They last had us ‘Seeking Infinity’ in 2018 and now Pantheist are taking us ‘Closer To God.’ Don’t worry too much though, divine intervention and visits to church are not necessary. Having said that we did venture into the holy realms of St Giles In The Field to watch the band alongside Skepticism which was akin to a religious experience for those lucky enough to attend back in 2012 (and you can also pick up an album of this special occasion released independently last year too). That particular recording line up is completely different from today. Like everyone maestro Kostas Panagiotou has had to start from scratch here due to Covid displacement and has assembled a completely new set of members to work remotely from various locations. We have here a pair of US musicians from Mesmur, a Frenchman from Hidden In Eternity and Welsh boyo Matt Strangis from Doubtsower whose album ‘Asphyxiation Of A Seasick Soul’ impressed a good deal earlier this year.
Closer To God is possibly the mellowest and even most contemplative we have heard from Pantheist. Although rooted in funeral doom and having a whopping 23-minute opening number which was going to originally be a stand-alone recording, it has been expanded upon into 4 tracks. The others are however shorter and the entire album weighs in at a surprisingly comfortable 47-minute running time. It is a cinematic experience for sure, Ennio Morricone is cited as influence and yes there are Western motifs running through the sound palette. The “sorry state of the world” is contemplated via a mournful requiem of choral vocals as ‘Strange Times’ slowly unwinds into these. Guitars are heavy and there is much gravity as the weight of the instruments take form into melodious focus like a gigantic anchor. Around them we move from spoken, chanted vocal parts to gruff roars and atmosphere builds with the repetitive harmony lodging itself in your head. The solemnity of organ is a natural addition texturing things spiritually and no matter what your beliefs are this will bring a sense of enchantment as it is given graceful solo presence for a time. Despite the length of this piece, it is far from over the top and not a progressive dinosaur of the past, time is fleeting as it drifts and carries you aloft slowly wrapped up in its natural progression and by the time a guitar solo unravels enrapturement has truly taken hold. The cinematic doom expands and with the low growls, the fantasy elements of recent Summoning are as present as anything else that this is comparable to as far as I am concerned and ‘Erroneous Elation’ works as a mellow choral bridge between this world and the ‘Wilderness’ that follows.
The gunslinger at the heart of this could well be surveying these fantastical lands as he progresses through them here in much the same way as Roland to the dark tower came. Suddenly we are struck by a piano melody dropping me momentarily into a ‘Mad World’ and before I can recover from this, clean vocals that could be out of a musical or a rock opera in a Meads Of Asphodel fashion prove that there are big surprises in the direction things have taken. Closing poetic statement ‘Of Stardust We Are Made (and to Dust We Shall Return)’ has a guitar solo going into organ, then piano and more of these vocals and one gets the feeling the cosmos has just unfolded and indeed we are certainly closer to something…
This is an album I could have reviewed quite quickly but the problem with this game is once doing so it is immediately time to move on to something else and put it aside; something I really have not wanted to do here. Repeated listens have allowed me to luxuriate in its riches and enjoy each and every particle of what has become a cosmic, mind-expanding journey. Naturally, I wholeheartedly suggest you do the same.
(8.5/10 Pete Woods)
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