D＞E＞A＞T＞H＞M＞E＞T＞A＞L

The cover artwork for the EP

***D＞E＞A＞T＞H＞M＞E＞T＞A＞L*** is the first EP released by Panchiko, released sometime in mid-June 2000. It was recorded by a teenaged group of childhood friends—lead vocalist and guitarist Owain Davies, guitarist and keyboardist Andy Wright, bassist Shaun Ferreday, and a drummer named John. Roughly 30 copies were self-produced and sent to friends, reviewers, and labels. The EP received lukewarm reception initially, and Panchiko disbanded one year later.

In 2016, a CD copy of the EP was discovered in an Oxfam charity shop in Sherwood, Nottingham. The finder posted a photo of *D＞E＞A＞T＞H＞M＞E＞T＞A＞L* anonymously on the online message board 4chan inquiring about its background. Users were unable to unearth any other details about the release outside of the information found in the liner notes. The audio was ripped and shared to Mega, a filing sharing service, where spectators discovered the audio to be bitcrushed and distorted. Between 2017 and 2019, the audio audio was then uploaded to YouTube, attracting a small community devoted to tracking down Panchiko's band members. A search effort was launched on a Discord server called "Panchikord," where the EP was further analyzed and transcribed.

In 2020, a member of Panchikord located Owain Davies, Panchiko's lead vocalist, on Facebook. Davies then shared the development with Panchiko's guitarist Andy Wright. No one involved with the band was aware of the circulation of *D＞E＞A＞T＞H＞M＞E＞T＞A＞L* on the internet. Wright restored the audio and Panchiko's first two EPs were reissued as a compilation album, also called ***D＞E＞A＞T＞H＞M＞E＞T＞A＞L***. Since then, Panchiko has reformed; they have released other previously unreleased music, they have released newly recorded music, and—due to an increasing fanbase—embarked on their first tour, all as a result of the traction *D＞E＞A＞T＞H＞M＞E＞T＞A＞L* gained over the course of four years.

## *D＞E＞A＞T＞H＞M＞E＞T＞A＞L* (EP)

### Background

Using the money they earned from live performances, Panchiko paid to record demos at a studio, believing that writing original music would help to elevate the band. After an unsuccessful visit to a studio, Panchiko eventually began to produce music in their basements and bedrooms using "cheap equipment."

While recording *D＞E＞A＞T＞H＞M＞E＞T＞A＞L*, the band members were in sixth form and college. Ferreday said that he was balancing college, studying classical guitar, and working different part-time jobs during this time. Davies estimates that the band members were aged 16 and 17 at the time of the EP's recording. He has also stated that *D＞E＞A＞T＞H＞M＞E＞T＞A＞L* was recorded between 1999 and 2000.

Wright served as the group's producer, and much of their music was recorded in Wright's bedroom using a TASCAM digital recorder and Roland Virtual Studio. A DJX keyboard vibraphone was utilized for sampling. Regarding the bass parts, Ferreday said, "I'd meet Owain and Andy in the evenings and discover most of a song had been written and I just had to add in a bassline."

Panchiko created *D＞E＞A＞T＞H＞M＞E＞T＞A＞L* not expecting the music to be listened to by an audience.

### Music

Wright acknowledged that Panchiko did not confine themselves to one genre during the recording process. Nevertheless, the music on the EP has been described as shoegaze, trip hop, emo, indie rock, post-rock, dream pop, industrial, psychedelia, garage punk, lo-fi, and indietronica. Some have compared *D＞E＞A＞T＞H＞M＞E＞T＞A＞L* to vaporwave. The band has described some of their lyrical content as "nerdy."

The songs on the EP contain a number of samples and references:

1. "D＞E＞A＞T＞H＞M＞E＞T＞A＞L," the title track, samples the opening theme for *Dr. Strangelove*, "Theme From the Planets" by Dexter Wansel, and a Sega Saturn *Burning Rangers* game disc being played in a CD player—entailing the error message "don't play the track." The song makes reference of Roy Fokker from the anime *Macross*. Elaborating on the song's title, Davies said, "It seemed a good idea at the time to give it a title that would be the complete opposite of what was going to come out of the speakers."
2. "Stabilisers For Bigs Boys" incorporates elements from "Fame Thing" by Ultrasound and was named after a line from *Scraphead Challenge*.
3. "Laputa" is inspired by the Studio Ghibli anime *Castle in the Sky*.
4. "The Eyes of Ibad," the final track, references the science fiction novel *Dune*.

