Review by Adam M on July 18, 2013.

Anciients bring a distinctive new progressive sound to the table. There are definitely hints of Baroness, Mastodon and to a lesser extent Opeth on display, but the band makes a sound that is influenced highly into one that is all their own.

Right from highlight opener 'Raise The Sun' there is a huge amount of energy and the willingness to push into a direction that is unique and colorful. The songs here are more varied and interesting than what Mastodon has done recently and have several nooks and crannies to explore. There is definitely that sludge aspect to the band, but the textures and complexity do recall the best works of band like Opeth and Enslaved. The length of the tracks allows the band to play around and experiment, but the songs do admittedly get a little long at times. The band mixes groove with inventiveness to create a thrilling and appealing new sound.

They are a new band that belongs in the same sentence with some of the greats already and only brighter things can be expected in the future. There is still room for some improvement and tightening of their sound and this will undoubtedly be done soon. This is still one of the more promising new outfits I’ve heard for some time and anyone that enjoys the band that were mentioned here is highly recommended to check them out. "Heart Of Oak" is a classy affair throughout and well worth picking up.

Categorical Rating Breakdown

Musicianship: 9
Atmosphere: 8.5
Production: 9
Originality: 8
Overall: 8.5

Rating: 8.7 out of 10

Review by Fernando on February 28, 2024.

Technical thrash metal is a tricky subgenre to pull off, and more often than not what makes or breaks it tend to be the vocals, now the good part is by virtue of being thrash metal you can sell it with intense and angry yells, but the prog elements make it tricky. Why do I mention this? Because Serbian progressive thrash and heavy metal act Pannox managed to pull prog, classic heavy metal and thrash metal with very interesting vocals for their debut record The Night Of Pan, and without the vocals of Relja Škrbić, the whole project could have either fallen apart, or have had to pivot.

So, how is the vocal style of Relja Škrbić unique, well, for starters his vocals are very suave singing with occasional guttural grunts, but always on a lower register, and yet, his vocals both fit the music and have something of a cool attitude, it’s less Tom Araya or Max Cavalera and more Andrew Eldritch from The Sisters Of Mercy or the more subdued performances of Peter Steele. It's a very unique approach for sure but it works, from beginning to end. With that out of the way, the rest of the band also don’t slouch at all. They have this perfect blend of intense thrash with proggy elements and classic metal groove and swagger, and everything is seamless, more impressively, the band are able to have that prog technicality without devolving into its excesses or drawbacks. Pannox will not waste your time with 10 minute epics or seemingly endless pentatonic solos and whatnot, they get the job done in under 5 minutes and you’re left satisfied.

Furthermore, while the music on The Night Of Pan proudly wears its influences on the sleeves, this record is not just empty worship or a throwback. The overall stylings are rooted in the classics, but the music isn’t beholden to it, this is a very modern sounding record in the best way, while the production does sound a bit too clean in some areas, given how the music is aiming for that soaring and technical quality, the clean production enhances more than it subtracts for the band as a whole. Not to mention how good the instruments, particularly the drums sound, while the music has that modern sheen, the performances are very natural and raw, they don’t sound artificial or doctored in any way, so again, I have to applaud the band’s decision to not indulge into the infamous excesses of modern prog music, like the need for everything to sound abnormally perfect, on time or rigged.

All in all, this is a solid and thoroughly enjoyable album and an impressive display for a new band. They manage to have the classic hallmarks of thrash to please diehards, with a fresh modern take to avoid being another copyist or revivalist band, and the results pretty much speak for themselves.

Rating: 8.5 out of 10