Review by Ben for Pan.Thy.Monium - Khaooohs & Kon-Fus-Ion (1996)
An album filled with creativity and wonder, and a fitting finale for the unique Pan.Thy.Monium.
Today, the 11th of November, is Remembrance Day. It’s a day to commemorate the sacrifices made by so many soldiers and civilians during the First World War. Exactly (to the day) 91 years after the war ended, countries within the Commonwealth remember those that lost their lives by upholding a minute silence. As worthy as this token of respect is (and I don’t wish to downplay it), it is certainly not the only minute of silence we should spend pondering the departed. After all, it has now been 13 years since Pan.Thy.Monium left us behind (with a very fitting minute silence to end their existence) and their exodus is still mourned by multitudes of fans around the universe.
This Swedish death metal band isn’t particularly easy to describe. If I manage to portray their material as anything other than completely insane, then I’ve failed in my task. For starters, the band is made up of members Derelict, Winter, Day DiSyraah, Mourning and Aag. Thematically their albums follow the battle between the fictional (is there any other type?) Gods named Raagoonshinnaah (the God of Darkness, Rain and Emptiness) and Amaraah (the God of Light). This third and final full-length release appears to be both a celebration of Amaraah’s victory and a token of respect for the now vanquished Raagoonshinnaah. In reality, Pan.Thy.Monium was formed by the Swanö brothers (Day is Dag, DiSyraah is Dan) during a particularly confusing and difficult time for Dan. He decided to explore and release his feelings, no matter how strange or puzzling they were, into musical form. The outlet is both baffling and extraordinary and Khaooohs & Konfusion is undoubtedly the band’s masterpiece.
Khaooohs and Konfusion is a cocktail of exquisite melodies, brutal death metal, bizarre saxophone outbursts, extreme guttural vocals and abstract keyboards. Yet what should result in a chaotic jumble of strange ideas makes for one of the most captivating and unique experiences available to metal fans. The listener originally never really knows what’s going to come next and the tracks rarely return to previously travelled ground, preferring to tangent off in new directions without ever losing the outlandish tone. I’m certain most first-time listeners (I know I did) would find the whole thing a bit bewildering, yet strangely compelling. With each subsequent spin you’ll pick up new treasures, whether it’s great drumming time changes, a beautiful lead, or one of numerous awesome riffs. I don’t believe vocalist Derelict is saying anything, instead spewing out indecipherable vomits at regular intervals, but as with most extreme metal releases, it’s all about the atmosphere. Thankfully, Pan.Thy.Monium has atmosphere in spades and they certainly produced something very special indeed with this album.
Dan would release his magnum opus (one track Edge of Sanity album Crimson) literally 12 days after Khaooohs and Konfusion. One can assume that the demons he battled and defeated during the recording of the Pan.Thy.Monium material needed to be exorcised before he could produce such an important and monumental epic. While I’d certainly give Crimson the full marks it deserves, I can’t quite hand out the same rating for this album. For starters, it only actually has two real tracks, being the 11-minute opener The Battle of Geeheeb and the 14 minute Thee-Pherenth. Both are astounding and make this album essential on their own, but these 25 minutes are not quite enough to warrant full marks. The third track Behrial is an entirely keyboard driven ambient instrumental that’s quite rousing and uplifting yet doesn’t have the impact of the first two behemoths. Still, Khaooohs and Konfusion is a thoroughly enjoyable release that warrants multiple listens to really appreciate the creativity and talent involved. I feel a bit sad every time the final minute silence (suitably titled In Remembrance) brings the bands existence to a close. Lest we forget indeed!