D>E>A>T>H>M>E>T>A>L is the debut EP of British indie rock band Panchiko. Considered a pre-eminent example of "lostwave", it was recorded and self-released by the band between 1999 and 2000, and contains four songs with a total length of 18 minutes and 33 seconds. The EP was created entirely independently by Panchiko as a demo, and only about 30 copies were made, all of which were burnt onto recordable CDs.[1]
| D>E>A>T>H>M>E>T>A>L | ||||
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| EP by | ||||
| Released | 18 June 2000 | |||
| Recorded | 1999–2000 | |||
| Length | 18:33 | |||
| Label | Self-released | |||
| Producer |
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| Panchiko chronology | ||||
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D>E>A>T>H>M>E>T>A>L would fail to receive any form of mainstream attention, and Panchiko disbanded shortly thereafter. It would remain in obscurity until it was rediscovered by a 4chan user in July 2016, gathering a cult following. The former members of the band reunited and released a remastered version of the album in February 2020.
Background
editPanchiko was formed by a group of high school friends in Nottingham, England in the late 1990s.[2] D>E>A>T>H>M>E>T>A>L was recorded in a band member's bedroom between 1999 and 2000, with use of inexpensive equipment and a digital eight-track recorder.[1][3] After its completion, Panchiko produced around 30 CD copies that were mainly sent to record labels and music reviewers, but the EP received virtually no attention and would fall into irrelevance.[1] The band would later disband, and the members would go on to pursue individual endeavours.
Despite the name, D>E>A>T>H>M>E>T>A>L does not feature death metal music, and sonically, it resembles indie rock or shoegaze,[1][4][5][6] and has inspirations from Radiohead, Nirvana, and Joy Division.[4] Furthermore, it draws on influences from anime and otaku culture.[4] Lead singer Owain Davies has dubbed the EP's sound "weeb Indietronica".[5] The cover of D>E>A>T>H>M>E>T>A>L was taken from a panel of the manga series Mint na Bokura.
4chan post and search
editOn 21 July 2016, a user on 4chan posted a copy of D>E>A>T>H>M>E>T>A>L; the user had found the CD at an Oxfam store in Sherwood, Nottingham. The album, at the time claimed to be somewhat lost media, gained a slight cult following without the members of Panchiko knowing. A search effort for the members of the band was also formed on 4chan.[6] Much of the search and lack of information was due to the members not putting their last names on the back of the album.
On 21 January 2020, a member of the search team successfully located a Facebook profile belonging to Panchiko's lead singer and messaged them, "Hello, you'll probably never read this, but are you the lead singer of Panchiko?" To which Davies replied, "Yeah."[7][1] Davies, now in his late 30s,[8] had been completely unaware of the EP's circulation online.[1][6] He immediately contacted Wright, who was in South Korea; Wright then contacted Ferreday, who was in Cambridge. Neither of them were aware of the band's newfound popularity either.[9] The original drummer John was no longer in contact with the band, and his whereabouts are currently unknown.[9] It is also unclear if he is aware of Panchiko's current status or success.[6]
hey hey
I picked this up because it looked interesting
I wasn't able to find any references to it, online, whatsoever. even with super obscure bands, you might expect to find some an old myspace page or mention in some forum.
does anybody recognise the album?
I half expected it to be noise pop or some vapourwave wankery. listening to it, now, track 1 is like hella lo fi shoegaze with noise panning back and forth.
