O Solitude

O Solitude is the name of the classic Pantheist debut. Over the years my general dislike of funeral doom has grown steadily, until at some point (not that long ago) I almost listened to no funeral doom anymore whatsoever. However! There are some exceptions, albums that are so good, that even I embrace it and listen to it frequently. Now this may seem rather odd as O Solitude is pretty much a walking cliché. This is third wave doom in its pure essence, but the execution is of such a high level that it's a real blessing to hear the typical genre clichés, such as the heavy presence of organs. O Solitude offers some slight genre oddities though. Don't Mourn features blast beats and most songs feature some clean chanting. This type of singing gives the album a sort of christian feeling, but it completely matches the music and it's not that it's christian music. It has a religious undertone, nonetheless, hence also the name Pantheist. O Soltude offers some classic, traditional metal as well, a good example would be Time where we get to hear some old school sounding heavy metal followed by an awesome solo until the song ends with an organ solo and up-tempo percussion. Maybe it should review my statement that's a walking cliché?

But perhaps I shouldn't, because Envy Us goes back to core essence of funeral doom. A lifeless tempo, deep growls and heavy use of organs. Typically Pantheist and it works amazing! Envy Us features the distinct growls by Stijn of Until Death Overtakes Me fame. These are some of the most inhuman type of harsh vocals created by a human you'll ever hear. It provides a welcome change and are a real experience to hear as well. Funeral doom has been generating quite a bunch of new bands the last couple of years. Unfortunaly most of them are worthless. As I stated in the beginning, there are some good exceptions, this being one of them. It can act as a real highlight, not only in the specific genre, but also as a doom classic. They combine classic funeral doom with some interesting, experimental touches. Pantheist have always been a fairly experimental band, something which is definetely the case on later material, but they will always remain O Solitude for me and, together with the 1000 Years demo, it comes heavily recommended. O Solitude (and this review) ends with the following appropriate words...

The hour has come...
the angel of death looks me straight in the eyes
like a basilisk
He stands there staring
with empty gaze- like an ancient statue
and tries to break the shield
which guards my empty soul
But all those joyless years
have eventually dried my tears
drained every emotion of my well-worn body
which slowly rots and disintegrates
The angel smells the stench of slow death
disgusted, he disappears into the night
I cut my flesh with my broken nails
enjoy the fluid of life flowing
The cancer has left my heart
and yet I'm more than ever dead...

When I first heard of Pantheist, I had my doubts. A band that mixes heavy classical influences with dark doom metal is almost too good to be true. Fortunately, I was shocked to hear that this mix is done perfectly on O Solitude.

The album starts off slow and heavy, which is to be expected from any doom metal band. After a few dark riffs done with classical overtones, the true beauty that makes this band unique begins. The clean vocals and the synth/piano parts play along excellently with the hollow, dark atmosphere that is created. The classical feel is felt throughout, and almost never ceases. The first song on this album is done beautifully, and all nine minutes of it never become dull.

The next few songs progress nicely, adding to the overall feel of the album. The detuned power chords and harsh vocals keep the sense of heaviness that many bands of this genre overdo. The synth sounds add an almost extra-terrestrial feel, while the piano and resonating organs keep the music droning and depressing. The length of the songs is to be expected, but the boredom of repetitive music is never felt throughout the 10+ minute length songs.

Aside from all the praise that I have for this album, I do have a few qualms with it. A few of the riffs, especially ones that are sped up and have an almost death metal feel, sound redundant and almost cheesy to me. The blast beats that are attempted early in the album sound weak, and don’t have a sense of driving that blasts should. This is the only reason I believe that this album does not deserve a 100% score.

Overall, I enjoyed this album very much and I believe that it is definitely worth a listen by anyone who is a fan of funeral doom or even death metal-influenced doom. O Solitude is never tedious, despite the fact that the tempos are slow and many riffs repeat extensively

The name - Pantheist - covers a Belgian doom band; one of the founders is Kostas from doom-metal.com. He started this band in 2000. Their first release was: 1000 Years, a demo that was noticed by Firebox Records, a young and promising label, which releases mostly doom metal. The label uses the term "avant-garde funeral music" to characterize their music. I guess it's a little bit exaggerated to label Pantheist as an avant-garde group, but funeral music is a term that fits well to the atmosphere of this album. I have rarely heard such a depressive, mournful music. The tracks are built on mercilessly slow doom metal riffs and sad keyboard tunes. Sometimes the monotonous mood is broken by very pleasant and melodious notes, played by the synth. These almost ethereal sounds remind me a little bit of old Tiamat and In The Woods... Several times they accelerate the rhythm in the way My Dying Bride does. A diversified track is the 14 minutes long Don't Mourn, a song, which has strong riffs, dreamy tunes, and even some acoustic guitar themes with (Greek?) folk touches (?). Kostas' monotonous singing style fits pretty good to the music, he also performs death metal growls. The musical direction of Pantheist shows similarity with the Finnish suicidal doom metal masters Scepticism and Unholy, but the guitar work also reminds me of My Dying Bride once in a while. For those who are looking for well-played atmospheric and depressing doom metal, Pantheist could be a very good choice. A promising album and band, that's for sure!

It's quite difficult for me to explain the impact of Pantheist's O Solitude into words as well as giving classifying the sound justly. They are a funeral doom band at the core but have managed to incorporate so much atmosphere and beauty mixed in with contrasting vocals to make what I consider a one of a kind album in this sub genre of Doom. As slow as their fellow doomsters Skepticism and Thergothon, but they have an ambience and atmosphere to them that really hasn't been seen. In a nutshell you could say taking the Skepticism sound and giving it a much more melodic, better produced and accessible approach to people not as interested in ultra slow music. There is much more to it than that of course. The beauty of it is that this approach gives a more ethereal sound in which the listener can be easily lured in and sent for an incredible journey known as O Solitude without even realizing the hour of musical bliss is over.

The music in general is very slow and simplistic with songs that are rather long. Five songs clocking in at over an hour. Which means many sustained keyboard holds and ringing distorted guitar tones which set an incredible atmosphere for this album and the funeral doom genre in general. There is a slight case of repetition in O Solitude, but in this case its no bad thing. They use mostly slow distortion guitars but they spice things up with a few acoustic parts and one or two nice faster riffs on the album. Don't Mourn comes to mind on that one. The vocals are either growled or spoken with one song having guest blackish vocals.. A very good contrast for vocals and the entire album overall. Each vocal styling is given plenty of chance to impress. The key to their sound and atmosphere in general though is the use of keyboards/synths. It usually ends up being the backbone or melody of most of the music and I can't be more thankful.

O Solitude is another incredible release that will most likely go unnoticed by millions of music fans out there. If you are into keyboards/synth work or just getting into funeral doom metal, this is an excellent band to check out. Its not for everyone granted. People who like their metal fast should look elsewhere. But for people who'd appreciate very slow, drawn out compositions this is for you!!!! Lets just hope Pantheist can match this on their next album! :)

Favorites : O Solitude, Dont Mourn, Curse the Morning Light