Pantheist are a Belgian and British
funeral doom
Doom metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music that typically uses slower tempos, low-tuned guitars and a much "thicker" or "heavier" sound than other heavy metal genres.K. Kahn-Harris, ''Extreme Metal: Music and Culture on the Edge'' ...
band formed in 2000 by Kostas Panagiotou.
Background
Pantheist was formed in 2000 by Greek musician Kostas Panagiotou in
Antwerp
Antwerp (; nl, Antwerpen ; french: Anvers ; es, Amberes) is the largest city in Belgium by area at and the capital of Antwerp Province in the Flemish Region. With a population of 520,504, , Belgium. Initially a solo project, he recorded a synth ambient demo which was never released.
He was later joined by Nicolas Tambuyser, who played guitar. They shortly after recorded their first demo, ''1000 Years''.
In 2002, bassist Frédéric Caure and drummer Oscar Strik joined the band.
In 2003, they released their first album, ''O Solitude'', through Firebox Records. The following year, Caure and Strik left the band, citing musical differences, and were replaced by Kris Villez on drums and Wim Boey on bass.
In 2004, Panagiotou moved the band to the United Kingdom, although Tambuyser remained in Belgium and was still a member of the band.
For their second album, ''Amartia'', Pantheist was joined by Mark Bodossian and Andy Semmens of
Esoteric
Western esotericism, also known as esotericism, esoterism, and sometimes the Western mystery tradition, is a term scholars use to categorise a wide range of loosely related ideas and movements that developed within Western society. These ideas a ...
on bass and drums/vocals respectively, as session musicians.
At this time Ilia Rodriguez also joined the band on guitar and whilst Semmens focused on vocals, Sterghios Moschos joined on drums, the new lineup producing the “Pains of Sleep EP”. In 2008, the band released their third studio album, ''Journey Through Lands Unknown'', recorded at Priory Recording studios. It took 18 months to write and produce.
In 2011, the band released their self-titled fourth album through
Grau Records.
The album represented a change in direction to a more progressive style of
doom metal
Doom metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music that typically uses slower tempos, low-tuned guitars and a much "thicker" or "heavier" sound than other heavy metal genres.K. Kahn-Harris, ''Extreme Metal: Music and Culture on the Edge'' ...
, incorporating elements of
progressive rock
Progressive rock (shortened as prog rock or simply prog; sometimes conflated with art rock) is a broad genre of rock music that developed in the United Kingdom and United States through the mid- to late 1960s, peaking in the early 1970s. Init ...
,
dark wave
Dark wave (also typeset as darkwave) is a music genre that emerged from the new wave and post-punk movement of the late 1970s. Dark wave compositions are largely based on minor key tonality and introspective lyrics and have been perceived as be ...
, and
new wave. In 2016, frontman Kostas Panagiotou released a 145-page science fiction novel, ''Events (Or Professor Losaline’s Extraordinary Journey into the Unknown)'', alongside his solo EP ''Chapters''. Each of the six tracks from the EP accompanies one of the six chapters of the novel. The intention of the novel was to fund the production of Pantheist's fifth full-length album, ''Seeking Infinity''.
Released in 2018,
the album marked a return to the band's traditional funeral doom and
death-doom
Death-doom is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal. It combines the slow tempos and pessimistic or depressive mood of doom metal with the deep growling vocals and double kick drumming of death metal. The genre emerged in the late-1980s and gained ...
style, though it still retained some elements of progressive and
neofolk
Neofolk, also known as apocalyptic folk, is a form of experimental music blending elements of folk and industrial music, which emerged in punk rock circles in the 1980s. Neofolk may either be solely acoustic or combine acoustic folk instrumenta ...
metal
A metal (from Greek μέταλλον ''métallon'', "mine, quarry, metal") is a material that, when freshly prepared, polished, or fractured, shows a lustrous appearance, and conducts electricity and heat relatively well. Metals are typicall ...
.
Band members
Current members
* Kostas Panagiotou – vocals, keyboards (2000–present)
* Xander – guitar (2019–present)
* Daniel Neagoe – drums (2016–present)
Past and session members
* Nicolas Tambuyser - guitars (2000-2005)
* Oscar Strik - drums (2002-2004)
* Arne Pinto De Carvalho - guitars (2003-2004)
* Frédéric Caure - bass (2003-2004)
* Wim Boey - bass (2004)
* Kris Villez - drums (2004)
* Andy Semmens - vocals (2004-2008)
* Mark Bodossian - bass, vocals (2004-2010)
* Ilia Rodriguez - guitars, vocals (2005-2011)
* Sterghios Moschos - drums (2005-2014)
* Peter Benjamin - guitars (2006-2009)
* Pepijn van Houwelingen - guitars, vocals (2006-2009)
* Aleksej Obradovic - bass (2011-2019)
* Valter Cunha - guitars (2014-2017)
* Frank Allain - guitars (2015-2019)
* Siebe Hermans - drums (2019)
Discography
Studio albums
*''O Solitude'' (2003)
*''Amartia'' (2005)
*''Journey Through Lands Unknown'' (2008)
*''Pantheist'' (2011)
*''Seeking Infinity'' (2018)
*''Closer to God'' (2021)
EPs
*''The Pains of Sleep'' (2005)
*''Unveiling the Signs'' (2010)
Demos
*''1000 Years'' (2001)
References
External links
Official websiteBandcampOfficial Facebook
{{Authority control
Belgian heavy metal musical groups
British heavy metal musical groups
Musical groups established in 2000
2000 establishments in Belgium
Doom metal musical groups
Funeral doom musical groups