...And Again Into the Light
Critic Score
Based on 1 review
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CRITIC REVIEWS
80
And Again Into the Light is a stunning re-consolidation of Austin Lunn's sound.
A withering flower perishes in the center of a flourishing field. As odd as it may sound in concept, Panopticon’s seamless blend of Bluegrass and Black Metal has amalgamated into one of the most profound and wicked, enveloping atmospheres of last decade. Pastoral Bluegrass symphonies entangled with shrieking, righteous cacophonies of instruments, Panopticon’s run through the 2010s was near spotless, and the 2020s don’t seem like they will be putting an end to this hot streak. ... read more
Fuck, I love you, Austin Lunn.
Panopticon struggled early in its existence with its identity and finding a cohesive vibe, but when Austin found that vibe, hoo BOY did he land it.
...And Again Into the Light is a calculated blending of the atmospheric, blue-grass folk, and highly emotional side of Panopticon with the raw, seething, aggressive black metal side of Panopticon done to stunning effect. And while this isn't the most groundbreaking of Austin's works--Autumn Eternal and Roads to the ... read more
Call it black metal, folk, whatever you want, I don't care. It never mattered to me whether something was trve kvlt or not, as long as I like what I'm hearing. Panopticon seems to get a fair amount of distaste in the black metal community, (from people like this guy -> https://youtube.com/c/HipsterBlackMetalOfficial ), but the way that the project combines the genre with elements of folk, bluegrass, Americana, etc., results in one of the most original modern black metal projects, in my ... read more
"...And Again Into the Light" is a decently huge undertaking standing at 70 minutes of runtime that features multiple near 10 minutes songs within the tracklist. The instrumentation, for one, was massive and was really successful at both building tention, as well as creating tons of atmoshpere. The vocals were supremely impassioned from track to track, always having presence in the overall mix, which I appreciate.
The sound of this record might not be extremely different than many ... read more
I've had a long standing problem with Atmospheric Black metal, in that it still retains the raw mixing of 90s BM acts, while stripping back what made those bands interesting. Panopticon solves this issue by bringing layers apon layers of beautiful instrumentation, all lying under a blanket of delightfully noisy power chords bathed in reverb. It creates an overwhelming natural atmosphere full of sounds you can latch onto, rather than one singular riff.
9/10
Here's how to enjoy this album to ... read more
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Track List
| 1 | And Again Into the Light 4:25 | 82 |
| 2 | Dead Loons 11:26 | 87 |
| 3 | Rope Burn Exit 8:32 | 85 |
| 4 | A Snowless Winter 12:10 | 84 |
| 5 | Moth Eaten Soul 7:39 | 80 |
| 6 | As Golden Laughter Echoes 1:55 | 73 |
| 7 | The Embers at Dawn 12:40 | 81 |
| 8 | Know Hope 12:18 | 78 |
Total Length: 1 hour, 11 minutes
Year End Lists
| #5 | / | Decibel |
| #13 | / | Spectrum Culture |
| #44 | / | The Needle Drop |
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1y
It's almost like Melon's opinion on Know Hope is more swayed by how he listened to it as a single rather than how it fit into the album. I get it tho, that's why I practically never listen to any singles unless it's something I was wary of on paper
Added on: January 21, 2021