Confirmed by family on his Facebook page.https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1527GCdQtUr/?mibextid=wwXIfr

"I know someday you'll have a beautiful life, I know you'll be a star in somebody else's sky, but Why? Why? Why can't it be? Oh, can't it be mine?" The way he sings this breaks me every time, and I wondered what you all could add that was comparable

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D>E>A>T>H>M>E>T>A>L

Panchiko (2000)

Written: June 7, 2026

This is one hell of a story. In 2016, a 4chan user found a mysterious CD called D>E>A>T>H>M>E>T>A>L (god this title is a pain to write) in a local shop. This story is long and well documented, so I’ll keep it brief. The point is, the CD was well over fifteen years old at some point, having been released in 2000, yet it sounded like something that would've been released now. Its unique indie vibe was something that was hard to come by in 2000. Funnily enough, the album is not death metal at all, but soft indie rock. And most importantly, it was good enough to prompt a worldwide search. 

The details here get really long. All you need to know is that they were able to find the band's singer, Owain Davies, four years later. He was able to contact an old friend, and put the original D>E>A>T>H>M>E>T>A>L demo online shortly after, as well as three new tracks, “CUT,” “Sodium Chloride,” and “Kicking Cars.” Davies had contacted both Andy Wright and Shaun Ferreday, two original members of the band. Unfortunately, the drummer, John, was out of contact with the other three. Subsequently, they made a full reappearance, releasing Failed at Maths in 2023 and Ginkgo in 2025. A band went from completely unknown in 2000, to a complete revival twenty years later. It’s truly a one-of-a-kind story.

But none of that matters if the music isn’t good, right? Well, you’re in luck. I think D>E>A>T>H>M>E>T>A>L is one of the few works that I can truly call ‘Radiohead-esque.’ It’s pretty clearly influenced and straight up inspired by their sophomore album The Bends, as well as the critically acclaimed OK Computer. While not a lot of their stuff reaches the mind-boggling highs that Radiohead reaches on a track-to-track basis, they do well in their own right. For a completely unknown indie band from 2000, it’s pretty damn good.

With that said, the first track is the title track, “D>E>A>T>H>M>E>T>A>L.” It starts with a warm sample, one that I do not know the origins of. It’s followed by a soft guitar and a shimmering synth. It’s a damn good vibe. The keyboards and vocal sample during the vocal are some of the warmest, most genuine sounds on the record.

“She’s forgotten her car keys
And the flowers for her friends
They say she’s a harpy
But she is on her meds

‘Cause you’re holding onto someone who’s special
Educating someone who’s mental
Giving the fat pigs a facial
We all listen to death metal”

Lyrically, it’s pretty vague. It seems to be about a girl who’s sort of lost her direction in life. She’s forgetting things, running out of things to do, and relying on drugs to get by. Unbeknownst to her, there’s someone out there who holds her in a much higher light than she does. Musically, this song is so simple and just works. It creates this unexplainable vibe, nostalgic and longing at the same time. You know the time’s past, but you still wonder about what could’ve been. It feels lonely and comforting at the same time.

I think my favorite part of the song is the ending. The part where all the instruments fade out, just leaving the same sample from the beginning. Even though it’s the same thing, it feels completely different. It’s nothing short of haunting.

“Stabilisers For Big Boys” is a complete change of pace. It goes from calming, ethereal, and intimate, to an angsty riff-based tune. It starts with powerchord stabs and low-fi percussion. This whole record is lo-fi, really. The songs’ lyrics tell a story of longing.

“Softer, her laughter
Harder, to see her
She scares me, gives me horrors
Follows me with her martyrs

‘Cause you’re half way there
Do you ever care?
Do you ever think?
Suckling on a drink

‘Cause you’re half the way to me
Will you ever see?
Half the way to Earth
Do you feel my worth?”

I love how dynamic this song is. It goes from pure anger, resentment after a rejection in the verse. But when the verse breaks, it’s a vulnerable, desperate chorus. The soft acoustic guitar and the increased audio quality make it feel like we’re taking a breath of air after being underwater. And oftentimes, that’s what it feels like. Accepting that there are still feelings behind a lost-cause relationship is often better than forcing hatred, despite how real the hatred feels. You have to let yourself grieve. This song feels like the step between anger and bargaining during the five stages of grief.

