Pentagram

In the metal underground there are few bands more respected than North Virginia's own Pentagram. With a history of recordings and releases all the way back to 1971, multiple break-ups, at least three name changes, and a lineup best described as a revolving door, they really are the little metal band that could. I even consider them the first North American metal band as opposed to the likes of Sir Lord Baltimore who, while predating the band, I count more as hard rock/proto-metal ala Led Zeppelin or Uriah Heep. They are also arguably the first doom metal band assuming of course you don’t consider Black Sabbath as such because you’re a fucking weirdo.

The first noticeable aspect of this album is, of course, the legendary guitar riffing of Victor Griffin. With a guitar tone thicker than concrete and enough doom riffs to make Tony Iommi jealous, there’s not much to say other than “Unga Bunga Me Like Riffs” but god damn the opening of All Your Sins is just too fucking good.

Joe Hasselvander and Martin Swaney compose the rhythm section playing drums and bass respectively and they do a great job. Joe is a great drummer as shown not just by his time in this band but also his 30 year stint in NWOBHM legends Raven. Meanwhile Swaney certainly exists. He’s a bassist, what do you want from me? He gets in, gets the jobs done, and gets out in time for dinner.

However no conversation about Pentagram is complete without the living medical miracle that is Bobby “Fuck Keith Richards, how the hell is this guy not dead?” Liebing. The band’s only constant member, founder, and main creative force. With a Ghoulish stare and a vocal style that’s equal parts Macabre, Sinister, and Relentless he’s one of Metal’s most underrated front men and I hope he lives long enough to make it through the 50th anniversary tour the band are supposedly doing later this year.

The songs themselves are a front to back assault with not a weak track among them, however my personal favorites are Sign of the Wolf, Death Row, and 20 Buck Spin. Honestly at this point Sign of the Wolf has transcended whatever meaning they meant it to have when writing it and now stands as a testament to Bobby as a whole. “A lone soul at night sits and bays at the moon/Though sometimes he's a man it's a Pentagram” and “And to end his life though the silver is old/He will reach his goal by the Pentagram” sums up his career and you can’t convince me otherwise.

Honestly the only two complaints I have with this album are the time in which it was released and that it’s not my favorite Pentagram release, my favorite is actually the First Daze Here compilation, but I’m not gonna hold that second one against this album. The problem is simply that this album was released originally released in 1985. While the band may predate basically any band in the genre not named Black Sabbath, by the time this album finally dropped there were plenty of other bands playing music that they pioneered. NWOBHM doom legends Witchfinder General had already come and gone, Cirith Ungol had dropped King of the Dead a year previous, Saint Vitus would drop their second album the same year as would Trouble, and then Candlemass would put out their genre defining debut the very next year so Relentless just got lost in the mix which is truly a shame. Especially since they easily could’ve beaten them all to market having been originally signed to Colombia records all the way back in the early 70s but that wound up falling through as the label would call them “The hardest band we’ve ever had to work with!” For more context I HIGHLY recommend the Last Daze Here documentary from 2011 where the original member Geof O’Keefe describes the experience. They also got to have a disastrous audition for Paul Stanley and Gene Simmons of Kiss back then just to add to the bad luck.

At the end of the day this is easily one of my favorite albums of all time and I cannot praise it enough. A lightning in a bottle that even the band themselves would fail to recapture on their subsequent, yet still very worthwhile, releases. It belongs in every metal collection. Hell, album closer 20 Buck Spin was influential enough to inspire the name of one of metal’s best underground labels so it’s worth checking out for that if nothing else. Pentagram are eternal and as Bobby says when closing the album “I ain’t got time for a rival, oh no!”

The mid 80s were a pivotal time for D.C. doom masters Pentagram, fronted by no other than the darkly charismatic Bobby Liebling. Despite a smattering of top notch tracks recorded in the 70s with the original line-up, the band remained in the shadows, only finally emerging on the World stage with the release of 2002's quintessential First Daze Here vintage compilation. Nevertheless, a then newly re-grouped line-up comprised of legendary doom metal "electric ax" man Victor Griffin alongside Martin Swaney on bass and heavy metal journeyman Joe Hasselvander on drums unleashed a furious storm of must-have classics, namely the titular 1985 album (re-issued with a differing track order under Peaceville Records in 1993) which I know like the back of my (left) hand, having given it innumerable gleeful spins over the years. Bear with me as I attempt to do it justice without running us "into the ground".