### Artwork and packaging

> *For more images of the* D＞E＞A＞T＞H＞M＞E＞T＞A＞L *cover, see D＞E＞A＞T＞H＞M＞E＞T＞A＞L cover art gallery.*
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* *Mint na Bokura*, volume 13, page 28
* *Mint na Bokura*, volume 13, page 28 (English translation)
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* Different variations of the front cover, back cover, and liner notes
* The original 4chan image
* Panchiko's second Instagram post
* Notice the squares in the upper left corner.
* High quality alternate cover artwork for the EP *D＞E＞A＞T＞H＞M＞E＞T＞A＞L* (missing the white square)
1/5
The artwork found on the cover of Panchiko's *D＞E＞A＞T＞H＞M＞E＞T＞A＞L* has since become the band's defining iconography. It simply depicts a girl drawn in the style of anime. During the search effort for Panchiko, the girl was eventually identified as Miyu Makimura, a character from *Mint na Bokura*, a Japanese manga series by Wataru Yoshizumi spanning from 1997 to 1999. The panel used for the album cover can be found in the 13th volume of the manga on page 28. In the context of the manga, Miyu is depicted telling another character, Ryuuji Sasa, to "be careful" after he accidentally steps on her foot. When asked about the cover art, Wright elaborated that he "found a nice picture on the internet and then stuck some words on it."

Photos of an early version of the EP were posted to Instagram. The face of Miyu could originally be found on the back, as well. These images also revealed that "D＞E＞A＞T＞H＞M＞E＞T＞A＞L" and "Laputa" were named before "Stabilisers For Big Boys" and "The Eyes of Ibad."

A different character drawn in the style of anime can be found on the back of the EP, however, Davies and Wright are unsure of the image's origin.

Wright used a basic version of Photoshop to create the cover, as well as Microsoft default fonts. He used italicized Haettenschweiler to print the band name and Arial for the album name. In February 2020, an alternate version of the cover art was discovered featuring four differently colored squares arranged diagonally in the upper left corner, or in the words of Wright, "more terrible Photoshop work."

Notably, the EP's liner notes only credit the band members by their first names: Owain, Andy, Shaun, and John.

Wright used a "cheap" Neato CD labelling kit to print labels with his father's printer and adhered them to the discs.

### Release

The EP was released in June 2000. Roughly 30 self-produced copies were burned on CD-R and shared among friends and family, with a few copies being sent to journalists, reviewers, and labels. In return, Panchiko received some "not very positive" reviews, with one suggesting that Davies—the lead singer—be fired. Panchiko only received one response from a label they had sent their EP to, London-based record label Fierce Panda. On November 14, 2000, label owner Simon Williams made the following note in his demo logs documenting his impressions of *D＞E＞A＞T＞H＞M＞E＞T＞A＞L*:

"'*Death Metal', of course, is anything but death metal. Hahaha!! Lovely sweet vocals, then some wiggy wiggy stuff. Needs a bit of va-va-va-voom on the vocals front. Very good letter.? I really like this. It would make my ears stand on end if I heard it on the radio. 'Stabilizers For Big Boys' = great. Swearing + ranting in a very familiar stylee. 'Laputa' is lovely and slow. Bugger knows what they remind me of.*"
— Simon Williams of Fierce Panda (November 14, 2000)

Despite Fierce Panda Records showing some interest, the band ultimately remained unsigned. Davies stated that they did not have the means to perform in London at the time and speculated that "no A&R would travel to Nottingham to see one band."

### Track listing

2. Stabilisers For Big Boys
3. Laputa
4. The Eyes of Ibad
* Format: CD

### Post-release

In the following year, Panchiko would participate in a few more Battle of the Bands competitions and festivals. They also recorded one more EP, called *Kicking Cars*, which would remain unreleased for two decades. About one year after the release of *D＞E＞A＞T＞H＞M＞E＞T＞A＞L*, Panchiko would disband. Wright recalls that this decision was not entirely conscious because he, Wright, and Ferreday were already enrolled in college, while John was enlisted into the British military. After his enlistment, the other three band members lost touch with John; Davies and Ferreday reconnected with Wright on occasion but not with each other.