Alright, let’s talk about Radiohead. Their hit song, “Creep,” used four chords throughout the whole song. Those four chords made one of the biggest hits of all time. What if I told you that Panchiko’s “Laputa” used the same chords? To be fair, Radiohead did use the same chord progression as The Hollies’ “Air that I Breathe,” but that doesn’t really matter. What matters is the song.

“Daddy fell into the sun
‘Cause he’s not with anyone
She came falling to screaming skies
The answer’s no, it’s just too high

Laputa was all we knew, and
How we got there, how we flew up
Heaven’s doors are miles away
‘Cause you’re stuck to the ground
You have to stay”

It’s a short and sweet song. It’s also ridiculously simple. It has a repeating piano part that plays throughout the whole song, sort of driving the song like how a montuno on a latin jazz song drives it. It’s not completely indicative of the rhythm, but it determines the feel and the mood of the song. Speaking of mood, it’s sad. At least that much is clear. On the surface level, it’s a song about loss. Losing this person, Laputa, caused great emotional distress for the people in the lyrics. It shows just how much a single person can matter to someone. This song feels like one that could be taken many ways. The lyrics are poetic and vague, offering a lot of different interpretations. Feel free to explore them yourself. [88/10]

The first song on the extended reissue is “CUT.” This is a really weird song. Theoretically, it shouldn’t be that weird. It’s just a couple moving guitar parts and a drumbeat, really. I think it’s a combination of the constantly ascending and descending buzzing sounds, often panned to the left. Additionally, the constant shimmering samples and effects offer a really alienating sound. It almost reminds me of "Subterranean Homesick Alien,” the way it feels extraterrestrial without the need for lyricism describing it. Speaking of lyricism, these are some of the most interesting lyrics out there.

“Faster, the lies to burn the stripes
They forged this heart for you to play the part

Have I been cut again?
Just to dust sweet descent my friend”

It’s a song about betrayal of trust. The metaphor for being lied to by someone you trusted is a backstab, and that’s what this song talks about. A cut. It’s the realization that you can never really trust this person ever again, not truly. It’s a horrible feeling, thinking you found someone that you’d be able to rely on, just to be bitterly disappointed yet again. Manipulation really is a horrible thing. Treating people as pawns to use in your greater game of chess.

Finally, we have “Kicking Cars.” This was the name of the second demo tape that the band put together in 2000, the one that was reissued along with D>E>A>T>H>M>E>T>A>L. Who would’ve known that there was even more music to be found from this band. The song starts with a harsh guitar groove, vamping the same chords with no backbeat. The first verse is just guitars and vocals. This is a pretty common technique, but a damn effective one. I like to call it “solidifying the groove,” though there’s probably a technical term for it that I don’t know. The point is, it’s holding out the drums and rhythm section, so that it has a greater effect when added later. Some of my favorite examples of this are “Bodies Laughing” by The Smile and “Fake Plastic Trees,” of course by Radiohead. 

Lyrically, this song speaks about wasting your life. The night spent kicking cars. It speaks of what you wish you could’ve done with all that time, all the time that you spent on meaningless activities. The time you could’ve spent with the people you love. The time you could’ve spent living.

And analyze your ice-cold eyes
Something in me makes me realize
The things I dream
Are tearing up the structure’s seams”

The song begins in a completely different spot than where it ends. As it progresses, the melodic variation slowly dwindles, until Davies is singing the same melodies and repeating lyrics over and over again. It’s a physical representation of the repetitive, meaningless, and redundant things that people spend their time on, instead of the things that actually matter. Instead of the things that they’d actually wish they’d done later. Eventually this tension breaks as he delivers the line “Who did forget the cigarettes?" for the last time. That might be the best delivery of a single word I’ve ever heard.

1. D>E>A>T>H>M>E>T>A>L: 88/10
2. Stabilisers For Big Boys: 89/100
3. Laputa: 85/10
4. The Eyes of Ibad: 72/10
5. CUT: 86/100
6. Sodium Chloride: 79/100

7. Kicking Cars: 90/100

   Overall: 81/100

Last MTV Unplugged was made in 2022 . And now it’s dead silent for new "unplugged" shows. And some bands sound really get the chance to do one . Green Day , Smashing Pumpkins , Blur , Radiohead , etc. A lot of band would sound magnificent in a full acoustic show. But it doesn’t stop only for rock . Pop , jazz even hip hop could sound good acousticly ( no electronic ). Y’all got some artists/bands in mind that should have got one ?