Origin: Louisville, Kentucky, USA  
Genres: Black Metal
Page online: March 31, 2016
Last update/review: December 7, 2023

Panopticon

At first glance it might appear that Panopticon is just another one-man black metal project, notable perhaps as the band/person is from Kentucky. But peel back the layers a bit and one finds there's a lot going on here. Atmospheric black metal is the core, but Austin Lunn (the man doing it all here) also incorporates banjos, flutes, and even touches of bluegrass into the proceedings, thus imbuing songs with a unique take on folk metal. Lyrically there is often a political stance of one form or another comprises (naturally) the Kentucky album, or social injustices on Social Disservices. The album reviewed here, 2012's Roads To The North, truly hits on all cylinders, there is tremendous depth here that, as previously implied, might take a few listens to absorb. There have been several American bands with solid takes on black metal, and Panopticon should be lauded with the best of them.

Recent album: The Rime Of Memory, released on November 29, 2023.

Current Members

Austin Lunn

vocals/all instruments

Former Members/Guests

Jake Quittschreiber

guitars/backing vocals

Andy Klokow

bass/backing vocals

Tanner Anderson

keyboards/backing vocals

Ray Capizzo

drums

Patrick Urban

cello



Discography



Panopticon  
2008
  1. Intro
  2. Flag Burner, Torch Bearer
  3. I, Hedonist
  4. ...Speaking...
  5. The Lay of Grimnir
  6. Archetype
  7. Emma's Song
  • Austin Lunn



Collapse  
2009
  1. The Death of Baldr and the Coming War
  2. Aptrgangr
  3. Merkstave
  4. Idavoll
  • Austin Lunn



... On The Subject Of Mortality  COMPILATION
2010
  1. Living in the Valley of the Shadow of Death
  2. Living Eulogy
  3. To Make an Idol of Our Fear and Call It God
  4. A Message to the Missionary
  5. ...Seeing...
  6. Watching You



Social Disservices  
2011
  1. Resident
  2. Client
  3. Subject
  4. Patient
  • Austin Lunn



Kentucky  
2012
  1. Bernheim Forest in Spring
  2. Bodies Under the Falls
  3. Come All Ye Coal Miners
  4. Black Soot and Red Blood
  5. Which Side Are You On?
  6. Killing the Giants as They Sleep
  7. Black Waters
  8. Kentucky
  • Austin Lunn



Roads To The North  
2014 Bindrune
  1. The Echoes of a Dissonant Evensong
  2. Where Mountains Pierce the Sky
  3. The Long Road Part 1: One Last Fire...
  4. The Long Road Part 2: Capricious Miles
  5. The Long Road Part 3: The Sigh of Summer
  6. Norwegian Nights
  7. ...in Silence
  8. Chase the Grain
  • Austin Lunn



Autumn Eternal  
2015 Bindrune
  1. Tamarack's Gold Returns
  2. Into the North Woods
  3. Autumn Eternal
  4. Oaks Ablaze
  5. Sleep to the Sound of the Waves Crashing
  6. Pale Ghosts
  7. A Superior Lament
  8. The Winds Farewell
  • Austin Lunn



Autumn Eternal  
2015 Bindrune
  1. Tamarack's Gold Returns
  2. Into the North Woods
  3. Autumn Eternal
  4. Oaks Ablaze
  5. Sleep to the Sound of the Waves Crashing
  6. Pale Ghosts
  7. A Superior Lament
  8. The Winds Farewell
  • Austin Lunn



Revisions Of The Past  COMPILATION
2016 Bindrune
  1. Living in the Valley of the Shadow of Death
  2. Living Eulogy
  3. To Make an Idol of Our Fear and Call It God
  4. A Message to the Missionary
  5. ...Seeing...
  6. Watching You
  7. Resident
  8. Client
  9. Subject
  10. Patient



The Scars Of Man On The Once Nameless Wilderness I And II  
2018 Bindrune
  1. Watch the Lights Fade
  2. En Hvit Ravns Død
  3. Blåtimen
  4. Sheep in Wolves Clothing
  5. A Ridge Where the Tall Pines Once Stood
  6. En Generell Avsky
  7. The Singing Wilderness
  8. Snow Burdened Branches
  9. The Moss Beneath the Snow
  10. The Wandering Ghost
  11. Four Walls of Bone
  12. A Cross Abandoned
  13. Beast Rider
  14. Not Much Will Change When I'm Gone
  15. Echoes in the Snow
  16. The Itch
  17. At the Foot of the Mountain
  18. The Devil Walked the Woods
  • Austin Lunn



The Crescendo Of Dusk  EP
2019
  • Austin Lunn



... Scars II (The Basics)  
2019
  1. The Moss Beneath the Snow (the basics)
  2. The Wandering Ghost (the basics)
  3. Four Walls of Bone (the basics)
  4. A Cross Abandoned (the basics)
  5. Beast Rider (the basics)
  6. Not Much Will Change When I'm Gone (the basics)
  7. Echoes In the Snow (the basics)
  8. The Itch (the basics)
  9. (Cowering) At the Foot of the Mountain (the basics)
  10. The Devil Walked the Woods (the basics)
  • Austin Lunn



Beast Rider  EP
2020 independent
  1. Beast Rider (Electric version)
  2. Norwegian Nights (Electric version)
  • Austin Lunn



Live Migration  LIVE
2020 Bindrune
  1. Snow Burdened Branches
  2. Into the North Woods
  3. Capricious Miles
  4. Sheep in Wolves Clothing
  5. En hvit ravns død
  6. En generell avsky
  7. A Superior Lament
  8. Watching You
  9. To Make an Idol of Our Fear and Call It God
  10. Snow Burdened Branches
  11. Into the North Woods
  12. Capricious Miles
  13. Sheep in Wolves Clothing
  14. En hvit Ravns død
  15. En generell avsky
  16. A Superior Lament
  17. Watching You
  18. To Make an Idol of Our Fear and Call It God
  • Austin Lunn
  • Jake Quittschreiber
  • Andy Klokow
  • Tanner Anderson
  • Ray Capizzo



... And Again Into The Light  
2021 Bindrune
  1. ...and Again into the Light
  2. Dead Loons
  3. Rope Burn Exit
  4. A Snowless Winter
  5. Moth Eaten Soul
  6. As Golden Laughter Echoes (Reva's Song)
  7. The Embers at Dawn
  8. Know Hope
  • Austin Lunn



Live In Belgium  LIVE
2022 independent
  1. Echoes in the Snow
  2. Four Walls of Bone
  3. The Pit
  4. Out of this Hole (Chris Knight cover)
  5. Pancho and Lefty (Townes Van Zandt cover)
  6. Not Much Will Change When I'm Gone
  7. Norwegian Nights
  8. Sam Stone (John Prine Cover)
  9. Beast Rider
  10. The Wandering Ghost
  11. (Cowering) At the Foot of the Mountain
  • Austin Lunn
  • Patrick Urban



The End Is Growing Near  EP
2022 Bindrune
  1. Haunted America II
  2. The End Is Growing Near
  • Austin Lunn



The Rime Of Memory  
2023 Bindrune
  1. I erindringens høstlige dysterhet
  2. Winter's Ghost
  3. Cedar Skeletons
  4. An Autumn Storm
  5. Enduring the Snow Drough
  6. The Blue Against the White
  • Austin Lunn




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