### Discovery

I picked this up because it looked interesting
I wasn’t able to find any references to it, online, whatsoever. even with super obscure bands, you might expect to find some an old myspace page or mention in some forum.
does anybody recognise the album?
I half expected it to be noise pop or some vapourwave wankery. listening to it, now, track 1 is like hella Wikipedia:lo fi shoegaze with noise panning back and forth.
this isn’t some viral marketing bullshit. I’m just curious if anyone can shed some light on it and I’m slightly excited by the prospect of owning a rare album

#### 2016-2017: *D＞E＞A＞T＞H＞M＞E＞T＞A＞L* is shared on 4chan and gains a cult following

> *For details regarding theories about Panchiko and general skepticism, see Skepticism toward the band and hoax theories.*
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Sometime in 2016, a copy of Panchiko's EP *D＞E＞A＞T＞H＞M＞E＞T＞A＞L* was discovered by an anonymous user of the online message board 4chan. This would mark the first mention of the band on the internet. On July 21, 2016, the user shared three images of the CD to the music board /mu/ and requested assistance in uncovering more information about the band. Unfortunately, the liner notes contained only the band members' first names and the EP's year of release, making further investigation difficult. While the original poster did not specify where they purchased the CD, it could be gauged that the band was from the United Kingdom due to a sticker revealing that the copy had been purchased from an Oxfam charity shop for £0.49.

The same anonymous poster was eventually pressured into ripping and sharing the EP's audio so that other users could listen, which they did online via download links on Mega, but due to the age and deterioration of the CD-R, disc rot had corrupted and heavily distorted the audio, causing effects of bitcrushing and panning. Many users debated whether the distortion was intentional or not, but the effects of the disc rot nonetheless became a staple of the music. The 4chan thread only received moderate attention, and reception of the music was both positive and negative. The original anonymous 4chan poster subsequently disappeared and deleted the photographs they had uploaded; the thread became inactive and expired, but *D＞E＞A＞T＞H＞M＞E＞T＞A＞L* continued to circulate via file sharing websites.

In 2017, *D＞E＞A＞T＞H＞M＞E＞T＞A＞L* gained more popularity when a full rip of the EP was uploaded to YouTube by a user called "Sticki," a 19-year-old from the San Francisco Bay area who had 10,000 subscribers at the time. He was the first person to share the EP to an audience outside of 4chan.

Despite generating considerable interest, no information was uncovered regarding the band and *D＞E＞A＞T＞H＞M＞E＞T＞A＞L* was deemed "lost media." Some believed the EP to be a hoax, speculating that the initial 4chan post was a marketing ploy or publicity stunt, but the band would nonetheless gain a significant cult following without their knowledge.

#### 2019-2020: Panchikord launches a search effort

On August 5, 2019, Sticki re-uploaded *D＞E＞A＞T＞H＞M＞E＞T＞A＞L* to his new YouTube channel, called "dismiss yourself," which served to catalog obscure music. Their re-upload sparked renewed interest in Panchiko and catalyzed the formation of a dedicated search effort on Reddit and Discord.

In August 2019, a moderator of the subreddit r/LostWave—known as "Toad"—discovered and shared Sticki's video. On September 15, 2019, a designated Discord server—officially called "Panchikord"—was established by an Argentinian user known as "Zod." He then posted a link to the Discord server on r/LostWave, capturing the attention of Toad; from there, the two spearheaded a designated search effort for Panchiko using Zod's server. Going forward, Panchikord served as the *de facto* platform and central hub for the community to gather, compile, and discuss their research into the mysteries surrounding Panchiko. It was originally a small-scale effort, with members initially spending hours searching for indie musicians from the United Kingdom who bore the same names as the credited band members. They were spurred on by negative conspiracy theories regarding the EP's authenticity.

On September 16, 2023, members of the search took note of a message within the 4chan thread that read, "I feel like I’ve seen this album before... It didn’t happen to be located in the Southampton Oxfam Music store did it?" On September 20, 2023, Panchikord user Apollo emailed the shop manager of Oxfam Music Southampton; the manager replied two days later, claiming the store had no record of the CD being in their stock.

Of *D＞E＞A＞T＞H＞M＞E＞T＞A＞L*, the members of Panchikord attempted to identify the lyrics, to transcribe the songs into musical notation, and to isolate the vocals from the instrumentals, but the distorted audio stunted their efforts. Much of these efforts were cataloged within a Google Doc. In spite of some setbacks, they successfully traced the EP's cover artwork to the 13th volume of *Mint na Bokura*, a Japanese manga series by Yoshizumi spanning from 1997 to 1999.

Participants of the server then took note of a blurry but legible barcode on the CD—a "gift aid" number—"not an ID for the item, but for the person who gifted it." The numbers read, "20 11800429 1510." However, even if it was to be found in a shop’s stock history, it would be impossible to follow up with the person who donated the CD due to the United Kingdom's privacy laws. This was reconfirmed on November 13, 2023, after Panchikord member Mandapoe messaged the Facebook page of the same Southampton Oxfam Music shop. The manager reasserted that it was not possible to disclose information on donors, but they added that the sticker found on the CD did not have their "shop code" on it. This not only ruled out the Oxfam in Southampton, but it confirmed that the numbers—or "shop code"—found on the sticker in the 4chan image contained valuable information about where it was purchased.

