Dance Gavin Dance - Pantheon

Dance Gavin Dance
Pantheon
Release Date: September 12th, 2025
Label: Rise Records

At this point in their career, there should be nothing surprising about Dance Gavin Dance releasing a song with the one and only George Clinton called “Space Cow Initiation Ritual”. It is the halfway point of their new album, Pantheon, and it features all the hallmarks of a Dance Gavin Dance - random moments of controlled chaos accentuated by intricate guitar work, vocalist Jon Mess’ screams ranging from rhythmic to emotive, and another new clean vocalist. This time around, the band has recruited Andrew Wells, a long-time touring guitarist for Dance Gavin Dance, moving to official member status in 2021 before making the leap to the center stage upon the departure of longtime vocalist Tillian Pearson during the touring cycle for their previous album, Jackpot Juicer.

With each album - Dance Gavin Dance has released eleven since coming onto the scene with 2007’s Downtown Battle Mountain - the band has managed to release music that is over-the-top, experimental, melodic, and sometimes outright crazy, even developing their own term - “Swancore”, taking the name from founding guitarist Will Swan, meant to nod to his progressive and unique playing style that others have tried to mimic over the years. On Pantheon, Dance Gavin Dance sound more refined than I’ve heard them, with a vocal performance from Wells that rivals some of their best moments as a band. I would put him on par with Jonny Craig, the controversial frontman with the voice of an angel who delivered soulful vocals for the band on Downtown Battle Mountain and its sequel in the early 2000s. While the Sacramento quartet has endured countless lineup changes over the decades, they’ve hit on something quite special with the Pantheon lineup - everything works. The biggest absence, sadly, is that of bassist Tim Feerick, who passed away in 2022.

Throughout thirteen songs, the Swancore metallers navigate their way through progressive rock moments that have become a staple of their sound, funk rock (“Space Cow Initiation Ritual”), a continuation of a long-running “storyline” (“The Robot With Human Hair: Rebirth”), stoner rock with autotuned hip-hop vocals (“The Conqueror Worm”), pop sensibilites (“The Peak of Superstition”), and one of the heavier offerings that I’ve heard from this band in quite some time (“The Stickler”). It feels familiar yet somehow entirely new for this band.

For the first time in a long time, it feels like Dance Gavin Dance doesn’t have a gigantic asterisk hanging over their album release: no questions about member replacements, frontman controversies, or uncertainty about the future. Just a straightforward release of good songs from a band that has been grinding it out on the road and in the studio for the better part of two decades.