How is it that these cats are able to seamlessly blend their appreciation for super fine atmospheric harmonics with heaviness that can only be measured on a Geiger counter? Panopticon is all about the long angle lens and the curvature of the Earth. Guitars wrap themselves in loud swirling delays and reverb. Others brace with equally loud chainsaw blasts of distortion and grind. It all feels very natural. Like the epic and sweeping flow of a musical gulf stream bringing fresh air from one part of the globe to another. At other times the guitars chime and ring off one another like church bells tuned by the devil. Sometimes the melodic and riff repetition can get a bit disorienting, like the first time you ever looked out the window of an airplane. Is the Earth really that big? There's something here for just about anyone with an ear for progressive guitar-based music.

The songs have more depth and develpoment than Oceanic, but still heavy and rich with texture and emotional. It is a welcome evolution.

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