Out of Kortrijk, Belgium, Panphobia unleashes its first demo “Fear of Death”. Mister Vanstaevel is the sole member, he is responsible for the massive old school Death Metal sound, plays all instruments, delivers the vokills and wrote the lyrics for this five track demo.
He even found the time to create the outstanding cover art. No zombies, gore and gut, only Anxiety. Anxiety is the main theme on this little jewel. Hyperventilation, insomnia, fear of dying, panic attacks, Mister Vanstaevel handles these themes throughout all the tracks and handles them with empathy. A subject that many people can relate to in these strange and confusing times. “Mental turmoil and soul convulsions, cyclic torments and psychic destruction”, it feels as if these quotes have been taken from the author’s own environment.
First off “Anxious Apnea”, it immediately captures your brain like a rusty fish hook. The drums on this first track produces the same galloping rhythm that Carcass uses on “Necroticism – Descanting the Insalubrious” and “Surgical Steel”. Giving that same rushed, uncomfortable feel to the song. “Insomnia Episode” and “Panic Attack” are two vivacious tracks, keeping you alert and attentive due to varied song structure. “Fear of Death” opens with a menacing riff supported by a grim buzzing bass guitar, it gets your head nodding along immediately. The song structure created by Mister Vanstaevel allows fluent shifts between fast and slow, double bass drum rolls and unsuspected accelerations.
Thank you mister Vanstaevel for this exquisite piece of work, I enjoyed reading the lyrics and connecting them to the music. Looking forward to hear some new tracks. (Franki_boj)
