Panopticon – Joyous Dissent
Since 2007 one-man black metal band Panopticon has been slinging a sledgehammer to the foundation of traditional kvlt stylings and forsaken the simplistic and/or programmed-drums path trodden by most lone BM warriors. With multi-instrumentalist Austin Lunn (also the frontman of new school doom mavens Seidr) at the helm, unusual and sometimes ancient non-electric noisemakers find their way into the mix, while politically-fueled rage and personal reflection replaces the usual Satanic epithets of the genre. With Panopticon one can always expect a wider range of sound and, perhaps, a more poignant approach to lyricism. Amongst an impressive quantity and quality of work over the last five years, 2012 saw the release of the preeminent example of Lunn’s pronounced take on black metal, Kentucky. We reached out to Austin to get his ruminations on everything from bluegrass to being a father, and what follows are the words of a humble yet talented human of whom we will certainly continue to follow as he makes his own mark on the future of metal.
WG: Hello, Austin, and thanks for taking the time to ponder these questions.
Your music and message have affected and reached a lot of people over the years. To those unfamiliar with Panopticon, could you share what the spirit and lyrical motivation driving this band is? Would you consider Panopticon to be your form of activism?
Austin Lunn: First off, I would like to thank you for this interview. This is the last interview I am going to do from the “Kentucky” album cycle, and my last interview that I plan on doing until further notice. I am going to take a break from interviews for a very long long time, hell, maybe even stop doing them. As far as I am concerned, I need to focus on being a better musician and writing the best music I can…so it is very meaningful to go out doing an interview with 2 amazing people that I know personally and enjoy spending time with. Bindrune/Worm Gear is awesome and deserving of more praise than I could ever give, and it fucking means a lot to me that y’all support me. Ultimately Panopticon is a band. Music is entertainment, but I like to think that it is driven by history and my beliefs and values. I had initially started this band in a very reactionary way, as a vehicle for my politics and a creative outlet. As the project has gone on it has become more than that to me. A vehicle for my spiritual exploration, love for history, a cry for social issues, and a glowing neon sign for issues that I think are important. So for me, this project has become more meaningful than just another band I have done…but that is just me. Hell, I am sure half of the folks who have my records don’t have the physical releases, so that basically means they don’t have the lyrics… and it’s sure hard to understand my gargled screaming anyways. So it has multiple levels. It can be music for music’s sake, or it can be concepts and feelings you relate to. It just depends on what you, as a listener, are looking for.
WG: Congratulations on the release and subsequent critical success of Kentucky. It’s a tremendous record, and I garner something new from it after each repeated spin. As your politics and music remain inseparable throughout all your albums, between those two pillars of your art, which typically has the balance of importance and/or focus for you while you are constructing an album?
AL: As I said above, ultimately it is about the music. If I wanted to just talk politics there are plenty of venues for it, and there have been tons of bands that have had a message but slacked on their music. I’m not saying my music is good or anything…that is up to the listener to decide, BUT what I am saying is that I put a lot of heart and effort into the music. Often times, the message does indeed inspire the music, so there is a degree of symbiosis… one hand washes the other, one feeds the other. For instance, “Social Disservices” was a really gnarly and dark album because I knew what I was writing about lyrically as I was composing it, so I tailored the album to the subject matter. That is generally the way I work… long winded and overly drawn out. Hahaha.
WG: When you began Panopticon, did you ever imagine it would have come this far? Knowing that people are indeed listening; does it make you even more conscious about what you put into the message?
AL: Well, first off I didn’t think anyone would care a lick about what I am doing and I am still amazed when I meet folks who care or have been touched by what I am trying to do. Either way, people loving it or hating it, I just figured I’d be one more face in the crowd…which I believe ultimately I am. Lost in a sea of metal bands. There are SO MANY great musicians out there and so many great records to choose from these days.
But to answer the second part of your question… I would do what I am doing for one listener or 100. It isn’t about trying to please anyone, but more so just getting out to avoid exploding. I am very emotionally driven when it comes to music, and that includes my politics, spirituality and my musical pursuits. I also can be an intense person when I don’t have an outlet for that aggression, so in a lot of ways, this project keeps me functional.
WG: Mixing musical styles by utilizing a variety of (as far as black metal is concerned) unorthodox instruments has always been, and continues to be, a tenet of your work. Unlike some who have pushed the boundaries of metal with non-electric accompaniment, your albums retain their cohesiveness. In your opinion, how does one achieve this?
AL: I’m not sure. There have been folks who have said the opposite. I think it is just in the ear of the listener. Generally, I just make the music I would want to hear.
WG: While the use of bluegrass music on Kentucky sits comfortably atop the recording’s black metal foundation; it is the passion within the bluegrass performances themselves that lend credibility to their inclusion on your latest recording. What bluegrass artist and/or album inspired within you the desire to learn the style, and why?