On January 19, 2020, Zod Googled "Oxfam 1510," a search query containing the last four digits of the barcode, yielding the search result "Oxfam Shop — Sherwood, Nottingham, UK," a district of only 15,000 people. Rather than contact the store, the area was instead scoured for musicians named "Owain"—a common name in Wales but not England.

On January 20, 2020, a Panchikord member who previously aided in lyrical transcriptions—known as "Granlar"—posted a link to a Facebook profile belonging to a musician named "Owain." He then promptly left the server without explanation. Toad sent the profile a message which read, "Hello, you’ll probably never read this, but are you the lead singer of Panchiko?" to which the owner of the account replied on the following morning, "Yeah."

On January 21, 2020, during the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, Toad had successfully made contact with Panchiko's lead singer, Owain Davies. Davies, now 38 years old, had been completely unaware of the circulation of *D＞E＞A＞T＞H＞M＞E＞T＞A＞L>* on the internet. At first, he was apprehensive about replying to the message, finding it "random" and "weird," as the band had never released their music to the internet. He then contacted Wright, who was in South Korea; Wright then contacted Ferreday, who was in Cambridge. Neither of them were aware of the band's newfound popularity either.

Overall, the search effort spanned from July 21, 2016 to January 21, 2020, lasting a total of 1,279 days. The original members were 30-40 years old when they were made aware of their growing success. At this point, Ferreday had not spoken to Davies in over ten years. The original drummer, John, is no longer in contact with the band, and his whereabouts are currently unknown. It is also unclear if he is aware of Panchiko's current status or success. The Facebook profile located by Toad is no longer accessible.

## *D＞E＞A＞T＞H＞M＞E＞T＞A＞L* (compilation album)

### Restoring the EP

The Panchikord moderators, Zod and Toad, continued to speak with Davies thereafter, inquiring about a potentially clean copy of *D＞E＞A＞T＞H＞M＞E＞T＞A＞L*, the version online being heavily distorted by disc rot. None of Panchiko's band members possessed a copy of the EP; however, Davies did provide correct song lyrics and divulge previously unknown information to the moderators. (I.e., Panchiko had recorded a second project called *Kicking Cars* and the sample used in "D＞E＞A＞T＞H＞M＞E＞T＞A＞L"—"don't play the track"–was lifted from a Sega Saturn game disc being played in a CD player. He also revealed that the distortion heard in the songs was not deliberate. Wright subsequently created an email and took over correspondence with the moderators.

"*What I find interesting is after listening to many videos on YouTube about the EP, I feel that the degradation of the CD is part of the music now. It is a part of why people enjoy the music. And whilst I try to look for an original copy, I feel like it may take something away from what people found in the music. Maybe it's best left how people found it, as this interesting half-destroyed piece of music from a far-gone era... I think it's what makes it charming today, and that's what people should hold onto and enjoy about the CD.*"
— Owain Davies of Panchiko explains how he feels about the distortion found on *D＞E＞A＞T＞H＞M＞E＞T＞A＞L* (January 25, 2020)

The band members initially preferred the disc rotted version of their EP. They also had reservations about restoring and rereleasing *D＞E＞A＞T＞H＞M＞E＞T＞A＞L*.

Wright, after being contacted by Davies, tasked himself with recovering and remastering Panchiko's past works. He initially struggled to restore the audio because the original masters had since become lost, but he was hopeful that friends or family might be in possession of an original copy. On February 3, 2020, Wright was contacted by a friend in possession of an original copy of the EP, their copy in significantly better condition and without the disc rot. Notably, the copy owned by Wright's friend featured a slightly different design than the cover artwork that had circulated the internet. This version of the cover art featured four differently colored squares arranged in a diagonal pattern in the upper left corner.

Using this copy, Wright managed to remaster the original EP's four tracks by mid-February, along with *Kicking Cars*. To commemorate clean audio being found, Davies, Wright, and Ferreday joined the Panchikord server to conduct Q&A sessions.

### Unmastered tracks

1/2
Wright has provided download codes for the "unmastered" tracks, which are the direct rips of *D＞E＞A＞T＞H＞M＞E＞T＞A＞L* and *Kicking Cars* before any remastering was done. He has been seen providing these codes on Panchikord.

