A Sunday night gig a few weeks before Christmas is a bold move. It’s even bolder when your band hasn’t played together for three years and was happily resigned to being a studio project. Yes, those seminal UK doomsters Pantheist have returned from the darkness and pulled along a few dozen folk to Cardiff’s Fuel Rock Bar. Despite the bitter cold, the evening draws a reasonable number, made up of dedicated old school and those who are curious. All attracted for the very reasonable advance price of £7.
As is often the way at Fuel, the d start time is pushed back by a good 20 minutes. Edenfall are still completing their soundcheck as doors open, with bemused punters sat with their beers whilst the frustratingly slow checks are concluded. It’s over to Newport two-piece Pyrogaric to start the evening. They bring a fuzzed-up psych style, reliant on Keelan’s rather static sludgy guitar and the vocals and drums of Jamey-Leigh. It’s solid stuff, and whilst the songs need a bit of craft, their enthusiasm slowly grows. Jamey-Leigh is in control, with soaring vocals as well as steady drumming. It’s an interesting combination.
Main is Edenfall, the Cheltenham gothic doom five-piece who have been in existence since 2009. They suffer from a couple technical challenges, mainly due to their cabling and backing tracks. Once they ease into their set, they slowly deliver with a confidence and maturity drawn from their years together. It’s about 45 minutes set time, giving them time to draw tracks from their two full-length albums as well as the opportunity to air their latest sign band have been around for over a decade, and with two albums and a new single to draw from, they give the audience plenty to enjoy.
They are a curious amalgamation of styles, with stirring symphonic elements at a complete juxtaposition with the band’s heavier blasting segment. It’s Clare Webster’s soaring vocals that catch the ear, a perfect foil to the gruff growls that the band also promote. New song “The Wild Hunt” sounds good, whilst older tracks fit neatly into the set. The warmup is complete, and it is on to the main event.
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Formed in 2000 by Greek musician Kostas Panagiotou in Antwerp, Belgium, Pantheist have produced some of the strongest quality funeral doom and released their last album, the excellent Closer to God in 2021. Over 30 minutes later than planned, this wasn’t going to persuade a band who at times play at glacial pace to go any faster. Their five-song set opened with “Control & Fire” and included a couple from Closer to God.
If you are unfamiliar with Pantheist, then it’s well worth spending some time with their music. It’s a sonically cinematic soundscape that they paint, combining dark, crushingly heavy elements with more gentle, melancholic segments. With Panagiotou dressed in his priest’s outfit including dog collar, it’s something of a surprise to the uninitiated when the devil is unleashed from his mouth with some startlingly gruesome singing. For those aware of this, it’s time to nod and gently bang the head. The hour sweeps by and although I must leave a few minutes early, it’s evident that the band’s return to the stage has been a good experience all round.
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Pics by Paul Hutchings
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