Pantheist Belgian funeral doom metal act Pantheist create dark soundscapes of mournful laments in painfully slow movement like that of the final gasps for breath in fading life. O Solitude, the band’s debut full-length recording, lavishes in grey, desolate tones not unlike fellow purveyors of funereal orchestrators Skepticism or Thergothon, yet composed and performed in spirit and knowledge of classical music theory, providing the music with a sophistication beyond most doom bands. The presence of this music is powerful, even suffocating at times in its blend of minimalist yet thundering rhythms and sweeping orchestrations of agonizing emotion, shaping a sound born of the realization and acceptance of the pain of existence, while embracing the struggle towards a truth of inner strength and meaningful life. These five compositions slowly reveal their secrets over the course of elaborate yet stark passages like ghosts emerging from forsaken graves. The title track descends into raging madness of faster tempo, however the vast majority of this work functions in laborious evolutions, allowing atmospheres of gloom and misery to build and sustain, enveloping the listener in a soul-possessing state of suspended emotional dejection where time has lost all relevance. Adorned with a mighty production that grants each instrument an appropriate level of strength in the overall sound, this music works a darkness of spirit in beautifully developing motion through which one can feel sadness through an experience of shared torment of living. Guitars weep and scorn, though even in their absence the sound and presence remain thick, at times allowing the calmness of subsiding bleakness to shed some dusty light before black clouds of anguish reclaim their position. Haunting keyboards decorate the music in shades of gorgeous melancholy, implemented intelligently in the understanding of emotional dynamic and climax through the dramatic sequence common to classical composers such as Bach and Beethoven. Indeed, "Envy Us" is an arrangement by vocalist/keyboardist Kostas based on music by Beethoven and Chopin, the interpretation of which is brilliantly translated to an elegant doom metal framework. Vocals range from impassioned gruff-voiced growls, melancholic choral singing, and spoken word sections, the latter of which is employed to strikingly effective degree during the closing moments of final song "Curse The Morning Light", an epic monument of transcendental doom metal which takes its place as one of the genre’s most powerful and memorable moments, as it achieves a level of ecclesiastical resplendence rarely discovered in such despondent musical seas. "Is this the world? By its very nature, doom metal is a style of music that does not accommodate the impatient and the emotionally vacant. The fearful ones who invest so much energy attempting to evade the unpleasant realities of the human condition, running fast from the revelations of truth awakened by lonely introspection and existential contemplation will eternally find themselves perplexed in the encounter of art such as this. And so shall they eternally fail to ever develop a true appreciation of life as a whole, refusing to accept darkness and light as equally essential to the journey of existence. Pantheist expertly strikes this balance through the shining triumph reflected in the ascendancy of mountainous passages over musical landscapes of desolation. Real happiness is only realized after having made it through the suffering of despair and sorrow, as only then can the true meaning of joy come alive. The overcoming of such a struggle is something to surely be rejoiced, and this album is certainly a tremendous soundtrack to such a rapture. Embrace the journey! Acknowledge the agony! O sweet Melancholy! O glorious Sorrow! O Solitude! 7/19/06 Tracklisting: 1. O Solitude Pantheist Discography 1000 Years (Self-Released, 2002)
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