Panopticon - S/T and Collapse
Been a while since I've posted, but that's the beginning of the semester, I guess. Either way, I've got a few in the pipeline, and really wanted to get this one out.
Let me start by offering a disclaimer. Black metal is, obviously, a kind of politically weird genre.
I bring that up because Panopticon, an awesome one-man Black Metal band from Louisville, is being hailed as "Red-Anarchist Black Metal" (RABM) and I've already seen this discussed as problematic in two separate places (and I'm sure that means there's more internet grousing about it elsewhere).
The argument seems to go that real black metal has to adhere to a certain set of ideologies, of which being an anarchist lefty type doesn't conform to. Black metal is supposed to be about rebellion and elitism and apparently this correlates with a sort of cynical, anti-P.C. conservatism which is real into nature, real into platitudes about individuality, not very into gay people, and vaguely into ethnic pride. Why having the same politics as dads in the suburbs is rebellious is beyond me, but I suppose that being a "red anarchist" is probably pretty anti-elitist, so I guess they have a point there.
Either way, only in the world of internet trolls is smashing the state trendy and conformist while liking hiking and white people is the pinnacle of individualistic rebellion.
Please note that I'm not telling anyone what they should think or listen to, here. I could really care less if you want to listen to bands that say things like "Aryan consciousness is lost." It's really no skin off my back. Knock yourself out. Having said that, I'm a pretty progressive guy, so there's plenty of bands that I like which force me to turn a blind eye (ear? Whatever.) to their boneheaded lyrics. There's also plenty of politically righteous bands whose music I could never get behind (you have no idea how much I want to like Misery Index more than I do). That's why I'm always happy when a band like Wolves in the Throne Room or Panopticon comes along and not only brings the fucking rock but actually doesn't embarrass me with their politically themed-lyrics. It's a nice two-for-one deal.
So now that I'm done with the whole "RABM" disclaimer, I have to tell you that it's safe to say that Panopticon is at the top of the U.S. black metal heap for me. Panopticon seamlessly blends raw black metal, crust punk, and dark ambient sounds into a ridiculously epic mash-up of sonic perfection. It's fast, noisy, and shreds. If you like any kind of dark, atmospheric metal, or if you like folk music, for that matter, you really need to check this out.
I simply cannot get enough of both of Panopticon's records.
One of the most interesting things about them is the usage, especially on "Collapse," the newer of the two albums, of Americana influences. A lot of black metal (and a lot of not black metal, for that matter), tends to incorporate folk music into the sound. This often seems to stem from the whole "we like nature and have ethnic pride" thing. The folk music used is usually Celtic or Germanic, and terribly dour. This has been done with varying levels of quality (Ulver and Fen, whose album "The Malediction Fields" should have been on my best of 2009, stick out to me as bands that do it really well), but one thing you tend not to find is bands that incorporate more American style folk into their black metal.
Panopticon, I guess, beat everyone to it.
The first song on "Collapse" ends with a pretty compelling bluegrass section, complete with some banjo. The song after that begins with some nice, twangy slide guitar. If dropping a banjo and some steel guitar in a black metal song sounds like a trainwreck to you, I can assure you that it works in a really cool way. I'm actually pretty enamored with the idea. It makes sense that if part of the logic of including folk music in black metal is to celebrate things like connections to the land or ethnic heritages that a dude from the South in the U.S. who is writing about uniquely American problems and issues would look to Woody Guthrie for inspiration.
"Collapse" ends with this really great kind of down beat, mumbled folk song which is so good that I could have listened to a whole 45 minute album of just that song. Really. It's that good.
All in all, Panopticon is fucking top-notch black metal. If you're at all into atmospheric black metal I would suggest checking it out. Even if the idea of "RABM" rubs you the wrong way, as it apparently does some folks, I'd give this a try. It's some of the most epic music I've heard in a while. I just wish I'd heard "Collapse" prior to a few weeks ago, or I would have definitely put it on my best of the year list. Live and learn, I suppose.
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login or register to post comments Submitted by chepa on Sat, 2010-07-31 20:19.Regards,
Jack - tee