(Firebox) Total Time: 62:46
PANTHEIST is not the “Doom / Death Metal band next door”, anybody seriously involved into Doom Metal is for sure aware of this band’s music. The brave ones that have made a deeper step, been close to the band’s releases, have certainly realized that this band not only has made a serious and deep musical evolution from album to album, but they have managed to create their own special way of songwriting, turning their music into a deep, unique and darkly attractive way of musical expression.
Their latest release “Journey Through Lands Unknown” is the top of their cold mountain of Doom. Being into their stuff since the early demo days, I can assure you that this is the most complete release of the band. All the special PANTHEIST musical elements that were spread in their music even since their “1000 Years” demo, getting bigger and more characteristic from album to album, are here as well, in their peak.
I do not know if the simple phrase “Funeral Doom” is enough to describe the unique piece of musical art that someone would meet in this release. Yes, the basis of PANTHEIST’s songs in this album is still Funeral Doom Metal, but the music trapped in here is under the spell of something much more esoteric, atmospheric, deep and mysterious than a typical Funeral Doom Metal touch.
Solid tombstone riffing is enforced by ambient, apocalyptic keyboard themes. The slow as death rhythm section is building a black stonewall, a solid basis for the music. But heaviness is not the main point in this record… Ambience is in a strange love with heaviness giving birth to this Pantheon of music. Guitars are expanding strange and darkly beautiful melodies brought to the listener in a light progressive way, blessed by a velvet touch of this strange musical feeling of Pink Floyd that still remains hidden underground, it is up to the listener to discover it.
For those of you that keep on searching for the Funeral Doom standards, it is obvious that you will be satisfied with this record, but if you want a more adventurous listening guided by eternal darkness this record is especially for you. In a way the title of the album reflects the music hidden inside it. Starting to get closely into the music you will share the feeling of a lonesome human image, found on a desert, unknown land –just how the Greek lyrics in the beginning of the “Unknown Land” track describe-. You will surely find your way through the mysterious melodies that haunt this record, melodies that become darkly exotic –
”Unknown Land” is a good example again as it carries a special touch of eastern / Greek music-. “Dum Spiro Despero” will remind you of the older PANTHEIST days as it is even more Heavy and solid. “Eternal Sorrow” can be mentioned as a new PANTHEIST hymn while “Mourning The Passing Of Certainty (Despair As The Sky Turns Grey)” is the ideal epilogue on this musical drama.
The album is magnificent. I would not expect nothing less from people that have studied so deeply the art dark of Funeral Doom Metal, from people that even when they chose to cover a song they are picking “For Funeral To Come” by Katatonia –check their previous EP-, converting it into a smart still dark anthem in a genius way. If you are so geniusly covering a song, then your own material should be something very special, like in the case of PANTHEIST.
For me the album is already a good company for this cold winter…. For you?
