Panopticon (album)

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Panopticon is the third full-length album by American post-metal band Isis, released by Ipecac Recordings on October 19, 2004. The album's title is derived from philosopher Jeremy Bentham's panopticon prison ideal and philosopher/historian Michel Foucault's later allegorical appropriation of the concept. The liner notes also include quotes from technology writer Howard Rheingold and futurist Alex Steffen; as a concept album, Panopticon's focus is on the proliferation of surveillance technologies throughout modern society and the government's role in that spread. Critical response to Panopticon was generally very warm; as it followed 2002's critically acclaimed Oceanic, many reviewers were quick to hold the two in comparison. The consensus was that Panopticon represented a progression, of sorts. The album's sound continued Isis' departure from the structures of sludge metal – which had been the hallmarks of their earlier material – and continued along the trajectory of post-metal, achieved...

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