D>E>A>T>H>M>E>T>A>L (2000) - Panchiko

Tracklist:

1. D>E>A>T>H>M>E>T>A>L – 4:20  

2. Stabilisers for Big Boys – 3:39  

3. Machine Gun Punk – 3:16  

4. Laputa – 3:50  

5. Sodium Chloride – 5:14  

6. Untitled (Hidden Track) – 3:15  

Album duration:23:34  

Genres: Lo-Fi, Indie Rock, Shoegaze, Experimental Rock  

Lineup: 

- Owain Davies – Vocals, Guitar  

- Andy Wright – Guitar, Samples  

- Shaun Wilson – Bass, Keyboard  

- John Perry – Drums  

Released in 2000 and initially overlooked, D>E>A>T>H>M>E>T>A>L by Panchiko gained a cult following years later, largely due to the mystery surrounding the band’s disappearance and the album's unexpected resurfacing online. This underground record, shrouded in lo-fi mystique, merges indie rock with shoegaze, embracing both melancholy and euphoria. The production is deliberately raw, with a dreamy, washed-out sound that evokes a sense of nostalgia for an era that never quite was. The album’s title is a playful misnomer—there’s no heavy metal here, only hazy textures, wistful melodies, and layers of reverberating guitar.

The lyrics are introspective and fragmented, often obscured by the lo-fi aesthetic, which only adds to the album’s mysterious charm. The vocals, muffled and distant, drift in and out of the mix, creating an emotional depth that feels detached and intimate at the same time. The guitars are jangly and drenched in echo, while the rhythm section maintains a steady, understated groove that allows the ambiance to take center stage. Panchiko’s mix of lo-fi indie rock with hints of electronica and shoegaze resulted in an album that feels both timeless and oddly out of place—a relic from the past that sounds surprisingly fresh.

My Favorite tracks include D>E>A>T>H>M>E>T>A>L, Stabilisers for Big Boys, Laputa, and Sodium Chloride. The opening track, D>E>A>T>H>M>E>T>A>L, immediately sets the tone with its melancholic melody and wistful atmosphere. The track's lo-fi charm is irresistible, with its swirling guitars and almost buried vocals that capture a longing for something intangible.

Stabilisers for Big Boys has a catchy rhythm and a more upbeat vibe, yet it retains the hazy texture that characterizes the album. The song's layered production invites multiple listens to uncover the subtle nuances hidden beneath the fuzzy exterior. Laputa is one of the album's standout moments, a track that manages to balance a sense of melancholy with moments of fragile beauty—its name, a reference to the mythical island in Gulliver's Travels and Studio Ghibli's Castle in the Sky, enhances its dreamy, fantastical quality.

Sodium Chloride leans more into an electronic vibe, with echoing beats and glitchy samples complementing the shoegaze aesthetics. It’s a track that encapsulates the album’s unique ability to blend genres without losing its cohesive identity. The untitled hidden track at the end of the album serves as a curious coda, a raw and unpolished piece that reinforces the sense of stumbling upon a long-forgotten artifact.

The lyrics throughout D>E>A>T>H>M>E>T>A>L are cryptic, often hard to decipher under layers of lo-fi distortion, but this only enhances their allure. There’s a pervasive sense of youthful angst, nostalgia, and a desire to escape mundane reality in search of something greater. Themes of disconnection, alienation, and longing weave through the album, yet there’s also a sense of warmth and comfort found in these melancholic reflections.

In D>E>A>T>H>M>E>T>A>L, the lyrics hint at existential introspection and the struggle to find meaning, delivered in a way that feels more like fragments of thought than complete narratives. This abstract quality invites listeners to project their own emotions onto the music, allowing the album to become a personal experience. In Laputa, the lyrics seem to reference a distant, unreachable place—both literally and metaphorically—reflecting a yearning for escape and the comfort of nostalgia.

Stabilisers for Big Boys stands out with its almost playful yet poignant lyrics, masking deeper sentiments under a veneer of catchy melody. Sodium Chloride blends its lo-fi rock roots with electronic elements, and the lyrics reflect a similar fusion of melancholy and detachment, evoking a dreamlike state where time seems to blur and emotions are both distant and immediate.

D>E>A>T>H>M>E>T>A>L is a hidden gem in the lo-fi and shoegaze genres, an album that manages to feel both familiar and alien, nostalgic and timeless. Its cult status is well deserved, not just for the music itself, but for the mystery and mythology that surround it—a testament to the power of music to transcend time and place, leaving echoes of its presence long after it was thought lost.