Pantheïst was founded in 2000 by Kostas Panagiotou, a vocalist and keyboardist, and is currently active with five members, including four vocalists, a guitarist, a bassist, and a drummer, each with extensive experience in their respective fields. Pantheist is a Greek-Belgian-English band that plays the slow and beautiful Funeral Doom Metal; a powerful and distinctive style with a large fanbase. Major bands in this genre include Nortt, Shape of Despair, Worship, Funeral Orchestra, Esoteric, and Skepticism. The core elements of Pantheist’s style of music include: long-duration songs, deep philosophical themes, gradual structures, repetitive riffs, cinematic atmospheres, and the use of piano, organ keyboards, and a mix of growls, clean or sometimes orchestral vocals.
A year after its formation, Pantheist released a demo called 1000 Years, which included six tracks and lasted about 30 minutes. During the production of this demo, Nicolas, the band’s bassist, was known for his unique technique with the low-pitched guitar, created a different tuning on this album. In 2003, Pantheist released their first full-length album, O Solitude, considered one of the best albums in this subgenre. The album features five tracks and runs for about 57 minutes. Following the success of this album, the band underwent a change with the addition of a new bassist, which led to significant developments. Nicolas left the band to attend university, and Mark (a member of Esoteric) joined Pantheist to continue their work on their future album.
Pantheist’s second full-length album, released in late winter 2005, was a distinct concept album. It consists of three parts, starting with the striking and captivating track Apologia, which lasts about 11 minutes. Members of the Doom-Metal.com forum held extensive discussions about the unique structure of this track, each offering insightful analyses based on their own interpretations. The second part of the album includes eight tracks, which, like the rest of the band’s work, are calm, melancholic, and beautiful. The third part features a single track, Metanoia, which, similar to the opening track, garnered significant attention. Interestingly, this album was recorded and released in the UK, and two months later, the band members returned to Belgium.
In late 2005, Pantheist released an EP titled The Pains of Sleep, which created a lot of buzz in the online doom metal community and on Myspace. This beautiful album includes three new tracks, several older tracks with new mixing and mastering, and a cover of For Funerals to Come by Katatonia. It appeared that Andy, the band’s vocalist who composed several tracks for this album, left the band after this EP. With the support of Fire Doom, the label distributing the band’s albums, and a festival organizer, Pantheist, made their first live performance (featuring the track Envy Us) at the Witchwood venue, which again buzzed out on the online scene. The festival also featured performances by Adultery and Inhume, who delivered excellent shows alongside Pantheist, according to those who attended the show. The band is currently working on a new album in a studio in London. Two additional albums by the band exist in the form of bootlegs and rehearsals. In 2007, they embarked on a new European tour, which photos shared on the band’s official website and Myspace page.
