Review by Tomek on April 13, 2017.

Sometimes allowing YouTube to play the ‘next play’ band can lead to quite interesting discoveries. Pandorium popped out of nowhere and got me interested, so after a little bit of research - here is what I found out. Four dudes hailing from East Westphalia in Germany recorded a demo called Demolition to get themselves some show-playing opportunities, and when their hard work paid off and interest in the band peaked they decided to record their first album The Human Art Of Depression.  To place those guys in a genre and to let you know what we are dealing with before continuing, I would say that mix of Bay Area thrash with a pinch of melodic death metal, some progressive, some technical and also a dash of middle-eastern spice is what you should expect.

For a debut album this is more than plenty of material. This slab lasts almost 65 minutes! I’ve listened to it more than a few times and the strange thing is that it never seems that long. Songs are well built and so interesting that length of this album does not seem to matter and when the album ends I was getting a feeling of satisfaction. While putting out good quality thrash metal that reminds me of early Testament, these guys also managed to incorporate some progressive twists that bring a kind of intricacy to the fold and make almost every song twice as interesting. Most of the songs have some kind of technical styled sections, some melodic death soloing and/or melodies and there are also the ones that are finished with ethnic or Middle Eastern styled themes done by guitar riffing. Album is divided into sections or chapters called ‘Global Demise’, ‘A Matter Of The Single Constituent’ and ‘The Ray Of Hope’. From what I gather, it’s supposed to show a sequence of evolution of humanity, the vulnerability of men and their obsession for the unobtainable happiness or something along those lines. I’ve been known to misinterpret even the most obvious so you are more than welcome to do some research if you want to find more about it; I opted for spinning the album numerous times since I’m here for the music.

So to sum things up: Pandorium came up with an excellent album and I feel very content with the decision of giving it a go. For all of you out there that enjoy a good thrash full of tasty bits from different spectrums - this album should be on your list.  As for the band, they are working on new album that’s supposed to be out in the near future, there are even samples on their FB page. I can’t wait for the new one.

Rating: 8.5 out of 10