### *D＞E＞A＞T＞H＞M＞E＞T＞A＞L* is reissued as a compilation album

On February 16, 2020, Wright created a Facebook profile and Instagram page for Panchiko. Later that day, *D＞E＞A＞T＞H＞M＞E＞T＞A＞L* was officially reissued through Bandcamp; it had been expanded into a full-length and remastered compilation album. The reissue includes tracks from their previously unreleased EP *Kicking Cars* from 2001, as well as the original "rotted" versions of songs from their first EP. Coinciding with the release, six key contributors of the Panchiko search effort were credited: Apollo, Granlar, Helena, Sticki, Toad, and Zod; a thanks was also extended to Panchiko's "Discord friends"—a reference to the Panchikord server.

The reissue became one of the best-selling albums on Bandcamp on the day of its release, holding the number-two position on the alternative music chart; and in hours, the band had sold out of CDs. Additionally, Wright permitted the owner of "dismiss yourself" to distribute the release on his YouTube channel,ref group="D">Davies directs fans to Sticki's YouTube channel "dismiss yourself."</ref> expanding the band's reach even further. As of April 2023, Sticki's upload of the reissue has over 400,000 views. The compilation album was released to Spotify two months later, accumulating millions of streams.

* Doodle by Owain Davies (1 out of 45 handwritten lyrics in the "Machine Gun Drum" PDF)
* Doodle by Andy Wright (1 out of 45 handwritten lyrics in the "Machine Gun Drum" PDF)
* Doodle by Owain Davies (1 out of 45 handwritten lyrics in the "Machine Gun Drum" PDF)
* Doodle by Andy Wright (1 out of 45 handwritten lyrics in the "Machine Gun Drum" PDF)
* Doodle by Andy Wright (1 out of 45 handwritten lyrics in the "Machine Gun Drum" PDF)
* Doodle by Owain Davies (1 out of 45 handwritten lyrics in the "Machine Gun Drum" PDF)
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On February 28, 2020, Panchiko commenced a limited edition pressing of *D＞E＞A＞T＞H＞M＞E＞T＞A＞L*. 45 buyers were gifted signed copies, various trinkets, a folded print of the cover art on blue paper, a unique piece of paper with handwritten lyrics and doodles, and a download code. The code gave certain fans exclusive access to their new single "Machine Gun Drum" months before its release, as well as a PDF containing all 45 handwritten lyrics and doodles. Of the illustrations, Davies sketched robots while Wright drew giraffes.

After rereleasing *D＞E＞A＞T＞H＞M＞E＞T＞A＞L*, Davies, Wright, and Ferreday worked together to revamp their band, albeit without their original drummer John, who could not be tracked down. Throughout 2020 and 2021, Panchiko issued more unreleased music recorded between 1997 and 2001, as well as new original music. This music was released to streaming services and sold in a variety of physical formats through Bandcamp, including vinyls and cassettes.

In October 2022, Panchiko embarked on their first tour, playing a total of 20 shows set in the United States, including a performance at the South by Southwest festival in Texas. This was the first time any of the members had visited the United States. Supporting acts for this tour included They Are Gutting a Body of Water (TAGABOW), Julie, and Computerwife. During their tour, they released a deluxe pressing called ***D＞E＞L＞U＞X＞E＞M＞E＞T＞A＞L***, which rose to the number two spot on Bandcamp's alternative chart on October 20, 2022. *D＞E＞L＞U＞X＞E＞M＞E＞T＞A＞L* is a vinyl remaster of the content found on the 11-track *D＞E＞A＞T＞H＞M＞E＞T＞A＞L* reissue. It additionally features three demo (or "alternative") versions of the *Kicking Cars* songs. This release totals in 14 tracks.

### Track listing

The track listing of the *D＞E＞A＞T＞H＞M＞E＞T＞A＞L* reissue
2. Stabilisers For Big Boys
3. Laputa
4. The Eyes of Ibad
5. CUT
6. Sodium Chloride
7. Kicking Cars
8. D＞E＞A＞T＞H＞M＞E＞T＞A＞L\_R＞O＞T
9. Stabilisers For Big Boys\_R＞O＞T
10. Laputa\_R＞O＞T
11. The Eyes of Ibad\_R＞O＞T
* Format: Digital download, CD, vinyl, cassette

#### *D＞E＞L＞U＞X＞E＞M＞E＞T＞A＞L*

The track listing of *D＞E＞L＞U＞X＞E＞M＞E＞T＞A＞L*
2. Stabilisers For Big Boys
3. Laputa
4. The Eyes of Ibad
5. CUT
6. Sodium Chloride
7. Kicking Cars
8. CUT (Demo Version 2001)
9. Sodium Chloride (Demo Version 2001)
10. Kicking Cars (Demo Version 2001)
11. D＞E＞A＞T＞H＞M＞E＞T＞A＞L\_R＞O＞T
12. Stabilisers For Big Boys\_R＞O＞T
13. Laputa\_R＞O＞T
14. The Eyes of Ibad\_R＞O＞T
* Format: Digital download, CD, vinyl, cassette

