Unless you’re a geology professor, you’re probably not entirely certain what the word Panthallasa means. And that’s exactly why the Des Moines based, post-metal band of the same name chose it. Founding member G Michael Peter was watching a documentary on plate tectonics when he learned about the super sea called Panthalassa that surrounded the land of Pangea, what scientists call the mega continent that existed before the continents separated into those we know today. “We spell it a little differently for multiple reasons,” Peter says. “There is a Miles Davis remix album of the same name and I adore Miles Davis.” Miles Davis not a name that you would expect to be dropped by a typical hardcore guitarist. But Panthallasa is anything but typical. The band, featuring three electrifying guitars, ranges from atmospheric to completely brutal, sometimes all in the same song. “It’s a name that doesn’t pigeon hole us into a single genre,” Peter says. Indeed, Panthallasa refuses to be pigeon-holed. Dynamic and savage, the band is aggressively indefinable. “When you read the lyrics, they’re, I don’t want to use the word angry,” Peter says. “I think they’re more to the point. Matt (Burkett, guitar/vox) and I are the primary lyric writers and what we have tried to do is make it a little more hopeful than the doom and gloom that is associated with heavy music. It’s an agitated or frustrated reaction to other things, I don’t want to be angry about it. It’s trying to express the fact that you don’t like specific things, wait, that’s almost like saying angry…We‘re not trying to come across as the guys who only wear black t-shirts, or that there is no smiling allowed on stage.” Created in 2013, Panthallasa credits it’s textured and distinctive sound to the influences of jazz and classical music as much as punk, hardcore and metal bands. Bassist Daniel Powel and vocalist/guitarist Matthew Burkett both attended school for classical music. That influence can be seen in writing that is mature and varied. The band’s songs feature more harmony and dynamics than the “post-metal” label would indicate. Drummer Shane Mills brings a combination of jazz schooling and thrash metal to the table. “Shane is a jazz drummer who knows how to hit hard,” Powell says. “He doesn’t just get up there and bash on the drums. He knows how to use different time meters, he’s not over the top, his fills are very tasteful.” Add guitarist (yes, that makes three!) Joe Curry to the mix, and you’ve got an aggressive, but not overwhelming string section. Peter says the old-school thrash-influenced guitarist is a “freakin metronome and never misses a beat. To Panthallasa, finding their own unique, specific sound is more important than fitting into a specific genre. They create heavy elements that are designed to hit listeners emotionally. While some typical post-metal bands might just get on stage and bash on their instruments, Panthallasa focuses on the dynamics of each song. Peter says he is heavily influenced by film scores and tries to incorporate that kind of ebb and flow into his writing. “He writes a lot better than I can and formulates structure very well,” Powell says of Peter, though the entire band gets into the writing process. “You don’t necessarily have to be technically good to write a good tune. Shane, he’s also had a lot of experience playing metal. Thrash is something Shane brings to the table. He’s solid. Original. Always wanting to change something and make something a little bit better. Joe has mad chops. He can play really fast. He makes it look easy. When he writes, the motion is much more perpetual. With G Michael there is a little bit more space. Joe, it feels like he has to fill that up, fill that empty space with some riffage.” With all five band members getting into the song-writing party, one would think that there would be at least a few toes stepped on. But not so, says Peter. “We’ve all played in bands together or spent time together. We already know each others’ strengths and weaknesses. That really helps with the chemistry.” With three guitar players, and Peter adding in some electronic “bloops and bleeps” for even more texture, Panthallasa skirts the edge of overwhelming, staying just this side of falling off the deep end into just noise rock. Somehow, all the elements blend together into a cohesive sound. And despite singer Burkett’s occasional screams, the lyrics are clear and poignant. The band’s sound very specifically ranges from incredibly melodic to ferociously heavy. It has points where it feels like the walls are coming down as well as the occasional two-part harmony. It all adds up to a diverse, unique and emotional listening experience. Panthallasa writes songs that you can make love to, eat dinner to and drive really fast to. And it can all happen in the same song. “It’s not so in-your-face, it’s not going 90 miles an hour the whole time. I think it’ll grab some of the indie kids who have been eyeing metal from across the room and are too afraid to come over and dance,” Peter says.