Style: Post Black Metal, Folk (mixed vocals)
Recommended for fans of: Skeletonwitch, Dark Tranquility, Bon Iver
Review by: Cooper
Country: US-MN
Release date: 20 January, 2023
The genre label is a uniquely powerful tool in the underground metal band’s arsenal. Despite seeming like a sometimes insignificant piece of information tacked on by record labels trying to find a market for the release or by anally-retentive music fans attempting to categorize an album into its own little micro-niche, a genre label – especially when identified by the band prior to recording – can serve as a leading vision for every aspect of an album, whether that be the artwork, song order, or even promotional material; if each aspect of an album is cogent with one another, then the album is almost guaranteed to be more successful than its less carefully planned competitors. In recent years, however, the very concept of genre itself – particularly within the metal scene – has fallen to the wayside. Whether because of the unifying nature of the Internet or because of metal musicians’ dissatisfaction at being easily categorized, more genre bending/melding/breaking albums are released today than there have ever been before. Because of these opposing forces, many albums I come upon are stuck in an impasse, containing a multiplicity of genres yet still ultimately defined by their most prominent sound (whether that be self-identified or based on what fans have come to expect based on previous releases). The Absence, Oak Pantheon’s latest release, exemplifies this idea.
Tagged on Bandcamp as black metal, death metal, folk metal, groove metal, post-metal, and progressive metal, The Absence is one of the few albums I’ve ever encountered that truly warrants that many genre tags. As I listened, there were dozens of moments where I could feel the album shifting around me as it prepared to explore another genre. For instance, “Listen!” begins in a manner eerily reminiscent of “B.Y.O.B.” by System of a Down and just a moment later employs Tool-esque hammer-ons and tom fills only to then hit the listener with an incredibly catchy chorus and a climactic bridge section that you’d expect from arena rock. “Beating Heart” wouldn’t sound out of place on Bon Iver’s self-titled LP or Black Country, New Road’s recent masterpiece Ants from Up There thanks to the song’s rich vocal harmonies and hypnotizing neofolk instrumentals. “Decisions” alone completes the extreme metal trifecta with its blackened shrieks and tremolo picking, death metal infused gutturals and drumming, and thrashy vocal inflections à la Warbringer and Power Trip. Countless more examples can be found on this record, but rest assured, if genre bending/melding/breaking is what you’re after, this is the record for you.
The Absence doesn’t contain a single bad song; in fact, they are all quite good. Still, the record seems to be lacking something foundational. It has no identity; it has nothing that it can fall back upon and call its own. The Absence may sound as though it is weaving together genres in a way that no one has ever heard before, but that is not really the case. It doesn’t have post metal influences as much as it sometimes sounds like Tool did 25 years ago, and it doesn’t have a progressive death metal excerpts as much as it has a few riffs inspired by Opeth. The same could be said for the album’s folk influences, although I feel that they were the most well done of the genre explorations. What I believe to be Oak Pantheon’s core sound is only heard in a few tracks where a particular strain of inspiring and uplifting black metal takes center stage. I wish that Oak Pantheon had focused more on refining their own sound before they began incorporating the greatest hits of other metal subgenres.
For many, this will not be an issue. Individually, the songs are good, and the album can simply be treated as a playlist. For me, despite how much I enjoyed some sections, the lack of identity kept the album from reaching its fullest potential.
Recommended tracks: Listen!, Bard of the Hell-Bent Ages, Silence We Plead
You may also like: Scarred
Final verdict: 6.5/10
Related links: Bandcamp | Spotify | YouTube | Facebook | Instagram | Metal-Archives page
Label: Independent
Oak Pantheon is:
– Tanner Swenson (guitars, vocals)
– Sami Sati (guitars, vocals)
– Jake Spanier (bass)
– Andrew Anderson (drums)
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