## Critical reception

> *For details regarding theories about Panchiko and general skepticism, see Skepticism toward the band and hoax theories.*
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### Contemporary

> *For contemporary reception of* D＞E＞A＞T＞H＞M＞E＞T＞A＞L*, see Release.*
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### Retrospective

> *For contemporary reception of* D＞E＞A＞T＞H＞M＞E＞T＞A＞L*, see Retrospective reviews of Panchiko and D＞E＞A＞T＞H＞M＞E＞T＞A＞L.*
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## Notes

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Rioux writes, "The current revival of shoegaze type acts gives Panchiko a resurgence in potential popularity as more people become aware of this phenomenon."
2. ↑ Wright believes Panchiko's initial studio recordings to be lost.
3. ↑ Adame writes, "They took the money they'd earned from their first gigs and paid for a recording session after experimenting with a four-channel recorder."
Andy said, "What we wanted was to be famous, but you don't get that playing covers."
4. ↑ Wright said, "I used to have a keyboard called the DJX, and it was this 200-pound instrument that had two seconds of sample memory. So, you had two seconds to sample—that was it."
5. ↑ Wright said, "We were DIY teens. We just wanted to make our record. I don't think we were trying to please anyone. We didn't have an audience in mind, and in doing so, we connected with no audience."
6. ↑ Davies or Wright explained, “We started writing songs with no regard to how they might be received. We were just making what we wanted."
7. ↑ Wright explained, "We were perhaps a bit odd and mixed up a few genres. This might’ve made it a bit difficult to get gigs, as it wasn’t always easy to say what kind of music we played. We were still experimenting and releasing as we went."
8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 Pearis writes, "Panchiko mixed guitars with dreamy electronics for a unique sound somewhere between indie rock, post rock and trip hop."
9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 Semple said, "Panchiko’s original sound was a pastiche of whichever bands the boys liked: a mixture of shoegaze and indie rock influences..."
10. ↑ Davies said, "One of the things that the original fanbase liked was that we wrote lyrics with references to video games or anime—nerdy things which weren't very common."
Wright said, "There's some ambiguity in the lyrics that makes it so we can speak to everyone, not just nerds—but it's more for heartbroken nerds."
11. ↑ Wright said, “I think 'Stabilisers For Big Boys' was named after something we heard in an episode of *Scraphead Challenge*."
12. ↑ "I remember very clearly making the Panchiko demo CDs by hand, one at a time at my parents house, getting frustrated by trying to stick the CD labels on the CD-R. I think the glue on those labels ended up being the cause of the disc rot, which sort of added another level of interest and debate to the whole thing."
13. ↑ Ferreday said, "We didn't have money to promote it. We made 30 copies, sent it to a few labels, a couple of magazines, and we didn't get any responses."
14. ↑ Wright said, "We eventually started entering battle of the band competitions and sending demos to record companies... both of which didn’t go quite as we’d hoped!"
15. ↑ Davies said, "I think we got a few reviews. I remember them not being that great. One really disliked my singing and suggested the band sack the singer!"
16. ↑ Wright said, "I remember the first time we received a reply from a label called Fierce Panda, and I was blown away... He didn’t sign us, but I still occasionally talk to the guy who runs the label."
17. ↑ 17.0 17.1 Wright said, "I don’t think it was a conscious decision. We all left school to join our various 6th forms, colleges, and I believe John the drummer joined the army..."
18. ↑ 18.0 18.1 When asked about the Panchiko members' whereabouts after disbanding, Wright explained, "We’ve all moved on with stuff. We’re tree surgeons, teachers, and engineers... Not really sure where John is. I think he joined the army!"
19. ↑ Of initial reactions the 4chan thread received, Wilson explains, "There was a comparison to 'Bowie pop,' while one user believed the cover was an obscure reference to US hip-hop group Death Grips. Another even offered to buy the EP there and then for £130...
There were queries about the spelling of Panchiko, perhaps an incorrect reference to a popular arcade game in Japan called "Panchiko," which would tie into the manga image on the front cover."
20. ↑ Wilson writes, "Some thought it might be a sound effect, others said it was damaged, a few dismissed it as a bad recording."
21. ↑ Sticki's name is usually formatted with a lowercase "s," as "sticki." His original channel was called "whimee."
22. ↑ Sticki deleted their original channel, however, *D＞E＞A＞T＞H＞M＞E＞T＞A＞L* was subsequently uploaded to their new channel, "dismiss yourself," where it remains today.
23. ↑ Zod was also known as "Zen."
24. ↑ Zod first became aware of Panchiko in June 2019.
25. ↑ Wright said, "The Discord server have been so supportive of the whole project. A fellow called 'Zod' had gone to huge lengths to track us down."
26. ↑ A member of Panchikord said, "There was only a handful of people [in the channel] at that time... There wasn't much information to go on, so we spent hours looking for indie musicians across the UK who shared the same first names."
27. ↑ Davies said, "I woke up one Tuesday morning to a strange message on social media asking me if I was the singer from Panchiko. It was on a music page I had no updated for years. I almost did not answer. Funny how the smallest things can completely change your outlook on life."
28. ↑ Ferreday said, “I was at work when I got a message from Andy saying 'Google Panchiko.' I didn't know what he was referring to, I said, 'What are you talking about? I'm sure there's nothing about it on the Internet,' but I did and it was crazy. There was so much out there about us, I had no idea how they knew so much. The internet was going crazy with conspiracy theories. They said we were Banksy."
29. ↑ Ferreday said, "Before all this happened, I hadn't talked to Owain for ten years, and it wasn't on purpose, it was because life got in the way."
30. ↑ Wright said, "The songs had suffered some nasty deterioration through what sounds like data corruption due to aging and various other factors. Despite the songs being nearly inaudible, I was really happy that some people were into it, and I actually really like the sound of the messed up versions."
31. ↑ When asked about remastering *D＞E＞A＞T＞H＞M＞E＞T＞A＞L*, Wright said, "I work as a mastering engineer, so I couldn’t resist trying to restore and remaster everything."
32. ↑ Wright said, "The EP recording process was a little more tricky 20 years ago... Most of it was hardware-based recording and sampling. A a Roland VS-840 was used for the multi-tracking
33. ↑ Wright said, "[*D＞E＞A＞T＞H＞M＞E＞T＞A＞L*]" was bounced to the VS840, which vanished a long time ago! I will keep asking friends and family for copies and hope that we might be in luck."
34. ↑ Wright said of the *D＞E＞A＞T＞H＞M＞E＞T＞A＞L* reissue, "We can’t believe the response; we sold out of CD’s in a few hours and people from all over the world are listening to Panchiko!"

