PANZERFAUST
The Suns Of Perdition, Chapter III: The Astral Drain EISENWALD
Panzerfaust gaze into the abyss
Canada’s war chroniclers master the art of the metaphysical
PERHAPS BEST KNOWN as ‘the band who pissed on the Westboro Baptist Church’, Canada’s Panzerfaust are also exponents of increasingly ambitious, atmospherically dense black metal. Sixth album The Suns Of Perdition, Chapter III: The Astral Drain completes the final part of a trilogy that’s seen the band’s sound and concept evolve in tandem. Chapter I: War, Horrid War was war metal by any other name – ablitzkrieg of WWIIthemed savagery that paired the militant assault of raw black metal with samples of stomping jackboots and dive-bombers. Far from a glorification of Nazism, it was a psychological exploration of our warmongering, and of man’s inhumane potential truly boiling to the surface.
Chapter II: Render Unto Eden pressed forward, slowing the tempo while retaining intensity. Song structures grew more complicated, ideas expanded, but it was still interspersed with frequent all-out assaults. The theme was the same, but this time centred on Orwellian dystopia, even including his famous quote “If you want a picture of the future, imagine a boot stamping on a human face, forever.”