Austin Lunn's one-man anarchist, atmospheric black metal project Panopticon has been a prolific force for a long time, but he's really in the zone right now. Last year, Panopticon released two albums, the folk-centric Laruentian Blue and the metal-focused Songs Of Hiraeth, as well as The Poppies Bloom For No King, a benefit EP raising money for families affected by ICE's anti-human activities. Last month, Panopticon released a surprise split with the German black metal band Uprising, and Austin Lunn announced that he's taking his music off of Spotify. Now, there's already another Panopticon album on the way.
The next Panopticon album is called Det Hjemsøkte Hjertet, and Google tells me that the title is Norwegian for The Haunted Heart. (Lunn is from Minnesota, not Norway, but there's a whole lot of Norwegian culture up there.) According to Lunn, the new album completes the trilogy that he started with Laruentian Blue and Songs Of Hiraeth. On the new LP's Bandcamp description, Lunn has a whole lot to say. Here's an excerpt that I found really interesting:
Woodland caribou once roamed the North Woods of Minnesota. And like so many things, they gave way to a new species, the white-tailed deer, that followed the saw North. These very animals preyed on the saplings of the woodland caribou’s habitat and food sources, the white cedar trees and boreal lichen.The deer spread disease and outcompeted the caribou to the point that it wasn’t sustainable for them anymore. Succumbing to disease, starvation, and simply abandoning the region, the woodland caribou became a thing of folklore in these parts.
A central theme in the album’s lyrics and stories is the Scandinavian immigrant culture of Minnesota. It is something that was brought over by Nordic immigrants and remained a stronghold in Minnesotan culture until it was outcompeted by an American culture obsessed with trends and technology. As such, the very descendants of those immigrants became more interested in pop culture phenomena than the “tired culture” of their grandparents.
Minnesota’s culture has long been largely based on immigrant populations and will remain so in my opinion. To resist that eventual change is a fool's errand. Just as the forest's dominant flora and fauna ebbs and flows, so does our culture, based on who is living here. If we wish to keep aspects of our own individual traditions, it is simply up to us to keep those flames burning in our own lives as individuals and families.
Unlike the woodland caribou, we are not being outcompeted, we are simply losing interest in the things we once thought defined us in an ever-diversifying ecosystem. We are slowly letting our lives pass us by until one day, we look up from our distractions and it’s over.
Lunn goes on to describe Det Hjemsøkte Hjertet as "a fictional narrative that explores the way society has changed with mounting modern conveniences and technology at our disposal." It's a concept record about a man who spends his entire life in a primitive cabin in the remote North Woods, and Lunn says he spent months researching the time and place of his narrative.
Lead single "The White Cedars" is a furious, ambitious black metal attack that lasts for eight and a half minutes. Along with roars and blastbeats, it's got a huge string arrangement from Charlie Anderson and some mournful folk violins, as well as guest vocals from Jan Even Åsli, of the Norwegian band Vemod. Lunn tells Decibel:
“The White Cedars” is the moment in the album’s narrative when the solitary protagonist confronts the consequences of his chosen life. He reflects on his decision to withdraw from others, avoiding the risks and vulnerabilities that come with emotional bonds — the very risks his parents and grandparents once embraced, which allowed him to exist in the first place. Reaching the end of his life without meaningful connections, he recognizes the cost of that path. The song becomes a lament for what might have been, and a meditation on the chances we never take.
That song also has a B-side, and it's a reimagined version of "Stream Keeper," an emotionally resonant 2007 song from Lunn's previous project Seidr. You can only hear that song at Decibel. Below, check out "The White Cedars" and the Det Hjemsøkte Hjertet tracklist.
TRACKLIST:
01 "Woodland Caribou"
02 "The Great Silence, Extinct"
03 "Blood And Fur Upon The Melting Snow"
04 "The White Cedars"
05 "A Culture Of Wilderness"
06 "Lyset"
07 "Ghost Eyes In The Fire Light"
Det Hjemsøkte Hjertet is out 5/8 via Bind Rune (USA) and Nordvis (Europe).
