Formed between 1997 and 1998,[1] the band originally consisted of lead vocalist and guitarist Owain Davies, guitarist/keyboardist Andrew "Andy" Wright, bassist Shaun Ferreday, and a drummer named John.

A year after the revival of Panchiko in 2020, they were joined by guitarist Robert "Rob" Harris and John Schofield, who replaced their original drummer.

[2] The band first received public attention in 2016 when their 2000 demo EP D>E>A>T>H>M>E>T>A>L was discovered by a 4chan user in a charity shop in Sherwood, Nottingham and shared online through the music discussion section of the messageboard; the disc was notably distorted due to disc rot, lending further mystery to the EP, leading to a dedicated cult following and a community devoted to tracking down the band.

[4] Panchiko have since released two compilation albums remastering their older music: a reissue of D>E>A>T>H>M>E>T>A>L combining their first two EPs and Ferric Oxide (Demos 1997-2001).

In December 2021, the band performed their first show in over twenty years in their hometown of Nottingham,[5] after which they embarked on their first tour in the United States.

Davies has stated that otaku culture had an influence on the band's lyrics and image,[11] describing himself to be a fan of anime soundtracks, JRPGs and Studio Ghibli.

[12] The music they made was primarily influenced by Radiohead, Super Furry Animals, Ultrasound, Air, The Beatles, DJ Shadow, Joy Division, New Order, Nirvana, and Kid Loco.

[2][12] After an unsuccessful visit to a studio, Panchiko eventually began to produce music in their basements and bedrooms using cheap equipment.

[12] The cover artwork was taken from a panel of Mint na Bokura, a Japanese manga series by Wataru Yoshizumi spanning from 1997 to 1999.

[4] The music on the EP has been described as emo, industrial, dream pop, psychedelic, shoegaze, trip hop, and vaporwave.

Davies briefly produced electronic music and served as a video jockey at live events in the gaming industry,[4] but he eventually pursued a career in the field of education.

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 peace On 21 July 2016, a copy of Panchiko's EP D>E>A>T>H>M>E>T>A>L was discovered in an Oxfam charity shop by an anonymous user of the online message board 4chan.

[6][17] The liner notes contained only the band members' first names and the EP's year of release,[4] making further investigation difficult.

Shortly after the initial post, multiple requests were made by other board members for the user to upload a ripped copy of the CD.

[4][12] Many maintained the EP to be a hoax, speculating that the initial 4chan post was a publicity stunt,[6] but the band had nonetheless gained a significant cult following without their knowledge.

In 2017, D>E>A>T>H>M>E>T>A>L was further popularized when the rip was uploaded to YouTube,[18][4] garnering around two hundred thousand views and sparking renewed interest in the band, ultimately leading to the formation of a dedicated search effort by fans to gather, compile, and discuss new findings.

[6][12] On 19 January 2020, researchers took note of a bar code on the EP's cover which directed them to an Oxfam shop in Sherwood, Nottingham, leading users to search for musicians in the area named "Owain".

During Wright's restoration efforts, Davies was quoted saying the following: 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.

I think it's what makes it charming today, and that's what people should hold onto and enjoy about the CD.Wright initially struggled to restore the audio because he did not have access to the original masters.

In February 2021, the band released The Death Of, which contains "Infinite Pieces", a track they had stumbled upon by accident after discovering a CD with no label.

On 6 December 2021, they performed their first live show since disbanding at the Metronome venue in their hometown of Nottingham, playing in front of a crowd of around 400 attendees.

Later that year, the band embarked on their first tour, set in the United States[4] and including a performance at the South by Southwest festival in Texas.

[20] 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 20 October 2022.