siLLy puPPy Out of the many projects that extreme metal veteran Dan Swanö has been involved with over the years, perhaps PAN.THY.MONIUM which was created mysteriously and anonymously was one of the most experimental and fascinating. The project was formed with his elder brother Dag Swanö and Edge Of Sanity member Benny Larson (drums, violin) and some other friends. They all went by pseudonyms in the beginning. Dan Swanö was only 17.

Dan started this project at the age of 17 with some friends and released this demo DAWN which was never released to the public but ultimately blossomed into a veritable side project. While just a virtually rough draft, DAWN created the basic death doom metal sound that would remain the core sound of PAN.THY.MONIUM as the band became more progressive. On this demo however, it’s pretty much straight forward death doom metal which was in its infancy but even at this point Swanö was adding experimental touches most prominent in the eerie atmospheric keyboards.

For a demo this is pretty good even if a tad generic but the production and mixing is above average for a homegrown project of the era and the crushing riffs and hellfire death growls are in perfect form. The atmospheric accoutrements work quite well as they don’t diminish from the brutal heaviness and instead supplement a mood setting dread. One of the few early death doom metal bands to venture into more experimental realms and what a great start right here.

Although this demo was never officially released in its own right, it is available on a physical format on the 2010 vinyl “….Dawn + Dream II” on The Crypt label and again in 2015 on Dark Symphonies on both vinyl and CD. The band would follow up with an EP and three full length albums. One of the most interesting extreme progressive metal bands of the 90s.