March 2020 Feature Release - The Fallen Edition

It's now March which of course means that we'll be nominating a brand new monthly feature release for each clan. This essentially means that we're asking you to rate, review & discuss our chosen features for no other reason than because we enjoy the process & banter. We're really looking forward to hearing your thoughts on our chosen releases so don't be shy.     

This month's feature release for The Fallen is 2004's third album from Boston-based atmospheric sludge metallers Isis entitled "Panopticon". This album is highly revered amongst the sludge & post-metal communities & is an all-time favourite for me personally so I'm excited that some of you might get to hear it for the first time. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Awg99tk6vys&list=PLGc9zOUDuXbPcvvhgCp50Zck65T9pOVJw

As I argue in my review of Panopticon, I believe that bands like Isis have taken metal music beyond the realms of mere songs and into the world of true art. For too long critics were sneering and dismissive of metal, it's working class origins and lack of liberal bias not buying into the elitist worldview of the artistic critic. But with works like Panopticon, I think that metal now deserves more credit for expanding it's scope and horizons to artisitic interpretations of the human condition that constitute what is considered "art".

I completely agree with you Sonny. In fact, since returning to metal in 2009 after spending close to a decade immersing myself in electronic music, the whole atmospheric sludge/post-metal movement has probably been the musical realm that I'm most consistently impressed with. The sheer ambition & scope of some of these works go far above & beyond the original ethos of what a metal band was trying to achieve i.e. stringing a bunch of heavy riffs together along with some catchy hooks.

I might be a little less qualified to talk about this record than most, but allow me to follow-up what I talked about in my review.

Panopticon is a great post-metal album that builds upon the trends that were being dabbled with in the 1990s by a band such as Neurosis. For too long in the 1990s, before post-metal became an established genre in metal, much of the metal of that decade had been merely about who can play the fastest or slowest, depending on the genre. Melodic dominance was never given the importance it rightfully deserved. Sure, progressive metal outfits like Queensryche, Dream Theater and Opeth were trying, but many found their music too difficult to appreciate.

So enter ISIS and their album Panopticon, a record that took sludge metal and gave it a new coat. It was still clearly progressive, but without all of the odd time signatures, technically demanding solos, and meta narrative. It was progressive metal for those who just wanted to relax, perhaps take in some illegal substances, and get lost in a way not that dissimilar to more traditional sludge/doom metal.

ISIS along with their "step-siblings" Agalloch in black metal, would create new waves of progressive metal in the 2000s; ISIS specifically influencing the likes of The Ocean and Cult of Luna. It might not be a perfect record, but I can respect its cultural significance and what metal would become.

8/10

I remember randomly checking Panopticon out without knowing what it was or why it is such an important album and just glazing over it with a resounding "Meh, it's okay I guess". Now that I'm a bit more acquainted with atmospheric sludge/post-metal I think this is an extremely beautiful record but I still don't necessarily find it that...interesting. The type of progressive and atmospheric songwriting is top notch and obviously shows how it influenced so many other bands like Saxy mentioned, Cult of Luna being the biggest one for me. However I can't find many other strong opinions about this record past it sounds pretty and being incredibly written and accessible stuff that still dips its toes into Metal enough to please both ends of the spectrum. I think bands like Cult of Luna as well as Agalloch took this type of formula and created, at least to me, much more interesting sounding music than Isis did with Panopticon. I still rated it highly because it's still a fantastic album but not necessarily better than the later projects it ended up influencing. 

4/5