Pantheon
Pflichterfüllung
[Hakenkreuz]
"If I could only recommend one "recent" band from America to really watch out for (keep following your Grand Belial's Key and such!), particularly an NS one, Pantheon would be a likely candidate."
Sorry guys, bad advice! What a fucking disappointment! Very few people probably listen to me anyway, but I do feel compelled to write this review for the newest release so that I can go back against my previous statement. Pantheon's tracks on their new Pflichterfüllung mcd are nothing at all like the ones on the incredible Ergriffenheit 10", with the great timingly-interjected sample from The 13th Warrior. Moreover they are right back to the bland, uninspired mediocre NS black metal with little exhilaration from Jarl die Freiheit and etc., and although I've tried extremely hard to get into this most recent recording, I can't get it to stop playing in one ear and out the other. Everything just seems so random now that every time I think they are really getting going the atonal guitars suddenly change over to a completely different riff, and then they do it again, and again, and there are so many confusing layers and weird percussive elements (Baltak anyone? Just not nearly as fast) that I have no idea what is going on. It's not the sort of intriguing complexity that Sacramentary Abolishment, Axis of Advance, and certain stages of Voivod pull off so well; in fact it more just seems they are falling flat on their faces with what they are trying to attempt (if they are trying anything in particular). Every now and then you'll also stumble across something pretty medieval and folky, but I'm not sure if that is of any special significance either. It's a dissonant mess.
Of course, there is one very redeeming aspect - that being, they included two bonus tracks from the awesome Ergriffenheit 10" itself, so if you never buy any vinyl that could actually end up being a pretty good reason to purchase this. Maybe you'll even get into the regular tracks over time as well, but other than a few good moments in "Wotanic Star," it hardly seems worth the effort to me.
I'm definitely not looking forward to Draugr's Daug as much as I was before.
© 2002 hando
Sorry guys, bad advice! What a fucking disappointment! Very few people probably listen to me anyway, but I do feel compelled to write this review for the newest release so that I can go back against my previous statement. Pantheon's tracks on their new Pflichterfüllung mcd are nothing at all like the ones on the incredible Ergriffenheit 10", with the great timingly-interjected sample from The 13th Warrior. Moreover they are right back to the bland, uninspired mediocre NS black metal with little exhilaration from Jarl die Freiheit and etc., and although I've tried extremely hard to get into this most recent recording, I can't get it to stop playing in one ear and out the other. Everything just seems so random now that every time I think they are really getting going the atonal guitars suddenly change over to a completely different riff, and then they do it again, and again, and there are so many confusing layers and weird percussive elements (Baltak anyone? Just not nearly as fast) that I have no idea what is going on. It's not the sort of intriguing complexity that Sacramentary Abolishment, Axis of Advance, and certain stages of Voivod pull off so well; in fact it more just seems they are falling flat on their faces with what they are trying to attempt (if they are trying anything in particular). Every now and then you'll also stumble across something pretty medieval and folky, but I'm not sure if that is of any special significance either. It's a dissonant mess.
Of course, there is one very redeeming aspect - that being, they included two bonus tracks from the awesome Ergriffenheit 10" itself, so if you never buy any vinyl that could actually end up being a pretty good reason to purchase this. Maybe you'll even get into the regular tracks over time as well, but other than a few good moments in "Wotanic Star," it hardly seems worth the effort to me.
I'm definitely not looking forward to Draugr's Daug as much as I was before.
© 2002 hando