Exclusive Pantheist gig tomorrow in Camden Unicorn!
PANTHEIST will be making their first ever headlining appearance in London on March 7th, at the Camden Unicorn. This will be a FREE ENTRY show, and will see the band performing a one-off extended 90-minute set comprising their entire new album "Journey Through Lands Unknown", plus selected tracks off both their previous albums.
Support comes from London expansive, leftfield Black Metal act CROM DUBH in their first ever live appearance, making this an event not to be missed.
PANTHEIST + CROM DUBH
LONDON UNICORN, CAMDEN
Doors 20:00
FREE ENTRY
http://www.myspace.com/pantheistuk
http://www.myspace.com/cromdubhmetal
Zero Tolerance magazine
They're invariably tagged 'funeral doom', but I've come to find that the term doesn't satisfactorily sun up Pantheist. It probably stems from the origin as Kostas' dark-sybth project, but the bands ability to step out beyond the efines of guitar-centric droning and evoke different voices and moods takes them to a different emotional plain: spiritual and comtemplative but never light-weight or whimsical; the music still has balls. The mystically opressive Amartia from 2005 worked because of those multi-layered nuances, and the same can be said for Journey Through Lands Unknown. Not so much a progression as a development of its predecessor,the album is again a mournful affair, but one in which light and shade coexhist,melody and acoustic interludes providing counterpoint to the weighty,monolithic guitars. Clocking in at just over an hour, Journey.... is less flabby than its predecessor. Tracks, like opener 'Deliverance' and 'Dum Spiro Despero', ride on a bright '70s rock vibe along a dirt track of harsh melancholy, although highlight is closer 'Mourning The Passing Of Certainty' which starts with an acclesiastical chant before segueing into a middle-eastern tinged melody. Funeral doom, arguably but strictly on Pantheist's own terms.
Calum Harvie (Score 4,5 Points)
http://www.live4metal.com
While the Scandinavians are quite well known for being in numerous bands, there's a small group of musicians in London who seem to be building quite a decent portfolio of top quality bands between them. I'm thinking Skaldic Curse, Fen and Lost Legion and a few others I'm slightly less familiar with such as Indesinence and Demagogue. Also on that list are Pantheist, who have just released their third album via Firebox Records imprint, Firedoom.
I have to say, that out of all the bands mentioned above, Pantheist do sound the more accomplished. I do have a minor gripe with Kostas' clean vocal style on a couple of the
earlier numbers, which, in my opinion, is an acquired taste, but apart from that, Pantheist are an excellent, almost faultless band.
The multitude of sounds incorporated on Journey Through Lands Unknown make it nigh on impossible to categorise Pantheist. While the biog has them down as "experimental" and "funeral doom", I'd have to agree with the former, and kind of disagree with the latter, as the album doesn't get that miserable until the unholy dirge of track 5, Oblivion. This album definitely has an air of melancholy about it, but I'd also through 70s Prog into pot, and also a slight ethnic feel, which may, or may not, stem from some of the band members Greek heritage. Or I could be completely wrong and it's down to something far more mystical. Whatever the influences are, Pantheist have got it spot on.
Journey Through Lands Unknown consists of 8 huge sprawling tracks that weave, what seems like, a never ending tapestry of sounds as they gradually draw you in. You could quite easily lose your way amongst such vastness, such is the epic nature of this album. And it's an album that seems to get better as it progresses. Quite possibly because it takes a couple of numbers for your ears and your brain to marry up what is actually going on. This is an extremely complicated album with no traditional structure to latch onto, but that's probably what makes it such an enjoyable listen. It's a genuine challenge to keep track of where everything is going and you have to concentrate on what's going on to fully enjoy the experience. So for those that want a challenging listen and prefer your music to be on the miserable side of life, then look no further than here:
http://www.myspace.com/pantheistuk
