Band: FEED THEM DEATH
Album: Panopticism: Belong/Be Lost
Label: I, Voidhanger Records
Genre: Death/Grind
When I first read that this was an avant-grind record, and that it was based around the idea of a panoptical society, I knew it was going to be weird as hell. If you're not already familiar with the term, a panopticon is basically a jail where all of the inmates can be seen from one centralized watch tower in the center. The idea then of a panoptical society is one where it's citizens are constantly watched (sounds a little 1984-esque).
The lyrical themes also derive from “Discipline and Punish” and “Madness and Civilization” by philosopher and social theorist Michel Foucault. Essentially, it boils down to looking at what civilization has done to the unique and how it has managed to crush down individuality. Focusing on how these individualistic ideals have been forced out and isolated, vocalist and main man behind FEED THEM DEATH, Void howls and screams his way through 36 minutes of this look at the evil side of human nature.
Regardless of the lyrical theme, this record is straight insanity. You have the intensity of grind mixed with the crushing death metal tendencies. Combine those with Void's vocals and mechanical sounds and noises (from Davide Destro), you get one hell of a truly avant-grind record to listen to.
As I am also a sucker for great album art, the haunting visions of crooked scrutiny crafted by Guglielmo Rossi and Bandiera fit the whole theme of the record perfectly.
I'm giving Panopticism: Belong/Be Lost a 8.5/10
There is a hell of a lot of replay-ability in this record, and I'm sure I'll be spinning it for some time to come.