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ALBUM REVIEW
- Pantheon I - Worlds I Create
- Candlelight Records
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- Unlike most other pundits, I’m
not going to begin this review of Pantheon I’s third full-length with some theory of
how the band have finally made it because for me, Oslo’s finest landed long
ago. Instead of approaching "Worlds I Create" looking for improvement, I
inched forward with some trepidation; with predecessor "The Wanderer and His
Shadow" ranking amongst my favourite albums, I was anxious to find out whether
Pantheon I could maintain their awe-inspiring passion whilst pushing themselves ever
onwards in musical terms. They can, and it’s all rather spectacular.
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- Opener "Myself Above
All" needs only a few grand, melodic and utterly chaotic moments to convince,
seamlessly throwing together a fiendish chug, some technical, racing lead-work,
Andre’s trademark howl and a clean acoustic layer without any sign of breaking a
sweat. It also indicates a more mature use of the wonderful Live Juliann’s
contribution to the Pantheon I sound, with her rich, soul-ensnaring cello weaving through
the sound with purpose and dark delight. "Defile the Trinity" carries on
the good work, beginning with some hammering blasts courtesy of new sticksman Mads
Guldbekkhei, before balancing the cello beautifully against the sharp-edged guitar melody
for an explosion into twitchy, savage life. The jaw-dropping clean break will just push
you over the edge.
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- Aside from this especially strong
start, other highlights include a fleeting visit from Jonas Renkse on the more open,
slow-burning "Ascending", the fabulous momentum of the powerful, raging "Bannlyst",
and the dangerous, reflective yet utterly aggressive closer "Written In Sand",
which reminded me a little of Akercocke’s last outing. While "Worlds I
Create" is, if anything, more blast-driven than "The Wanderer",
it does have many of these odd moments which life the mind to a place far away from
Norwegian black metal. Indeed, with this album, Pantheon I are even more deserving of
their designation of ‘extreme’ metallers; some of the guitar sections, both the
technical leads and the twitchy steamroller riffs, owe far more to death metal than
anything grim and frostbitten, and while this layered maelstrom of a song-writing style
owes much to Emperor, there’s a striking modernity about Pantheon I that distances
them from their forebears.
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- In the face of "Worlds I
Create" it will be more difficult for anyone to persist in taking a perverse
dislike to Pantheon I; they’re just too powerful. The vastness, ambition, barely
controlled mayhem and spiteful bite of their modern, extreme sound is all truly their own,
and they continue to stomp all over anyone who would prefer they change their ways. I miss
some of the instant hooks of "The Wanderer", but there’s no doubt
that "Worlds" is the more mature, expressive, creative contender,
dangerous, beautiful and ever so slightly insane.
- 94/100
- Ellen Simpson
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- www.myspace.com/pantheoni
- www.pantheon-i.com
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