Formed in late 2002 and hailing from the city of Oslo in Norway, Pantheon I is an extreme metal band that combines brutality, aggression and speed with heart-wrenching melancholy. Rather than resorting to the use of synths with string samples, the symphonic aspects of their music are highlighted by the use of the cello. The current, and very sensual, line-up is composed of KVEBEK on guitar and vocals (DEN SAAKALDTE, ex-1349), SAGSTAD on guitar (TROLLFEST, SARKOM), T.R.S. on bass (1349, DEN SAAKALDTE), MADS G on drums (THE ALL SEEING I, ZEENON), and LIVE JULIANNE on cello.
PANTHEON I’s 2003 demo received an excellent response from the metal underground, and was followed by a DIY style 7” in 2004. “Atrocity Divine”, the first full length was released, or should we say “hijacked” by a Japanese underground label. The band themselves don’t even own copies of this album, since the smartass label more or less disappeared, but every once in a while a copy will turn up at concession stands at festivals.
In 2007 PANTHEON I signed to Candlelight Records, and released their second full-length album, “The Wanderer And His Shadow”. The album was released in both the USA and Europe, and received great reviews. Following the release of “The Wanderer And His Shadow”, PANTHEON I focused on taking their fast and brutal music directly to the masses, playing outside of Norway for the first time when they accompanied MAYHEM as the main support band for 8 gigs in France. Since then they have played several one-off gigs, including the Interregnum festival in Germany, and the Jalometalli Festival (with SATYRICON, MAYHEM etc.) in Oulu, Finland. In October 2008 Pantheon I headlined their first tour abroad with a 4 gig mini-tour in Finland
2009 has been an eventful year for PANTEHON I. In January they toured Finland as main support for KEEP OF KALESSIN on a 4-gig tour - which felt like a 4-month tour due to excessive drinking, hotel refurnishing and other drunken games, not to mention man-love on a high level. The week after returning home the band recorded the song “I’ll Come Back As Fire”, which features in the American horror film “Someone’s Knocking At The Door”. They also appeared at the Inferno Festival in Oslo, and wrote and recorded their third full-length album “Worlds I Create” released by Candlelight in July. The motivation behind writing this album? Quite simply to give every religious believer a kick in the groins, and every lover of extreme and melancholic metal a huge boner.
Stay Metal,
PANTHEON I
Upcoming concerts:
September
04 - (NO) Seb..s - Hamar
05 - (NO) Trondheim Scene, Trondheim
10 - (NO) Rock In – Oslo
12 - (NO) RIP – Porsgrunn
18 - (NO) Bizarre – Bergen Fritt Fall-Festivalen
19 - (NO) Hellion – Kopervik
October
16 - (D) Darmstadt @ Steinbruch Theater
17 - (D) Essen @ Turock
18 - (D) Hamburg @ Markthalle
19 - (DK) Copenhagen @ The Rock
20 - (D) Berlin @ K17
21 - (D) Nürnberg @ Z-Bau
22 - (D) Leipzig @ Conne Island
23 - (D) Kassel @ K19
24 - (CZ)Prague @ Exit Chmelnice
25 - (HU) Budapest @ Durer Kert
26 - (AT) Wien @ Arena
27 - (SL) Ljubljana @ Gala Hala
28 - (D) München @ Feierwerk
29 - (IT) Turin @ Spazio 211
30 - (CH) Switzerland Zürich @ Dynamo Werk 21
31 - (FR) Paris @ Glazart
November
01 - (UK) Nottingham @ Rock City
02 - (UK) Manchester @ Moho Live
03 - (UK) London @ Underworld
04 - (IE) Dublin @ Academy 2
05 - (UK) Plymouth @ White Rabbit
06 - (BE) Aarschot @ JH De Klinker
07 - (NL) Rotterdam @ Watt