## References

1. ↑ Discogs listing: limited edition pressing of *D＞E＞A＞T＞H＞M＞E＞T＞A＞L*

### Citations

Articles, documentaries, and interviews:

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 Panchiko: the internet’s greatest music mystery (February 27, 2022).
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 2.7 2.8 Interview with Panchiko (November 24, 2021).
3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 3.7 Panchiko Interview (June 10, 2021).
4. ↑ 4.00 4.01 4.02 4.03 4.04 4.05 4.06 4.07 4.08 4.09 4.10 4.11 4.12 4.13 4.14 4.15 4.16 4.17 The Surprising Story of Panchiko (March 15, 2020).
5. ↑ 5.00 5.01 5.02 5.03 5.04 5.05 5.06 5.07 5.08 5.09 5.10 5.11 5.12 5.13 5.14 5.15 5.16 Panchiko's Lost Media Icon, the Internet's Most Searched Band #BandsYouNeedToKnow (Spanish) (December 8, 2020).
6. ↑ 6.00 6.01 6.02 6.03 6.04 6.05 6.06 6.07 6.08 6.09 6.10 6.11 6.12 6.13 6.14 6.15 6.16 Panchiko Reflect on “D＞E＞A＞T＞H＞M＞E＞T＞A＞L,” Lost Y2K Demo Turned Internet Cult Hit (May 18, 2020).
7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 Gig Review: Panchiko at Metronome (December 8, 2021).
8. ↑ 8.00 8.01 8.02 8.03 8.04 8.05 8.06 8.07 8.08 8.09 8.10 8.11 Spectreview: Panchiko – D＞E＞A＞T＞H＞M＞E＞T＞A＞L (February 25, 2020).
9. ↑ 9.00 9.01 9.02 9.03 9.04 9.05 9.06 9.07 9.08 9.09 9.10 9.11 9.12 9.13 9.14 9.15 9.16 Panchiko and the Power of the Internet: From Message Boards to an International Tour, Two Decades Later (October 9, 2022).
10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 Album Review: D＞E＞A＞T＞H＞M＞E＞T＞A＞L by Panchiko (May 26, 2021).
11. ↑ Panchiko share 1st new single in 20 years, add more US tour dates (March 8, 2023).
12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 12.2 12.3 12.4 12.5 12.6 12.7 12.8 ‘We didn’t even know they were there’: the little-known bands finding fans years later (August 16, 2022).
13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 13.2 13.3 13.4 Panchiko Interview: Emotion is an Art. Mosher's Records (March 19, 2023).
14. ↑ 14.00 14.01 14.02 14.03 14.04 14.05 14.06 14.07 14.08 14.09 14.10 14.11 14.12 14.13 14.14 14.15 14.16 14.17 14.18 14.19 14.20 How Panchiko Made Me Fall For Death Metal (January 3, 2021).
15. ↑ E3 - Liv & Gigi's So-Called Life (Featuring: Panchiko) (February 1, 2022).
16. ↑ 16.0 16.1 16.2 UK cult group Panchiko announce first album in 20 years & North American tour (February 13, 2023).
17. ↑ 17.00 17.01 17.02 17.03 17.04 17.05 17.06 17.07 17.08 17.09 17.10 17.11 17.12 17.13 17.14 17.15 17.16 17.17 17.18 17.19 17.20 17.21 17.22 17.23 17.24 17.25 17.26 17.27 17.28 17.29 17.30 17.31 17.32 17.33 17.34 17.35 17.36 17.37 17.38 17.39 17.40 17.41 17.42 17.43 17.44 4Channer Discovers Mysterious Album, Asks “Who Is Panchiko?” (September 4, 2021).
