Sounds | Panopticon - Ely in the Dark

Ely in the Dark, oftewel nieuw werk van blackmetalband Panopticon. Verwacht geen blastbeats of krijsende vocalen, wel melancholie en een vleug Americana.

Geïnspireerd door songwriters als Townes Van Zandt en Blaze Foley keert de band rond Austin Lunn terug naar zijn akoestische roots. Denk: minder BPM’s, meer mandoline, banjo en dubbele viool.

Laurentian Blue, Panopticons aankomende album, is diep geworteld in Lunns persoonlijke leven. De artiest haalt meer bepaald het gevecht met zijn innerlijke demonen aan, evenals zijn isolement in de noordelijke bossen van Minnesota.

Je leest het al: Ely in the Dark is geen zomers deuntje. De derde single van de plaat is melancholisch en introspectief, maar bevat voldoende opwekkende noten. Het is een sfeervol werkstuk dat je meeneemt door donkere nachten en mistige ochtenden, omgeven door eindeloze kilometers bos.

Deze Ely in the Dark is perfect voor wie Panopticon wil leren kennen zonder meteen in hun zwaardere werk te duiken.

Weetje: de Laurentian Divide, waar de albumtitel naar verwijst, is een geografische waterlijn in Minnesota. Ze staat symbool voor scheiding, verdeeldheid én verbinding tussen verschillende landschappen.

Laurentian Blue komt uit op 15 augustus 2025 via Nordvis en Bindrune Recordings

Info

With “Laurentian Blue”, Panopticon ventures beyond the boundaries of metal to explore an entirely different emotional terrain. Though not the band’s first foray into acoustic territory – “The Scars of Man on the Once Nameless Wilderness, Part 2” (2018) charted similar ground – this album deepens the journey. Described by Austin Lunn as ‘Northwoods Americana’ or ‘outdoor country’, it offers a raw and intimate reflection on loss, change, and the quiet strength of human connection.

Written alongside “...And Again into the Light” (2021), this companion piece trades distortion for acoustic resonance – banjo, mandolin, resonator guitar, and twin violins painting a soundscape steeped in frost, memory, and resilience. While the palette is gentler, the themes remain no less weighty: the burden of regret, the passage of time, and the quiet act of holding on – not for oneself, but for those who remind us of our worth.

Inspired by songwriters like Blaze Foley and Townes Van Zandt, “Laurentian Blue” is a record of stark beauty and quiet defiance. It stands as a testament to Panopticon’s ever-evolving spirit – wherever the sound may go, the heart remains the same.

Austin Lunn commented:

“Laurentian Blue” was mostly written during an extremely dark time in my life. Many of the songs took shape in a remote cabin deep within Northern Minnesota’s Superior National Forest — a place I visited often before relocating there full-time in 2021.

The album emerged during several years of intense depression and grief — a period marked by personal loss, the death of a family member, medical trauma, a global pandemic, and a national crisis and uprising. Writing became a way to create a calm space to hold and process those experiences.

The final three songs were written after I moved to the far north of Minnesota, out into the North Woods, near the deep wilderness of the Boundary Waters. The stillness and solitude of that landscape naturally found their way into the music.

We’ve enjoyed performing these songs live over the past couple of years, and I’m excited to finally be able to share the recordings with others.

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