There are a few times when a certain act will release any sort of material be it a simple single or an ambitious double album and what feels like the whole fanbase of the style will shake with excitement in response. It feels like every time there’s something new from Panopticon that very situation occurs without fail. It happened last year with the act’s impeccable double album, and it just happened again over the last few days with the surprise release of this delicious new EP that feels like both a continuation yet a solid stand-alone effort when contrasted with “The Scars of Man”.

After coming off a double album that stretched just under two hours long overall with eighteen tracks between the two, it was difficult for some of us to imagine what the excellence of Panopticon would put out next, and his answer with “The Crescendo of Dusk” is possibly the most appropriate thing he could’ve released after such a behemoth. We’ve all known Panopticon to be a band that always gives proper reverence to the great nature in all of its glory, and it’s with these two tracks that the mastermind pays tribute to the unique wonder that are the Northern Lights as they, truly, are proof of gods if there ever were. It’s with the one-two punch of “The Crescendo of Dusk” that we also get to see the two sides of Panopticon unfold before us yet again in the usual exquisite detail. Being taken from the recording sessions of “The Scars of Man”, it’s the first song with its compelling, longing riffs that draw you into the cold majesty as we stare in wonder at colors dance across the night sky with only the chill of the air reminding us of where we are. Then it’s the closer that’s pulled from the recording sessions of “Autumn Eternal” that we get that classic folk side of Panopticon that I prefer just a slight bit more, but the stark contrast is, as always, immensely entertaining when played back to back as the sheer quality of it all is simply second to none in all of the world of black metal.

There’s a reason why Panopticon continues to have its name uttered across the community, and it’s because of stupendous efforts that capture our hearts no matter how monumental or humble they may be. It’s with “The Crescendo of Dusk” that we may not hear more of Panopticon for a little while, but damn if this isn’t a stellar note to leave us on for now.

LISTEN to “The Crescendo of Dusk” on Bandcamp here.

LIKE Panopticon on Facebook here.