Title: Autumn Eternal
Artiste: Panopticon
Year 2015
Nationality: American
Rank: Apprentice
Genre: Atmospheric Black Metal/Folk Metal
6
Expectations: I'm just hoping to be impressed and moved again, as I was with particularly
Roads to the North.
1. Tamarack's gold returns: Well that is just perfect! Starts off with the lonesome cry of a wolf or coyote, then soft acoustic guitar and violin in very much a folk idea. Just beautiful, and really conjures up the scene of rolling hills stretching out beyond a forest to a distant horizon. Sea sounds really add something to this. Ends very ambient, with either footsteps or the sound of someone chopping wood. Very rustic.
2. Into the north wood: Now we get the black metal side of Panopticon as things rack up and Austin Lunn's guttural screamed vocal comes in. Powerful guitar work, thundering drums. Slows down in the last minute on rolling drums and a sort of dramatic march with pealing bells
3. Autumn Eternal: Another big heavy number, but it has a loping, almost power metal rhythm to it, which is really nice to hear. Very catchy. Even has a nice sort of introspective little piece in it. Love this so much. It goes totally ape**** in the fifth minute as Lunn just kicks everything up to ten, including his vocal.
4. Oaks ablaze: Well titled, as it just burns along from the off. It's almost chaotic, but you realise Lunn has everything tightly under control, and this is his great strength: to be able to control all of this meticulously and yet make it seem like he's just thrashing about. It's a rare talent. To underline this, in the midsection everything is reduced to a single soft guitar and sound effects before the drums crash in, but relatively unobtrusively and the guitar riff takes us on to the sixth minute before it fires up into life again. Excellent.
5. Sleep to the sound of the waves crashing: Unsurprisingly, the sound of waves softly sighing open this, with pealing bells though this time they're not doomy at all, almost hopeful, then a hammering guitar pounds through with rattling percussion and we're off. Some fine and quite strong violin (I'd almost say fiddle: what's the difference? I don't know, I just think of fiddle as being generally played in a faster, more uptempo and fun way whereas violin usually comes across to me as sad and serious) then everything --- and I mean
everything! --- stops in minute four and we're left with nothing but the sound of the surf. Sharp violin now slides in alongside another, softer one and a quite breathtaking passage begins, almost classical. Bells coming back in, reminds me of a wedding in a cathedral. Now the harder guitar kicks back through and the tempo rises again as we head into the final few minutes.
6. Pale ghosts: This sort of continues from the previous track, pounding along from the off with a really superb melody; you could actually hear a crowd chanting along to this onstage (he probably doesn't do live work, but if he did/does). Slows down to a softer guitar with a great vocal chorus in the last minute or so.
7. A superior lament: Considering this has lament in its title, it's a surprise to find it kicking off as a powerful, uptempo rocker with screaming guitar and rolling drums, really rocking along. Another fantastic vocal chorus/choir and this song is so emotional I can feel it in my bones. Ah, but now it just got about a thousand times better with decipherable vocals and a beautiful, majestic melody. I love this guy. And I love whoever turned me on to him. I think it was Loathsome Pete. Whoever it was, thank you so much. This, the longest track on the album, is an eleven-minute piece that feels like it's about six, and it's over way too soon.
8. The winds farewell: Beautiful soft acoustic guitar, somewhat in the vein of the opener, but with gentle electric wailing softly behind it. Gets stronger as it goes along, really building, and I think you can call this an instrumental. Certainly a stirring and fitting way to end such a powerhouse of an album.
Final result: It's yet another album that defies description or review. There is no way you can appreciate how good this is unless you listen to it. I don't have the words, the descriptive power, and you're not getting a loan of my ears. Do yourselves a favour and add this to your own listening list. You'll be glad you did.
Rating:
