DAYS OF JUPITER – Panoptical (ALBUM REVIEW)

Days of Jupiter - Panoptical - Band pic 2018 from FBAlways dreaming and wanting with all my heart to attend a major festival in Europe, I took the plunge in 2013. My victim of choice was the Sweden Rock Festival. Upon viewing the roster I immediately had that “had to go or die” feeling…you know the one! That very first journey, filled with anticipation, nervousness and even a little terror was my first solo concert journey to a foreign speaking country. Now I simply could not imagine not being there! The addiction is fully rooted! During that venture, I discovered several “new to me” bands. Somewhat of a passion of mine, I love the new music discoveries. One of those bands was DAYS OF JUPITER. Now here we are over five years later and the band has recently dropped DAYS OF JUPITERPanoptical.

DAYS OF JUPITER came to fruition in 2010 with Jan Hilli (vocals), Jörgen Hellström (guitar) and drummer Magnus Larsson as the founders. Today it appears that only Hilli and Larsson remain from the inception of DAYS OF JUPITER. The rest of the band currently consists of: Janne Karlsson (bass), Marcus Lindman (guitar), and Johnny Grenwald (guitar). The back catalog features the releases Secrets Brought to Life (2012), Only Ashes Remain (2015), and New Awakening (2017).

DAYS OF JUPITER – Panoptical (Album Review)

Panoptical launches in a big way, charging out of the gates with “Swallow”. The first of the twelve compositions in the nearly hour-long runtime of Panoptical. A melodic, modern sound dominates the listen riding on heavy brow-beating riffs. From there we dive into “We All Die Young”. Its lead riffs are “the stand-up and take notice” kind that draws me right in. Loaded with even more tempo changes than “Swallow” and thunderous drums this one is even a bit thrashy. Great stuff!

Days of Jupiter - PanopticalThings crash forward with more melodic, yet hard rock-tinged tracks “I Am Fuel”, “Why” and “Panoptical”. While strongly composed, neither of these three drives it home for me like the two openers.

Then I am greeted by my complete nemesis…a ballad in “Black Hole”. Personal thing, but I am not a fan of ballads. Following that, even though it’s heavier, “Sons of War”, with a little progressive flare, does not serve to bring me totally back around. I do admittedly get a little lost in the back section of Panoptical. This is not in any way to detract from the sonically awesome sounding tracks, nor the amazing, layered vocals supplied by Hilli.

For me and the straight to my heart style of rock I love, the final two inclusions are the creme of the crop. Both “Nine Tons Of Lies” and “Thieves And Legends” bring it right back for me. I would easily say my favorites of Panoptical.

DAYS OF JUPITER – Panoptical (Conclusions)

Since finding DAYS OF JUPITER, I admittedly lost touch and completely missed the previous two efforts of Only Ashes Remain (2015), and New Awakening (2017). I shall be tracking those down to add to my collection. And although the middle section had me on a bit of a roller coaster, DAYS OF JUPITERPanoptical is a strong fourth effort from these Swedes. The production is crystal clear, all instruments shining through. The vocal delivery of Hilli is another high point. At times rough and gruff, at times forcefully screaming, at times surprisingly tender. I’m not particularly one of those lyric dissecting guys, but another strong suit for DAYS OF JUPITER is the ability to craft poignant messages throughout the songs.

DAYS OF JUPITER at Sweden Rock 2013

During that Sweden Rock experience, I blogged a sort of daily diary of my adventures. Here’s what I wrote back then on the DAYS OF JUPITER set.

Days of Jupiter - Panoptical - SRF 2013 - The Meister3pm-at the Rockklassiker stage Days of Jupiter were already underway and commanding the stage as I approached. Scheduled for a 40-minute set, I was about 10 minutes late in arriving, joining during “Superman”. During song breaks, I can clearly hear the carry-over sound from the Rock Stage as they began “Don’t Let Me Fall” which was followed by band intros. “Crash” was next and I knew the song from the music of theirs that I had been able to purchase prior to leaving Toronto. I first heard a sample of their music on the Sweden Rock website and liked their modern sound and compositions instantly.  It was great to see that there was a decent crowd here considering that they are up against bigger names such as Morgana Lefay and Survivor (where I’m heading shortly) all on different stages at the same time. Still Feel You Breathe” and “Bury Me Alive” closed out the set. Days of Jupiter are part of NEMIS which is an acronym for new music in Sweden and it’s great to see the support for this.

OFFICIAL WEBSITE / FACEBOOK

Cheers,

The Meister

Find more of my album reviews here: Meister Music

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