PANOPTICON — Kentucky (review)

Album · 2012 · Atmospheric Black Metal

4.5/5 · 2016-05-01
666sharon666

MMA Reviewer's Challenge: May 2016

Panopticon's Kentucky is one of those albums that doesn't belong to just one genre. This isn't an uncommon occurrence in metal with all the acts out there that cross, to name just a few examples, heavy metal and power metal, black metal and death metal, or symphonic metal and gothic metal. You also get a lot of progressive metal bands that are just as much progressive rock bands. Less common would be albums like Kentucky which has Panopticon crossing atmospheric black metal with bluegrass.

I wouldn't call this bluegrass black metal (which I guess would make it blackgrass?) as such, as mostly the two genres are presented as separate entities. Bluegrass does crop up in the metal songs but it's mostly heard as shorter songs between the metal tracks. The experience of the album is almost like switching between two different albums track after track, so this cannot be called bluegrass metal in any way. Now I'm going to have to admit to not really knowing much about bluegrass music (I find those tracks quite pleasant though) so I'm going to review Kentucky as a metal album. There are actually more tracks here that aren't metal but because the metal ones are much longer compositions this album still ends up being more metal than not.

Black metal being one of those love it or hate it genres I don't think that Panopticon does anything in the three black metal songs that is going to convince a naysayer and the music here is certainly not some of the more accessible black metal out there, but for those of us who enjoy the genre I find these to be three great black metal tracks, especially Bodies Under the Falls. I know a bit of Panopticon's other material, and I'd say that this is one of the project's best songs. Black Soot and Red Blood and Killing the Giants as They Sleep both feature extended voice-overs which I know some (and often myself) find off-putting but I actually quite liked them in the former at least, though I'm more neutral to those in the latter.

Kentucky overall may veer into the bluegrass stuff a bit too much for some listeners but I personally found it a nice and unusual touch. I can't really comment on the quality of the bluegrass though I do know that three of these songs are actually covers of traditional songs, presumably done faithfully, but as a black metal album I find it excellent. 4.5 stars.

more than 2 years ago
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666sharon666 wrote:

more than 2 years ago

Yeah that was a problem I expected some would have with it.

Nightfly wrote:

more than 2 years ago

Like the way you approached it Nicole though I found the bluegrass too intrusive for my own tastes.

Vim Fuego wrote:

more than 2 years ago

Loving the name blackgrass.

aglasshouse wrote:

more than 2 years ago

Nice job on this one Nicole. Although I personally disagree, very well written.

adg211288 wrote:

more than 2 years ago

A second wave of reviews is scheduled to come on Tuesday. All in all I'd say this first MMA Reviewer's Challenge has been a success.

TheHeavyMetalCat wrote:

more than 2 years ago

Reviewer's Challenge is it? I did a double take when I load the home page and there was four reviews for the same album setting there. Nice concept and great album to do it for. I've got me some reading to do now.

666sharon666 wrote:

more than 2 years ago

I wouldn't put it past Austin Lunn to make something like that one day. He does come pretty close here.

Unitron wrote:

more than 2 years ago

Great review, I like the sound of Blackgrass, it really has a ring to it. I'm really liking this Reviewers Challenge, it's nice to see a bunch of different opinions for one album at once.