Andrew Bonazelli as ‘triumphant’. Reception The critical response to Panopticon was generally very warm; some offered extremely high praise, whilst others deemed it average. Although it was not lambasted by any major publications, several deemed it slightly inferior to Oceanic, released two years previously. As Michael Chamy noted in his review for the Austin Chronicle, it does not "reach the heights or descend to the depths of Oceanic, but it's an amazing journey to a place unlike any other." A Tiny Mix Tapes review agreed, stating that Panopticon "doesn't outshine Oceanic". Detailing this further, a Punknews reviewer noted: “the only flaw that I found in this otherwise exemplary recording was the less engrossing overall structure of the record; while Oceanic was [...] novel like in its structure with each chapter forming an overall arc, Panopticon is more like a series of short stories – disconnected, perhaps – but clearly penned by the same hand.” Others disagreed; Pitchfork's Brandon Stosuy held it to be a “stronger record” than Oceanic. Isis' next album, 2006's In the Absence of Truth, was met rather less fondly by both critics and the band themselves. Reviewers agreed that “those with long attention spans will find [the album] utterly rewarding”; as a Punknews review expounds, "this record demands a great deal from the listener – attention and patience, certainly – those who give it a chance will find a band that is truly special, and manages to consistently exceed expectations." Similarly focusing on the length of the tracks, Brandon Stosuy of Pitchfork Media branded the record "stellar classical music". This contributed to “the record [being] imparted with a completely new melodic sense [making the album] their most friendly and accessible work to date”. Nick Green highlighted "Wills Dissolve" as a standout track, whilst Drowned in Sound's Mike Diver selected "Backlit" and "Altered Course" as “two of the most emotionally engaging rock songs of a decade, or more”. Chamy deemed "Altered Course" “a masterfully constructed glacial flow, with Aaron Harris' heavy drumming keeping the mast pointed through the crushing turbulence”. Opener "So Did We" was deemed, throughout the entire Isis back catalog, “second only in visceral satisfaction to [Celestial's] 'Celestial (The Tower)'”. Dissecting that track further, the Punknews review found that "[t]he structure of repeating themes with an underlying 'storyline' is more like the classical Aristotelean narrative than a song; with no conventional verses, choruses or anything else