AL: I love a lot of the old guys…Bill Monroe, Earle Scruggs, Ralph Stanley, Walter Hensley, Tater Tate and many more. The folk side of things: Roscoe Holcomb, Doc Watson, Dock Boggs. I love song writers like Townes Van Zandt, Steve Earle, Kris Kristofferson, Blaze Foley. Generally that is the stuff I listen to most right now. I have been really into Kris Kristofferson’s last couple of records recently. They are really moving, personal and super political. A lot of it is that I just love the sound of the banjo and bluegrass. I have gotten so much better at it since Kentucky was recorded…and I have spent so much more time learning other people’s songs. I think there is such power in a well crafted and honest song… be it personal or political. There is power in a song.
WG: Being a proficient multi-instrumentalist, do you feel more of a pull to any one instrument over the other? How long have you been playing? Self taught, or have you had training?
AL: I am self taught at every instrument I play. Drums have always been my primary, but my allegiance changes pretty often. Right now I am spending a lot of time just playing country songs for my son while he is jumping in his bouncy chair. He also likes me to play fast Scruggs style songs on my banjo, which I have been doing a lot…and little mandolin ditties. I tell ya, he must have been a blue grass musician in a former life ‘cos he just goes nuts and laughs his silly little head off when he hears bluegrass. We have recently discovered that he also likes death metal (he likes Gorguts, Sacrilege and Cryptopsy, haha).
WG: It seems like being the only member of this band posses many more challenges when it comes time to record. Having to record every instrument individually yourself, does this make the whole process stressful, or is it even more rewarding when an album is completed?
AL: Well, I don’t look at is as stress. I just get things done as I can and try my best to keep my studio space somewhere that I enjoy working in. Typically it only gets stressful during mixing, but now that I have started to work with Colin Marston (Menegroth the Thousand Caves http://thethousandcaves.com/ ), that makes things easier. He is a better engineer than me by a LONG SHOT, so that alleviates a lot of stress. I can just focus on writing the best songs I can. My earlier records were a little sloppier than the more recent stuff, so I am really focusing on keeping my performances tight, lately.
WG: Staying with this topic, have you ever considered adding members to Panopticon’s ranks? What about live? I know there has been a call from the fans to hear this music in the live medium. Is this at all an important possibility for you when it comes to this project?
AL: Well, if John Kerr would play with me live then it would be something we could talk more seriously about. YOU HEAR THAT JOHN!!
Actually, the next album will have a couple of special people appearing through out the record. There have been some pretty big changes in my life recently and I find it fitting that the next album (which will take a VERY long time to record and will be a more dense and composed body of work than I have done so far) would have some other folks on it. I will still being doing most everything, but I am bringing in a couple of very dear souls to work on the record with me and lend their much admired talents.
WG: Back to Kentucky… on the album’s insert, you mention that the ‘record was inspired by a long hike in the forest about 20 minutes’ from your house, and that you ‘were overcome that day with how beautiful the woods were.’ Can you shed light on what you saw that day along the hike? What specific elements of the natural beauty you witnessed then would later cry for interpretation via Kentucky?
AL: It was just a place I have spent so many days hiking and exploring the woods. That day was just so perfect. I had no idea what was in store for me… becoming a parent and all the many changes that were ahead. Bekah (my wife) and I ran as hard as we could to the top of this big steep hill and looked over the valley when we reached the top, the fresh budding green leaves peering thought the trees, pastel flowers and the sun glistening of the stream below… it was just so perfect. I have spent a lot of time in the mountains, at the gorge, in the forests, in towns and cities, neighborhood bars, back yard fires…there aren’t enough albums in the world to describe the place or my love for it and its people.
WG: And to think that the bountiful inspiration for this album is currently under attack by humanities consumption and reliance on fossil fuels. How has the impact of Mountain Top Removal mining affected Kentucky’s ecology? To those unfamiliar with this technique, could you explain the process? Is there any sort of protest against it?
AL: Mountain top removal is the literal removal of the mountain to access the coal seam. Deep mining is very hazardous to the folks in the mines and also more expensive for the coal companies. Mountain top removal eliminates hundreds of jobs per site and also introduces toxins into the water supply, promotes soil erosion, destroys native species of plants, crumbles the mountain and lets loose a flood of coal slurry. Many forms of cancer and other diseases have a high rate of occurrence in mining areas due to toxins and pollution. The mountains are being crumbled, the water polluted and the people damaged. Coal companies are always on the defensive. Hell, even just in these past weeks the Republicans at it again with The Stop the War on Coal Act, H.R. 3409. It is always something. Mining site areas are among the poorest in the nation…the most polluted and lowest quality of life…and they say it is a war on COAL? How about a war on the environment and workers. A war on the people and a war on the Appalachian Mountains.
