Pantokrator - "Marching Out Of Babylon" is out now...

Actually ordered it off of Amazon. It's in the mail today but it is also "Autorip" so I downloaded the MP3s drove to and from work listening.

Going to be Crowned in Sorrow/Pantokrator evening for me. Both are huge albums for me this year!

I listened to the new Pantokrator album last night. It's definitely their most focused album to date.

Oh, need to check that out.

To CD/LP/K7 stuff:

https://www.nordicmission.net/search_result?search_in_description=1&keywords=marching+out+of+babylon&x=0&y=0

I've been checking out this album on youtube Pantokrator Topic and it's calling for a vinyl import soon. Watched the Panto sock gig too was real nice!

This album is essentially perfect from beginning to end. Every song is solid. Vocals are perfect, riffing is tight, there are outstanding solos in many of the songs. There are actually clean vocals on most songs that are layered in epic fashion. They have both blazing material with blastbeats and some that has more chunky, thrashing material. The mention of being "their most focused album to date" is absolutely true. 

Three things of note at this point:

1. I need to give this some absolute dedicated listens. It needs alone time with the lyrics for these to all sink in. While I'm listening driving here to there or playing it around the house everything is excellent but the songs haven't truly sunk in yet.

2. I wish it were more "dirty." It's rather clean for a death metal release despite the speed and the fantastic vocals. Even at its heaviest the production is a little "light." It's a production thing, not performance.

3. I like how good the clean vocals are but it is a change I need to get used to and wasn't expecting across the album.

Maybe a note to others not familiar with the band. If you don't mind Lemmy's vocals in Motorhead, Karl is a half step between Lemmy and more traditional death metal. Not exactly the cookie monster vocals people would expect with death metal.

I think the production is more like the tech death bands do so they can show off their wankery. Doesn't bother me and I think the cleans are well done.

Downloaded!

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This only gets better! The clean vocals are in the vein of Amorphis or Borknagar, not in the vein of poppy metalcore and boy do they add to the songs! Pantokrator has finally got my kids singing along with death metal as the end of Phoenix is so catchy they can't resist.

The lyrics are fantastically forward. In the past they had more esoteric and symbolic lyrics. Here these just nail the times we live in and the character and nature of God and His people.

I'll set aside the production comments as well. This has some real heft on a good stereo and yet you can hear everything. The double bass drumming being blazing fast may have made it feel "modern" and given it a tech/death feel but ultimately it highlights truly how progressive and high level the playing is. The songs twist and turn at every possible pace and the rhythm section flawlessly moves through it with great cymbal work and fills.

Frozen Fire wrote:This only gets better! The clean vocals are in the vein of Amorphis or Borknagar, not in the vein of poppy metalcore and boy do they add to the songs! Pantokrator has finally got my kids singing along with death metal as the end of Phoenix is so catchy they can't resist.

The lyrics are fantastically forward. In the past they had more esoteric and symbolic lyrics. Here these just nail the times we live in and the character and nature of God and His people.

I'll set aside the production comments as well. This has some real heft on a good stereo and yet you can hear everything. The double bass drumming being blazing fast may have made it feel "modern" and given it a tech/death feel but ultimately it highlights truly how progressive and high level the playing is. The songs twist and turn at every possible pace and the rhythm section flawlessly moves through it with great cymbal work and fills.

Love this album, would have loved a couple more songs though as it’s been 6 long years since ‘Incarnate’.

Frozen Fire wrote:The lyrics are fantastically forward. In the past they had more esoteric and symbolic lyrics. Here these just nail the times we live in and the character and nature of God and His people.

Ok now you got me extra-excited for this one; that sounds really excellent.  I gotta get off my butt and order it!  If I had one complaint about Pantokrator, it'd be that I just don't care about at all - nor do I see any value in singing about - the more esoteric/mystical stuff like Lilith, etc.  Sure, it makes for pretty "metal" lyrics, but I'd go from a big fan to a super fan if they ditched that stuff and took a more biblical/orthodox approach.