Wiki
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Release Date
1 January 2004
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Length
7 tracks
Writing for the record began in September 2003, soon after Isis had relocated from Boston to Los Angeles. According to guitarist Mike Gallagher, “we started working on ideas for songs and sounds as individuals, in pairs or as a whole group until we were able to shape the ideas into songs that we were all happy with and could stand behind”. Whilst some tracks originated from "little jams" the band would do at sound check, the majority of the album was created in time dedicated to writing new material. Gallagher adds that “musically speaking, Panopticon came out a couple of ideas that had been kicking around in our heads for some time, but the bulk of it was composed after we decided that it was time to do a new record. The writing process consisted mostly of an individual starting the core of an idea for a song at home then either pairing off with someone else or bringing it to everyone where it was worked on and refined until everyone was satisfied”. According to Jeff Caxide, this process was significantly different from that of previous Isis albums, as “everyone wrote a lot on this record. There is not one song that could be credited to one person”.
According to Turner, the album's inception and sound were organic, rather than engineered: “e were interested in exploring ambient spaces a lot more—and these things tend to dictate a longer structure. It wasn't a conscious decision on our part; I guess it's just the nature of the style we write in.”
After having worked with members of 27 as guest musicians on previous full-length Oceanic, for Panopticon Isis turned to Justin Chancellor, bassist of tour-mates Tool. According to Turner, “he was one of the first names on the list. He's in a band that we all mutually respect and we felt like he was a person that understood what we were doing and could maintain a focus on what we were trying to attain. But he also has some interesting facets of his own musical personality that we thought would blend well with our style.” Wavering Radiant, Isis' 2009 final album, features Adam Jones, also of Tool, as a guest musician.
Recording took place at Paramount Studios, Los Angeles, California, from June to July 2004, with the album being produced by long-time collaborator Matt Bayles. The album saw release in CD format on October 19, 2004, by Ipecac Recordings, whilst vinyl release was handled by Robotic Empire in the United States and Trust No One in Europe. The Japanese edition was handled by Daymare Recordings, who released a special edition with an enhanced video and digipak packaging. It entered the US Billboard Independent Albums chart on November 6 at number 47 and remained there for a week; this represented Isis' first chart exposure in any capacity.
In support of the album's release, Isis toured extensively. Their world tour took in a long stretch in the United States, dates in Australia, a spate in Japan with Converge and Mastodon and a further lengthy spell in Europe. Besides the heavy touring regimen, they also performed at the Los Angeles Museum of Contemporary Art to support an exhibition of 50's and 60's minimalist art.
A music video – Isis' first – was released for the track "In Fiction", directed by Josh Graham and shot during late 2004; the track was not, however, released as a single. The video deals heavily with the album's overarching theme of surveillance, as a young female protagonist flees five faceless observers and the ubiquity of video surveillance. At the close of the video, she transforms into a black miasma, which expands as tendrils grow from the fug. Its feel is described by Lee Wang of PopMatters as utilising a narrative mode similar to the cult 1962 French science fiction movie, La jetée; he also brings attention to the video's blue-and-black palatte, much as is used on the album artwork, "simulating" black-and-white.
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