Here is a quick excerpt from a news article I read about it. Keep a trash can near by:
“The Stop the War on Coal Act, H.R. 3409, was approved in a 233-175 vote, although as usual, the bill many Democrats described as anti-environmental still found some Democratic support — 19 Democrats voted for it.
The legislation is a combination of five bills that would overturn or prevent an array of regulations that Republicans say would harm the coal industry and the economy. Among other things, it would block the Environmental Protection Agency’s ability to regulate greenhouse gas emissions from power plants and other sources, and prevent rules on the storage and disposal of coal ash and limit Clean Water Act rules.It would also prevent potential Interior Department rules to toughen environmental controls on mountaintop removal coal mining, and thwart other air emissions rules, including air toxics standards for coal-fired power plants.
Republicans say the bill is needed because power companies plan to close some coal-fired plants due to the EPA’s air emissions rules, and because of additional EPA and Interior Department rules affecting coal mining. The GOP says that taken together, the Obama administration’s regulations on the industry amount to a ‘war on coal.’” (taken from http://thehill.com/blogs/floor-action/house/250957-house-approves-coal-deregulation-bill-in-last-act-before-election ).
WG: On the subject of mining, Kentucky features a theme spun throughout about the plight of the minor and their abuse, horrid working conditions and terrible pay at the hands of their employers. What spoke to you about this struggle enough to share it with the listeners of Panopticon? Do you feel that there is a lesson here that modern workers could learn from?
AL: Well, worker conditions and union strength is an issue that is close to my heart and interests due to my political persuasion. Not to be stereotypical, but I fully believe that “the boss needs us, we don’t need the boss”. So for me, it is incredibly moving what happened in eastern KY. There was brutality, blood shed, and horrors…but the people there stood for something, banded together and fought for what they believed in. I think the union struggle of the 30s and 70s is something we can all learn from… take responsibility for ourselves and care for our communities.
WG: Perhaps most important of all, you recently became a father (further congratulations are in order!). When I became a parent myself, my own ‘metal-playing’ inspiration diminished somewhat, while the inspiration to sing silly songs and to make goofy faces increased exponentially. As it is hard to be angry when happy, have you had a similar experience? If not, how do you compartmentalize the disparate, though equally valid feelings?
AL: Well, I draw inspiration from a lot of places.” Kentucky” is a joyous album I think…you can express dissent joyously. Like I said above, I sing a lot of country and bluegrass songs to Hokan. He loves the fast songs, but hell, the first song he EVER heard was “Rake” by Townes Van Zandt… a slow sad song about being a wild young man. As a newborn I would sing him to sleep with my guitar at night. He is precious to me like nothing else in this world, and if there is one thing I could give to him, it would be a love for music of any kind. I just want him to feel music in his heart. To understand how sacred it is. Politics and scene bullshit aside…I am a musician. I am not a politician. I’m not much of a poet. My wife always says the language I speak most fluently is music. It’s true. I am sitting here right now listening to a record that makes me remember traveling over seas. Iit is crazy how music can take me there, make me feel it deep in my chest…and no words can do that to me. Music is fucking magical and I want Hokan to know that same magic and be able to be part of it with his voice and with instruments.
WG: Your fire for creating music seems boundless and Panopticon stands as an impressive body of work with numerous full-length and split releases. Where other solo projects start out strong and lose focus and ideas as they progress, with each release, is seems like you are gaining strength. Are you realizing what you want to do with Panopticon as you continue? Do you think you have hit the creative apex yet with this project? Where do you envision it going?
AL: I once said that I hit my zenith with” Collapse”, standing around a fire drinking with my friend Pat. I am pretty sure he told me to zip it and threatened to kick my ass. Then I put out “On the Subject of Mortality” which means more to me than any release I have done. It is hard to say I have improved or gotten worse, I think I have just gotten different and maybe a bit more honest. With each album I have tackled different issues that draw different feelings and sides of me out to the light. The next album will be completely different. Some folks will be really disappointed. Some folks may really like it. Ultimately, this is something I do to maintain some semblance of sanity…not to sell records or appease anyone. So if they like it, then I am just tickled. If they don’t, that is ok too. I did it because I needed to, not because I needed to make money. I think keeping it honest works for me. I’m a pretty shitty liar…to the point that I always get caught, so I just try to be as honest as I can.
WG: Austin, thanks once more! I’ll leave you with any final words and plugs you may want to make…
AL: Thanks for the interview, again. I would like to say hello to my friends in Falls of Rauros: I miss y’all and hope Maine is lovely this fall. To Chet from Blood of the Black owl: I hope our paths cross soon. To Tanner from Obsequiae: I have enjoyed our hikes in the north woods. To Svante from Seeds In Barren Fields: We miss you! To all of my friends and family in Kentucky: I’ll be home soon. Keep some beer cold for me. And to the folks who care about this project or at least gave me a chance: Thank you so very much.
Excellent interview….interesting mix of topics touched upon.