18. ↑ 18.00 18.01 18.02 18.03 18.04 18.05 18.06 18.07 18.08 18.09 18.10 18.11 18.12 18.13 18.14 18.15 18.16 18.17 18.18 Panchiko: How a Mysterious Shoegaze Album Sparked an Global InterSearch (February 2, 2022).
19. ↑ 19.00 19.01 19.02 19.03 19.04 19.05 19.06 19.07 19.08 19.09 19.10 19.11 19.12 19.13 19.14 19.15 19.16 19.17 19.18 19.19 19.20 19.21 Panchiko DEATHMETAL - Tales From the Internet (February 3, 2023).
20. ↑ 20.00 20.01 20.02 20.03 20.04 20.05 20.06 20.07 20.08 20.09 20.10 Panchiko delve into the widely speculated mysteries surrounding the enigmatic band (December 29, 2021).
21. ↑ Panchiko premieres 'The Death Of' with the last song they recorded in 2001 (Spanish) (February 15, 2021).
22. ↑ 22.0 22.1 How Dismiss Yourself Became a Hub for Internet Weirdness (July 8, 2021).
23. ↑ 23.0 23.1 23.2 Panchiko - A Mysterious CD Found in a Shop (March 18, 2021).
24. ↑ Wet Leg lead new additions to SXSW 2022 line-up (January 27, 2022).
25. ↑ PANCHIKO - “UNTIL I KNOW” (March 30, 2023).

### Miscellaneous

Miscellaneous information compiled by fans:

1. ↑ Battle of the Bands - 2001-2002 (Wolverhampton).
2. ↑ Panchikobin (July 10, 2020).
3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Panchiko - D＞E＞A＞T＞H＞M＞E＞T＞A＞L Lyrics and tabs (September 15, 2019).

### Discord messages

Discord messages left on Panchikord by the band members:

1. ↑ [Discord message] (February 20, 2020). “Most of the lyrics on the Shouty bits were ripped off from the band Ultrasound the song '*fame thing*' go look it up 1998 I think.”
2. ↑ [Discord message] (February 19, 2020). “Oh so the cover... I found a nice picture on the internet and then stuck some words on it and 20 years later everyone’s going crackers."
When asked how he found the image, Wright answered, "I can’t remember, but I think I printed them at my dad's office... I think it was a laser printer or something...”
3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 [Discord message] (February 3, 2020). “A friend of mine sent me this photo... I’ll try and steal it from him soon! Hopefully the audio is okay! ... This version features some even more terrible Photoshop work. My apologies on behalf of 17 year old me.”
4. ↑ [Discord message] (February 3, 2020). “I can’t imagine that I made more than 20/30 copies or so. They weren’t sold, just given out for review, friends and A&R purposes.”
5. ↑ Andy gives out download codes for the "unmastered" tracks on Discord.

### Panchiko sources

Information found on the band's social media:

1. ↑ [Instagram post] (July 16, 2020). “Here’s the evidence of our existence in the year 2000 that you hoax folks never thought would pop up!”
2. ↑ D＞E＞A＞T＞H＞M＞E＞T＞A＞L (February 16, 2020).

### Reference bank

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