Pantheïst – Kings Must Die
Pantheïst – Kings Must Die
Melancholic Realm Productions
Release Date: 08/03/24
Running Time: 49:30
Review by Simon Black
10/10
I must confess, that I have come to the Pantheïst party horribly, horribly late…
Just before the year turned around to 2024, I went down to Fuel in Cardiff to watch a bunch of my friends in local Black Metal powerhouse Ofnus, doing a support slot for Pantheïst, a band I had not come across before. I blagged my way in at the eleventh hour via those personal contacts, but to be fair the promotor on the door was very polite and accommodating. That promoter turned out to be none other than founder, vocalist, keyboardist and pretty much anything you care to name within the band Kostas Panagiotou. I was simultaneously humbled that an international act of that stature would have such a DIY approach to running the gig, knuckle-bitingly embarrassed at my brashness but most significantly utterly blown away by the band’s performance that night. Suitably admonished, I spent the remainder of the Xmas break discovering what I have been missing for all these years in the greater pantheon of Pantheïst… (personal favourite until today their 2011 self-titled album, and in particular ‘Be Here’).
Now, my fellow scribes and togs in attendance that night knew the band of old, and it became clear to me that one of the parts that worked so brilliantly for me that night was a new addition in the form of soprano Linda Dumitru, whose voice was little short of incredible. Now, anyone who has never stood near a trained opera singer in full throttle may not be aware that in a venue the size of Fuel a microphone can be a bit superfluous, and kidney-rattlingly loud is definitely one of the memories that show holds in my ageing bones.
The “Kings and Queens” EP is the first time Dumitru has recorded with the band, and I was expecting this release to be a vehicle with that sole purpose in mind, consisting as it does of just the one new single studio track (albeit one of nearly fifteen minutes of running time) with the remaining thirty minutes being take up with some live material from last year’s Organic Doom show. The addition of Dumitru has had two fundamental changes to the band’s sound. The first is herself clearly, but the other is that it has mean that Kostas’ vocals have become more of a counterpoint both when he is in clean and guttural vocal mode with the arrangements divided between them based on their strengths. However, her role was less front and centre here than the live experience led me to expect.
The new track itself lyrically evokes a mix of the historical shenanigans of royal privilege and a challenge to the hereditary rights of succession, with the cover evoking Elizabeth I, but the use of samples from her funeral keeping it relevant to her more recently passed namesake in 2022. The track challenges all this from a social context, as is so often the case in lyrics, but this has made more socially relevant again for us here in the UK last year with the death of her Madge, QEII. For once we got a hint at how destabilising accession must have been in the past after such a long reign, leading as it did so frequently to political turmoil historically until the new regime established itself. Sadly, we are all too used to political turmoil here in the UK, so much that the royal family was the actually the one constant.
So yes, it did shake us, no matter our views on the rights of monarchs, as she had been on the throne for 25,781 days, or 526 Truss’s (where one Truss equals 49 days – a unit of measure designed to gauge the freshness of an iceberg lettuce) and the song evokes that feeling beautifully. For me personally this was more of a frustration given that her demise fell on the date Evergrey were playing in Bristol and train cancellations meant I missed the show, but it’s a great way of making the song run the gamut of interest. Plus, it’s an absolute belter of a track.
Strangely in the studio, they pull Dumitru’s punch in the mix so that she her role feels more of a backing vocal, whereas live she commanded attention as an equal vocal partner. Perhaps that’s a lack of confidence in the experiment back when this was recorded, or perhaps a fear of alienating the fan base, but the feedback on the live shows has been so positive that I really, really do hope that she remains a permanent part of the band, as with the entire set list that night having been reworked to support those two totally different voices I am going to struggle to go back to the older sound live, no matter how good the material. More please, lots more…
Pantheïst – ‘Kings Must Die’
TRACKLISTING:
01. Kings Must Die
02. 1000 Years (performed at Organic Doom Vol I)
03. O Solitude (performed at Organic Doom Vol I)
04. Strange Times (performed at Organic Doom Vol I)
LINE-UP:
Atanas Kyurkchiev – Guitar
Fanel Lefterache – Drums
Jeremy Lewis – Guitar
Kostas Panagiotou – Vocals, Keyboards
Matthew Strangis – Bass
Guests:
Jake Harding – Lead Vocals
Linda Dumitru – Soprano Vocals
David Pipe – Pipe Organ
LINKS:
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