Features, Print March 21, 2016

The Panoramic– Sacred Anatomy

by Zach Shepherd

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“The main theme that threads itself through the record is the teaching of value,” says Stefan Lopez, frontman of The Panoramic.

Sacred Anatomy, the debut album from The Panoramic, is one of the most intense metal albums Northern Colorado’s music scene has ever seen. With bone-crushing grooves, rigorous guitar leads, a driving rhythm section, and soul splitting vocals with brutality to match, the LP is as ambitious as the men who sought out to create it.

“The most difficult aspect of recording the LP for the band was accepting artistic and musical changes. Our producer, Greg Thomas, essentially reformatted our entire record and pushed us to rewrite aspects of the record that some members of the band had felt comfortable and convicted by,” Lopez continues. Upon listening through the record, it is apparent that this is much more than just another local band. The attention to detail and the ability for members of the band to see past parts they initially wanted in this record only to go above and beyond their own expectations speaks to the professionalism and maturity they hold in regards to their art. “We would start tracking at 2 in the afternoon and go until 2 am everyday,” adds guitarist Austin Garner. “And hearing from Greg that he didn’t like a part we wrote or something needed to be changed was challenging at first. It hurts the ego, but we all knew it was going to happen that way.”

The Panoramic set out to record the LP last July at Silver Bullet Studios in the small town of Burlington, Connecticut. The guys spent two long weeks with studio owner and Producer, Greg Thomas (guitarist of Misery Signals, Shai Halud), vigorously tracking. Upon meeting Greg, the band was pushed with a barrage of challenges not anticipated at first. “We sucked it up and realized the changes that were happening were to benefit the record as a whole piece. It’s frivolous to get caught up in being attached to a single part,” says Garner. Greg exercised the group by making them critically think about parts they originally had written, often times helping them make changes which both pushed them to new levels in their musicianship, and made the record even more exceptional. Lopez goes on, “The finished product was better than we could have hoped for, and the changes were necessary for us to make the best record we could.”

Aside from the incredible amount of precision and production put into the LP, it is clear that this album means so much more to the band and the Northern Colorado music scene. Sacred Anatomy shatters the barrier between the physical being and the soul. With critical yet uplifting lyrics, the LP urges the listener to a new awareness of self-value. “I believe that showing others their importance is possible through our particular infatuation with extreme and brutal metal music,” states Lopez. The dedication put into this album is equally as inspiring.

Garner adds, “The finished product personally showed me what happens when you’re passionate about something and take action and work hard to make that passion a part of your daily life. For the longest time we all sat around and wondered why we weren’t finding success with our music, but we finally realized that the world doesn’t owe us anything. We have to work hard and fight for what we want. No one is going to hand us success. We have to make our own.” The LP is a testament to what can be achieved when one puts everything on the line to fulfil their passions, and is a great inspiration for others in the music scene to do the same.  

Though the release of Sacred Anatomy is a great accomplishment for the band, The Panoramic isn’t stopping there. “We are going to tour, tour, tour, and then tour some more. We are going on a week long west coast run at the end of March,” says Garner. “As far as new material goes, we never stop writing. At our first practice back from the studio we started working on new material, and while in the studio recording this album we were already talking about the next album. We are constantly trying to improve what we do and are always trying to top ourselves.”

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