Panopticon
The Rime of Memory

Release Date: 11/29/2023 | Tracklist

I first came across Panopticon with Kentucky in 2012, expecting another decent atmospheric black metal album from a project that had already started building its momentum. The listening experience then turned out being so profound and unique, that it has left a distinct memory in my head of the impact it made on me during that very first listen, and how awestruck I was left by the stellar performance of this one individual. Since then, I have never fully considered Panopticon as one of the great atmospheric black metal acts from the States, instead it has had its own place, in its own kingdom, built on all the extremely rare elements that make metal monumental and life-changing.

Arguably, the most successful record of the band has been Autumn Eternal from 2015, which was incredibly epic and well-confined at the same time, showcasing mainman Austin Lunn’s evidently bottomless well of inspiration, both musically and lyrically. He had moved Panopticon from its harsher first days to new soundscapes that expanded the quality of the genre itself, and was highly praised almost with a single voice by the whole metal community. It wasn’t merely the distinctive blend of atmospheric black metal with his americana roots that made the band one of a kind, it was also that the execution was so masterful, it made unsuspected listeners like myself throw the headphones away in disbelief.

Two more, extensive chapters in the Panopticon discography followed in 2018 and 2021, which do not miss out on the brilliance, but didn’t manage to break me down the same way Kentucky, Roads to the North and Autumn Eternal did. I was drawn more to mini-releases in between that time, such as the split with Nechochwen in 2020 or The Crescendo of Dusk EP in 2019, while patiently waiting for that next full length that would blow my mind, the next glorious work that would remind me why Panopticon is cemented as one of the best artists in the history of this scene. The moment has finally arrived with The Rime of Memory, the 10th full length of the band, which has the same, enormous potential to scratch and trigger that distant memory of your first time listening to them, and make you relive it.

The hearts of all Panopticon fans started beating faster constantly since the release of the “Cedar Skeletons” single, a 16-minute ominous, absolutely devastating piece that indicated the impending arrival of a highly special release. The track is overwhelmingly moving not only during its intense first half, but also with the elaborated clean guitar section in the middle before building to its poignant and expressive closure. Such massive and with so much content are the compositions of this band, yet it is not even the longest piece in The Rime of Memory, as the listener will, after a short introduction that sets the tone, initially be introduced to the colossal “Winter Ghost”. The slow-paced, emotive opening of that track lays the foundation for the powerful sections that consecutively follow, as the album takes over and things are never the same again.

A gloomier, more perilous side of the album unfolds with “An Autumn Storm”, which hardly slows down in its entirety apart from its wonderful keyboard / accordion ending. That ending is perfectly connected to the following “Enduring the Snow Drought”, which dives in more lively, optimistic patterns in the same way “The Blue Against the White” brings the album to its grandiose end, with its final moments placing you in the same situation as when exiting the cinema after a groundbreaking movie that you know you’ll be thinking about for months. The Rime of Memory communicates the grandeur of nature clearly, yet it also has a deeply reflective element to it, through contemplation on the place of humans in the circle of life. It’s affective and emotionally charged, as thoughts on the irreversible passing of time, growing old and our eventual death, are explored in its lyrics. In other words, with this album, unprecedented heights have been reached.

As cliche and overused the following phrase is, Panopticon actually have musical merit in a single part of a single track, that other bands don’t amount for in their lifetime. In what may be one of the most complete, darkest, most coherent and absolutely perfect works under this moniker, Austin Lunn’s absurd amount of creativity and how well it has been carpeted in The Rime of Memory, will have you salute in respect, and in tears. Everything is finely tuned, as the planets are aligned and the winter solstice approaches, all contributing to us appreciating a record of a lifetime.

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