reading »

SEEN AND HEARD: PANOPTICON, BASTARD FEAST, MIDNIGHT, BELOW THE SUN, ÁRSTÍÐIR

 RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  14 Responses »
Jun 052014
 

I will never catch up. So many new songs and videos erupted from the underground while I was doing other things over the last week, but I can’t look backward for long because each new day brings more eruptions. The seismic plates of metal are in constant motion, and the skies are always red with fire and black with ash. So I’ll mix and match between the new and the not-quite-as-new — starting with a song that premiered yesterday.

PANOPTICON

There are some bands about whom I fear I’ve lost my objectivity. I’m so enthralled by everything they’ve done that I expect nothing less than excellence in whatever comes next. Panopticon is one of those bands. I’ve had not only high expectations for Roads To the North but also no doubt that it would prove to be brilliant.

With that confession, I will say that the first advance track from that new album is… brilliant. The song is “Chase the Grain” and it premiered at Stereogum yesterday. Even before hearing it, I was already in agreement with Stereogum writer Michael Nelson’s pronouncement that Panopticon’s Austin Lunn “is one of the few genuine visionaries in American black metal”. If you need more proof, listen to “Chase the Grain”. Continue reading »

SEEN AND HEARD: A STREAM DUMP (PART 2)

 Metal News, RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  12 Responses »
Apr 132014
 

John Martin: “The Deluge” (1834)

As I mentioned yesterday, the past week brought good song and video premieres in a flood, which was unfortunate only in the sense that I didn’t have time to write about all those discoveries day-by-day as they happened. So this weekend I decided to just flood you with them, leaving behind all but some short snippets of my own sparkling prose and mainly delivering the streams, along with release info.

Yesterday I collected 11 (!) new songs and videos, plus a couple of tantalizing news items, and today I’ve got 12 more, plus a few more news items. Once again, I present them in alphabetical order:

AMBIENT DEATH

The Song: “Apotheosis of the Hangman”
From: Dismembering the Image of God
Release info: self-released by the band on April 7; below is a new video for the opening track

Vicious melodic death metal with flying fretwork that gets more interesting and seductive as the song progresses. Punches pretty damned hard, too. Continue reading »

FALLS OF RAUROS / PANOPTICON SPLIT: A REVIEW AND AN NCS PREMIERE

 Album Reviews, Premieres  11 Responses »
Apr 032014
 

I first learned that Falls of Rauros and Panopticon would be joining forces for a split release back in December 2013, when Panopticon’s Austin Lunn accepted our invitation to write an article about his favorite releases from 2013. It’s a natural pairing. There is, for example, a deep mutual respect between the two bands. Austin Lunn wrote in that same article that Falls of Rauros are his “favorite current American band” and that their forthcoming 2014 full-length (Believe In No Coming Shore) “may be my favorite record ever”, and Falls of Rauros have called Panopticon’s forthcoming album “absolutely massive and stunning on all levels”.

Beyond the respect they have for each other, both bands have earned the respect of both critics and a dedicated following of fans: they are both quintessential American black metal bands, and not just because they happen to be based in Maine and (at least temporarily) Minnesota, respectively. They have successfully incorporated American folk traditions into their powerful and emotionally resonant music, so much so that you could call them American folk metal bands instead of black metal bands and I wouldn’t argue with you.

Yet you may be surprised by what you hear on the new split, as compared the sounds captured on each of the bands’ last albums and on the albums to come. Panopticon’s tracks are unquestionably an homage to Norwegian black metal traditions, while Falls of Rauros have, if anything, brought even more vibrant life and light into their songs. You’ll get a chance to hear both styles of music on display as we premiere one song by each band from this excellent split. Continue reading »

NEW MUSIC FROM FALLS OF RAUROS AND PANOPTICON

 RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  13 Responses »
Mar 072014
 

Among the names on my mental list of highly anticipated 2014 releases, Falls of Rauros and Panopticon were in the upper reaches. This spring, Bindrune Recordings will be releasing a 12″ split by the two bands. Falls of Rauros contributed two songs — “Unavailing” (at nearly 12 minutes in length) and “The Purity of Isolation” (nearly 7 minutes).  Panopticon contributed four songs, totaling nearly 25 minutes. Having heard the split, I can say that it has more than met my very high expectations.

I had hoped to scribble a review by now, even recognizing that I wouldn’t be able to do it justice. But alas, I’m way behind. What I do have, with thanks to DECIBEL magazine, are two of the songs from the split, one from each band. Since I still harbor a feeble hope of writing my own thoughts about the music later, I’ll not say more about the songs now — but simply provide the streams for your listening pleasure. Continue reading »

THIS SPLIT WILL RULE: FALLS OF RAUROS / PANOPTICON

 Metal News, RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  5 Responses »
Feb 112014
 

2014 has barely begun and it has already delivered a slew of mouthwatering new releases. But few have caused your humble editor to salivate in anticipation quite like the forthcoming 12″ split by Maine’s Falls of Rauros and Kentucky’s Panopticon. Finally, it is has been sent to the pressing plant and is now ready for pre-order. I am here (having wiped the slobber from my face) to deliver many enticing details that were just disclosed this morning — including a nearly 17-minute trailer of music.

Detail No. 1:  That fantastic cover art you see above. Click the image to view a larger version.

Detail No. 2:  The Falls of Rauros side consists of two songs: “Unavailing” (11:53) and “The Purity of Isolation” (6:45). The Panopticon side consists of four songs: “Through Mountains I Wander This Evening” (4:33), Can You Loan Me A Raven?” (7:29), “Gods of Flame” (4:26), and “One Cold Night” (7:56). No need to get out your calculator — the split brings a total of more than 43 minutes of music. Perhaps not surprisingly, given the song titles, the music was inspired by the time that both bands spent in Norway.

Detail No. 3:  Bindrune Recordings, which is releasing the split, describes the Panopticon music (in part) as follows: “The mountains, landscapes, and memories of living and studying in Norway have crept into Austin/Panopticon’s ever evolving and vital sound to embody more of a stripped down and dark Norwegian BM influenced atmosphere for this release which harkens back to Panopticon’s more aggressive and raw S/T album…. The 4 songs on this split embrace the pure essence and influence of the 90′s Norwegian black metal movement in all of its driving, chilling and endlessly atmospheric grimness.” Continue reading »

A YEAR-END LIST FROM AUSTIN LUNN (PANOPTICON)

 LISTMANIA 2013  19 Responses »
Dec 202013
 

(Panopticon’s 2013 split with Vestiges was probably my favorite in a year loaded with strong splits, and Kentucky was one of the truly great records of 2012 — nothing else like it. So you can imagine how excited I was when Austin Lunn agreed to share with us his list of favorite releases from 2013 — and a couple that will be coming in 2014 — with his comments about each one. I’ve added song or album streams where available.)

Year-end list in no particular order:

A Fall of Every Season: Amends

This is what Opeth SHOULD have turned into after Blackwater Park. This album is sheer brilliance. Continue reading »

 Older Entries  Newer Entries