Sunday, March 20, 2016

Review: Waldgeflüster / Panopticon- Waldgeflüster / Panopticon split


Waldgeflüster / Panopticon - Panopticon / Waldgeflüster


As stated in some of my previous posts, I really got into black metal in a big way last year (so kvlt black metal purists can just discount my opinion right now), and one of the bands that really drew me in was Panopticon. I really enjoyed the way that this one man black metal project blended traditional black metal aesthetics with the folk traditions of Austin Lunn's native American Appalachia. Also, to get this out of the way now, Austin Lunn is probably one of the best drummers of the one man black metal subset out there. A lot of the solo acts are lacking a little in this area, but he delivers amazingly well, and he's no slouch on guitar either. I really enjoy the kind of Thin Lizzy thing he has going on when he layers and harmonizes guitar parts during the more melodic lines of his songs. Autumn Eternal, Panopticon's latest, almost made my year end list, and was definitely one of the better black metal albums to come out in 2015.

This record is a split between the aforementioned Panopticon and the band Waldgeflüster, which roughly translates to Forest Whispers for us English speakers. I hadn't heard of the band, but I did a little research, to learn that they were a Bavarian group, and got their start roughly around the same time as Panopticon. The record is divided into two tracks for each band; one an epic length, multi-part song, and one softer, folky ballad to close out their half of the record. I enjoyed both of the band's offerings, and I'm definitely going to have to check out Waldgeflüster's other material. I really also enjoyed their mix of clean and screamed vocals, which kind of gave me an Emperor feel, except less orchestral, and the fiddle part on 'Der Traumschänder' was cool. The bands do compliment each other quite well, as they both kind of mix in that folk feel, with Panopticon leaning a little bit more towards the backwoods bluegrass kind. Not a whole lot of finger-picking banjos in Bavaria, I would assume.

The one complaint I would have, though minor, would have to be the drumming on the Waldgeflüster track 'Der Traumschänder'. It seems like the cymbals just ring way too much, which would be fine if they were going for a kind of lo-fi kvlt feel, but everything else is just so well recorded. I don't know if the wrong mikes were used, or the sound bleed wasn't dampened enough, but it kind of took me out of the song a little bit. Plus, to have Austin Lunn's literally insane drum take on 'Håkan's Song' come after it, it didn't do the drums any favors. Seriously though, the drumming from Panopticon is so fast, complex and disorienting because it is just so intricate and has a myriad of stuff going on. I know there has to be triggering, but apart from the toms on the blast beats, it would be very hard to tell. The intermittent fills are just crazy.

Anyway, I've probably bored you with all the drum minutia. All in all, I think this is a great showcase for both bands, and if you're a fan of either band, or are looking to dip your toes into some folk influenced black metal, this might just serve as a great sampler for you.

Out of a total of five stars, I give this:




What did you think of this split? Are there any albums that you're really excited about, or are interested in discussing? Let me know. Check back in later for my thoughts on the new (and possibly last) album from Iggy Pop, Post Pop Depression


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