Panopticism: Belong/Be Lost
Feed them Death
•
March 21, 2020
FEED THEM DEATH is a Death Metal band from London, England. "Panopticism" is their second full length album; in 2017 they released an EP as well. A one-person project, VOID takes on the challenge to create what is easily the most INSANE album I've heard thus far this year. While definitely Death Metal based, their sound is hard to pin down because I can hear the Tech Death elements working alongside with the Progressive movements. At times, it does become a bit muddled and can sound like noise, but subsequent listens train the year to just accept and move on.
Despite it being all over the place, much of it is rather focused for the short amount of times that most of the songs run. Despite their generally furious quality, I'm not sure if this band could pull off longer songs while still holding the same level of interest. In addition, the bass is one of the highlights of the album and shines through clear enough even when the album gets too ahead of itself. Overall, it is an album that will make you think but can pummel you just as quickly. Vocally, VOID reminds me of TOMPA from AT THE GATES.
The very first moments of the first track, "Zoneless Confinement," reveals an energetic, somewhat Punk rock and Grindcore influenced sound. This song is just on fire, from beginning to end—the drums sound pretty damn real too, for the most part. Intense as hell and fast as fuck, this track is the perfect opener for a band of this style. Despite the shorter run time, "For our Insolent Dead," has a much slower pace than some of the other tracks but, isn't any less intense for it. Still, the band does throw in some decent melodies and the bass is just thunderous. The later half of the album is dragged down by a couple of throwaway tracks.
"Priescience/Evokism III" is just distorted fuzzy and noise. Most of "Evokism II," is just background music as well. "Lotusbluthen III," is one of the longer tracks and also the one that seems to take its most time as far as fleshing out the song. The fury and rage contained within is just like the other tracks, both before and after, but just more focused on the task at hand rather than running everywhere at once. I'd be interested to see if the band can build up a song like this for future albums.
But the album finishes strong as hell with "Dead Is Better," the audio equivalent of being beaten to death by a gang of rabid clowns on PCP. Every second in its two and half minute beat down is an assault on both your senses and your body. Well, the whole album is like that-this is definitely one intense ride on a lot of different levels.
7 / 10
Good
Songwriting
Musicianship
Memorability
Production
"Panopticism: Belong/Be Lost" Track-listing:
1. Zoneless Confinement
2. Scar?
3. Apologue of Descent
4. For Our Insolent Dead
5. Anti-modernist Extradition
6. Prescience/Evokism III
7. Black Bile Banquet
8. Break The Infinite
9. Lotusbluthen III
10. Evokism II
11. Dead Is Better
Feed them Death Lineup:
VOID - Vocals, All Instruments, Drum Programming
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