Ultar - Pantheon MMXIX

The beauty of the Great Old Ones. 

(Originally submitted to the Metal Archives on January 16th 2022) 

Post-black metal is a genre that has been met with quite a bit of controversy among purists, who have dismissed it as trendy hipster garbage. While that accusation is true to an extent, the marriage of post-rock and black metal can net some surprisingly interesting results, seeing as the two genres do have a tendency to focus on atmospherics. Ultar, and their sophomore Pantheon MMXIX manage to make a case for the style, and show that it can be more than “black metal for people who don’t like black metal”.
While most bands in the style tend to go for long, meandering compositions, Ultar here keeps things compact, and for the most part, succinct. Throughout the album’s 47 minute runtime we are presented with a near-endless stream of tremolo riffing, offset by the band adding a little something to keep things fresh. Whether it’d be an emotive lead like the one at the end of “Father Dagon”, the double-bass infused mid-tempo riffing in “Yog-Sothoth”, or the trickling synths on “Beyond the Wall of Sleep”, the band has plenty of tricks up its sleeve in order to keep things engaging throughout. All that is helped further by the fact that the songs have a clear end goal, and while they do have dense structures, they don’t get lost in their own complexity, always bringing things to a clear end.
Like I said earlier though, things are mostly succinct, and I say that because the band falls in a bit of a rut partway through the album. “Worms” and “Au Seuil” don’t really do much other than pad the album’s runtime out, with the latter in particular being an overlong introduction to “Beyond the Wall of Sleep”. The idea of a tone setter before leading into another song isn’t inherently bad, it doesn’t need to be five and a half minutes long. The same effect could’ve been achieved with a condensed version that progressed a bit faster. “Worms” on the other hand is just boring, and there’s not really much to write about it. The other pieces that surround it are much better (“Au Seuil” notwithstanding), and simply overshadow it.
Production-wise things are much better thankfully. Everything has a crisp and clean sound, with the scintillating tone of the guitars in particular being a standout, putting the “Post-” in “Post-black metal”. It enhances the dreamy tone of the album, which is further propped up by the rumbly bass and the punchy drums. The mixing is all around quite good as well, though things tend to get a little bit muddy during the really fast segments, with the drums overpowering the other instruments.
Last but not least, I feel compelled to mention the vocal performance here. There are a lot of different styles here, ranging from low and mid-ranged growls to piercing shrieks, even including some vocal effects. Coupled with the chants of guest Igor, there’s a very palpable feeling of chaos here, as expected of the band’s lyrical content. Their writings about the Lovecraft mythos, while not particularly groundbreaking, are enhanced by the aforementioned variety in the vocals, and bring to mind the incomprehensible Elder Gods referenced throughout. I’d go so far as to say that these are the album’s defining characteristic, especially when considering the fact that many bands stick to one vocal style at all times.
As a whole, Pantheon MMXIX is a worthy addition to the post-black canon, and is definitely an album that sceptics should look into. It manages to be a distinct entity, while simultaneously adhering to the styles that are at its core. It’s a testament to the genre’s credibility as more than just “black metal for Pitchfork readers”, and helps legitimise it as a branch of black metal, which is more than what most bands occupying this space can say.
Highlights: Father Dagon, Yog-Sothoth, Beyond the Wall of Sleep

Rating: 82%

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