Review by Shadowdoom9 (Andi) for Fange - Pantocrator (2021)

Over the course of the past 10 years before this review, Fange has released 7 albums and 3 EPs, almost every one of which has a one-word title that starts with the letter P. Their music is best described as industrial sludge metal, sometimes heading into other genres like death-doom or crust-core. Basically a blend of some of the heaviest, most crushing metal genres around. And with this album of two 15-minute tracks, the sound has become more climatic, though also much less accessible.

I can almost consider this a more deathly and doomy Godflesh! Something similar to Godflesh is the amount of noise mixed in with the guitars, and the use of a drum machine instead of a human drummer. With all that and the underground production, what's more to add in this dark journey?

"Tombé Pour La France" (Fallen for France) is the first of the two epics, and it starts off sounding so crushing. Then things slow down for melodic riffing and hardcore shouting. They can do that without losing their crushing atmosphere, proven by the riffing becoming more industrial. The composition is so brutal and emotional, and sometimes the melody can bring their sound closer to post-sludge.

"Les Vergers De La Désolation" (The Orchards of Desolation) is the second epic, sounding more post-rock-ish, while maintaining a lot of the industrial effects. Lots of moods, melody, and textures... They can add in a slight bit of accessibility while staying in the underground.

All in all, Pantocrator is a dark mature release in which industrial and sludge collide alongside pieces of other genres to make something so diverse. Fange knows how to push the limits as much as the more popular post-sludge bands could. Although both epics stand equally between those two genres, fans of the post-sludge of Sumac might dig the first one more, and fans of the industrial noise of The Body might dig the second one more. Whichever epic you prefer, you know how harsh industrial sludge can get!

Favorites: Both, though I like "Les Vergers De La Désolation" slightly more