For this week’s edition of Receiving the Evcharist, I’m presenting something unique for this column — a concert review! Last weekend I had the utmost pleasure and privilege of traveling to Grand Rapids, Minnesota to see the only North American performance of Panopticon‘s landmark album Roads to the North, in celebration of its 10th anniversary this year. To make the night even more memorable, a collaboration beer between Austin Lunn’s own Hammerheart Brewing Company and show venue Klockow Brewing Company materialized in Chase the Grain. A tremendous night was had by all, so let’s drink from the cup of heresy and dive in to see what it was all about.

The Tunes: Panopticon — Roads to the North 10-Year Anniversary at Klockow Brewing Co.

I’d seen Panopticon perform live at Fire in the Mountains in 2022, but those were acoustic-only performances (not complaining, they were definite highlights of the festival!), so when it was teased on social media last year that there would be Roads to the North anniversary shows happening in 2024 I told myself that I would go to the closest one anywhere in the United States. Turns out the only one was announced, but that gave me the opportunity to travel to Minnesota for the first time since I was three years old! My dad’s side of the family has roots in the state (as that is where a ton of Norwegian immigrants ended up in the 19th century), and I’ve always wanted to visit the state again to see the beauty of the north woods and hear loon calls in person — I managed to experience both of these, the former in abundance. I already talked about how important the album is to me in the Nine Circles ov… Panopticon article Ian and I collaborated on last year, so I won’t go on much more about it other than to say I was BEYOND excited to see one of my favorite albums (perhaps even my #1 on any given day) performed in full live. And boy, did Austin and company not disappoint.

The show took place at the brewery founded in fall 2017 by Panopticon live bassist Andy Klockow and his wife Tasha; I visited the brewery the day before to try out some of the beers (they were all great, Lundr’s (smoked) Lager and Olwyn Celtic Pale Ale in particular) and to scope out the venue. It was a very welcoming atmosphere that didn’t feel anything like the bare bones “warehouse with a bar added” vibe you often get at breweries (here in Southern California at least, gotta imagine it’s a norm nationwide as well), accentuated by the hand-painted mural that covers one of the large walls. The ticket limit was set at about 150, so we were in for a truly intimate performance.

Sioux City, SD post-black metallers Woman is the Earth opened the show, perfectly setting the stage for an intensely heavy night with furious blast beats, an anguished vocal performance, and plenty of space for devastating chugging riffs in between all the trem picking. I hadn’t actually listened to the band prior to this, but I made sure to pick up their most recent album Dust is Forever along with a very cool piece of merch in a pottery mug hand-decorated by one of the members wives; really looking forward to giving that album a proper listen! As great as this performance was, there was one man and one band we were all there to see; once all six members were ready, the stage was bathed in blue light and the howling wolves intro of “Echoes of a Disharmonic Evensong” began.

“Echoes” was what had me instantly hooked on Panopticon in the first place, so the energy in the room was beyond palpable for me at least; once that first melodeath riff about two minutes in hit, I had chills down my spine at the realization that I was actually seeing a Panopticon metal show for the first time. Austin and the rest of the band were in perfect form — special commendation has to be given to drummer Ray Capizzo (currently doing double duty with second guitarist Aaron Charles in Europe, as both are also in tour mates Falls of Rauros for some Scandinavian dates and Fortress Festival in the UK this week) for keeping up with Austin’s tremendous drum performance on the record, and electric violinist Charlie Anderson for rounding out the live lineup of the band with his haunting melodies. When a moment didn’t require any of his playing he made sure to keep up the energy on stage with lots of headbanging. After the one-two punch of “Echoes” and “When Mountains Pierce the Sky” (dedicated to Austin’s wife Bekah) came a moment I was highly anticipating; would the band break out banjo and acoustic guitar for a live rendition of “One Last Fire”? For logistical reasons they did not, instead playing a short, clean interlude before ripping right into “Capricious Miles.”

Acoustic/clean vocal track “Norwegian Nights” did not receive the same treatment, with the audience instead treated to a “doomgaze”(?) rendition that was a heavier version of that released on a pandemic relief fundraiser for musicians in April 2020 — if you missed out on the EP back then, definitely check it out now. After the crushing “In Silence” it was almost time to wrap up Roads with the epic closer “Chase the Grain”; keyboardist and Obsequiae/Majesties phenom Tanner Anderson reprised his howling high-register screams featured on the original album in the section just before the crushing finale which was a great treat as well. I haven’t said much about Austin Lunn so far, but if you know anything about the man it shouldn’t surprise you that he’s far much less of an in your face frontman and mostly just another band member. A band member with incredible playing guitar skills and earth-shattering, roaring vocals of course! It was so great getting to spend ~70 minutes basking in all the talent on display through some of my favorite music ever released.

Before the show I wondered to myself whether or not there would be an encore, and thought the rousing “Into the North Woods” off Autumn Eternal would serve as the perfect closer; my wish was indeed granted, as Austin introduced the song with something along the lines of “for all those who came from near and far, this one’s for you.” The perfect way to end one of the finest sets of heavy metal I’ve ever seen — I expect to be buzzing from this night and my entire experience up in Minnesota for a long time.

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The Booze: Hammerheart Brewing Co./Klockow Brewing Co. — Chase the Grain

Seeing Roads performed in full was already incredibly special, but to make the evening that much better a collaboration beer between Hammerheart and Klockow titled Chase the Grain was available both on tap and in 4-pack pint cans; you know I made sure to hit MN’s legal limit of two 4-packs per person per day to bring as much of this beer home as possible! Featuring artwork courtesy of Austin Lunn (a Hammerheart trademark), this “Northern IPA” features a light hint of smoke and piney spruce tips while still retaining the hop-forward characteristics typical of IPAs. While I did have a couple cups of it at the show and enjoyed it, to be perfectly honest I was so abuzz with anticipation of the coming performance (and the numerous awesome people I had connected with online going back years in some cases, and was finally meeting in person for the first time — you all know who you are!) that I wasn’t able to fully enjoy the beer to its fullest extent. In the comfort of my own home, however, I can say with great confidence that this beer kicks so much ass.

I unfortunately never got to make a pilgrimage to the original Hammerheart taproom in Lino Lakes, but my brother was able to get 4-packs of the last three beers ever produced there while visiting Minneapolis in 2022; those are still three of the best beers I’ve ever had in my entire life. Now that the new brewery-only location of Hammerheart is up and running in the far north of Ely, MN, make sure to get your hands on whatever’s coming out of there if you’re one of the lucky souls within distribution distance. Your mouth and soul will be eternally grateful.

My enjoyment of Chase the Grain is no doubt intimately tied to the entire experience I had last Sunday, but regardless this a damn fine beer made by some damn fine people. Eternal hails to Austin Lunn and everyone else involved with Hammerheart, Klockow, and Panopticon for putting together one of the best shows I have ever experienced.

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In the end, keep my spirit in the mountains
Let my body flow to the sea
Pour my ashes in the river and chase the grain after me

— Colin