this isn't some viral marketing bullshit. I'm just curious if anyone can shed some light on it and I'm slightly excited by the prospect of owning a rare album
peace
Critical reception
editD>E>A>T>H>M>E>T>A>L, upon release, was not reviewed by any major music reviewers; the few reviews the EP did receive were "not very positive".[10] The only positive review the EP received upon release was from Simon Williams, owner of London-based record label Fierce Panda.[11]
Reissue and D>E>L>U>X>E>M>E>T>A>L
editOn 16 February 2020, Panchiko released a reissue of the EP with a total of 11 tracks. The reissue featured remastered versions of the original four tracks, three new, unreleased songs from the unreleased EP Kicking Cars, and "R>O>T" versions of the original four songs (versions of the original four tracks with the sound of disc rot). On 2 October 2020, Panchiko released D>E>L>U>X>E>M>E>T>A>L, another reissue; alongside the previously mentioned tracks, it also contained three demos of the songs from Kicking Cars. The first 100 copies of D>E>L>U>X>E>M>E>T>A>L were signed by members of the band.[12]
Track listing
editAll tracks were produced by Andy Wright and Owain Davies.[9]
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "D>E>A>T>H>M>E>T>A>L" | 4:21 |
| 2. | "Stabilisers for Big Boys" | 4:12 |
| 3. | "Laputa" | 2:43 |
| 4. | "The Eyes of Ibad" | 6:57 |
| Total length: | 18:33 | |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 5. | "Cut" | 4:53 |
| 6. | "Sodium Chloride" | 2:43 |
| 7. | "Kicking Cars" | 4:11 |
| 8. | "D>E>A>T>H>M>E>T>A>L (Rot Version)" | 4:20 |
| 9. | "Stabilisers for Big Boys (Rot Version)" | 4:11 |
| 10. | "Laputa (Rot Version)" | 2:44 |
| 11. | "The Eyes of Ibad (Rot Version)" | 7:01 |
| Total length: | 48:17 | |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 8. | "Cut (Demo)" | 4:10 |
| 9. | "Sodium Chloride (Demo)" | 4:18 |
| 10. | "Kicking Cars (Demo)" | 3:46 |
| Total length: | 60:31 | |
Personnel
edit- Owain Davies – vocals, guitar, sampling, engineering, production.
- Andy Wright – guitar, sequencing, sampling, engineering, production
- Shaun Ferreday – bass, bass programming, effects
- John – drums, sequencing
References
edit- ^ a b c d e f "Panchiko Reflect on "D>E>A>T>H>M>E>T>A>L," Lost Y2K Demo Turned Internet Cult Hit". Bandcamp Daily. 18 May 2020. Retrieved 26 September 2024.
- ^ Adame, Oscar (8 December 2020). "El icono Lost Media de Panchiko, la banda más buscada de la Internet" [Panchiko's Lost Media Icon, the Most Wanted Band on the Internet]. WARP Magazine (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 29 December 2022. Retrieved 13 July 2021.
- ^ Sung, Hannah (3 April 2024). "The Resurrection of Panchiko". 34th Street Magazine. Retrieved 13 November 2024.
- ^ a b c DeBello, Sean (27 February 2022). "Panchiko: the internet's greatest music mystery". The Stony Brook Press. Retrieved 26 September 2024.
- ^ a b Machado, Arthur (15 August 2023). "Sonemic Interview: Panchiko". Rate Your Music. Retrieved 13 November 2024.
- ^ a b c d Wilson, Robyn (2 February 2022). "Panchiko: How a Mysterious Shoegaze Album Sparked an Global InterSearch". VICE. Retrieved 30 September 2024.
- ^ Whang, Justin. "Panchiko DEATHMETAL - Tales From the Internet". YouTube. Archived from the original on 7 March 2023. Retrieved 7 March 2023.
- ^ Curran, Caitlin (16 August 2022). "'We didn't even know they were there': the little-known bands finding fans years later". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 7 March 2023. Retrieved 16 August 2022.
- ^ a b c Rioux, Julian. "The Surprising Story of Panchiko". Corduroy Threads Podcast. Archived from the original on 17 July 2020. Retrieved 15 March 2020.
- ^ "Panchiko estrena 'The Death Of' con la última canción que grabaron en 2001" [Panchiko releases 'The Death Of' with the last song they recorded in 2001] (in Spanish). 11 December 2022. Archived from the original on 11 December 2022. Retrieved 30 September 2024.
- ^ Nassiri, Sam (4 May 2023). "Hoe een scholierenbandje uit de nineties een internetobsessie werd" [How a 90s high school band became an internet obsession]. Knack (in Dutch). Retrieved 13 November 2024.
- ^ KITE0080. "D>E>L>U>X>E>M>E>T>A>L - Panchiko (Cassette) - Musics The Hang Up // MTHU". Retrieved 30 September 2024.
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