Keep in mind a couple of the more "brooding" tracks forcibly do so with full impact of a stone mallet. Despite their slower tempos, "All My Sins" and "The Ghoul" possess a decidedly sinister and stoic momentum - hypnotic even! - whilst the powerful and ornery revolving riff to "The Deist" has me madly spinning around, its poignant closing guitar solo, notwithstanding. On the whole, despite a murky and swampy production, Griffin's tone is grisly crisp; his leads are downright piercing and exhilarating as many notes are tinged with a diabolically sustained warble - this particular signature is to Pentagram what Tony Iommi's evil and twisted pinkie trilling is to Black Sabbath. In any case, he astoundingly honors the quartet's original bass player turned guitar hero Vincent McAllister, who tragically died of cancer in 2006, departing all too soon at fifty-one years of age.

Every track is killer but wait 'till you hear the "Paranoid"-esque "Sign Of The Wolf", with its hard-driving main riff capped by a slew of exciting hammer-ons and super sinister albeit liberating and soaring leads. Speaking of which, Liebling's vocal delivery here is devastatingly awesome! Get a hold of this rad opening verse:

"A lone soul at night sits and bays at the moon
Though sometimes he's a man it's a Pentagram
Shotgun blasts as he runs with the wind
But he just can't win it's the Pentagram!"

To paraphrase mad_submarine, he truly sounds like a werewolf!

"Relentless" also strongly resonates with me, as it's of the same instantaneously appealing, as well as downright propelling, caliber. In fact, years ago, when I figured it out by ear on my black, battered '79 Westone, it helped me understand my musical limitations and leanings; I knew I'd never become a shred-master, but by golly, from then on I knew where my loyalties lay, and that was no-frills, meat & potatoes doom in this vein. Curiously, "Relentless" is devoid of leads, but trust me, any kind of guitar soloing here would simply detract from the expedient main riff and cranky chromatic bridge's gripping, instant appeal. (If you disagree, I'll wear any dorky hat of your choosing!).

Its not all pure doom and gloom though; "Run My Course" is a kooky admonishing dirge which would sit nicely on First Daze Here among the likes of "Earth Flight" and "Walk In The Blue Light". The second half of the song features a row of strident Banshee sounding guitar squeals giving way to a short but exquisitely phrased blues solo backed by a stocky sliding guitar and bass riff. As well, Liebling duly hits the hammer on the nail at times with his evocative and despondent, rather poetic prose. A prime, gloomy example consists of the wistfully crooning third verse of "Death Row", in addition to the scathingly haunting entirety of "Sinister". Oh, another golden oldie here is the literally and figuratively snappy downwind anthem "You're Lost; I'm Free" . While nothing extraordinary, it's quite a special track all the same thanks to its chillax and liberating, old school flair.

Along with Griffin, the rhythm section bows down to Greg Mayne and Geoff O'Keefe. Granted, Swaney and Hasselvander (who goes on to single-handedly play all the instruments for 1999's Review Your Choices and 2001's Sub-Basement) are definitely way more forceful but then again, you have to remember Pentagram morphed from heavy rock/ proto-metal to straight up "doom", thus establishing the aforementioned hallowed D.C./US East coast doom scene which is slowly but surely taking over the globe! [insert mordant laughter here]. Anyhow, Swaney's bass clings and cloys fast to Griffin's riffs without missing a step; he even goes nuts poking around all over the place on "Dying World", another stand-out track which features the band mates in full tempestuous form.

On this last expect another no-nonsense go getter of a guitar riff which eventually yields an incremental, ramped up bridge which, capped by Liebling's eerily reflective "Is the world near it's end/ My god what's 'round the bend/ Will you fall to your knees and pray/ When hell; it heads your way", dramatically sets the table for an inflamed Griffin who unleashes a veritable mind-bender of a lead break; while it's not his most expressive or colorful outing, does he ever rip! Just when you think he's wrapping up i.e. running out of gas, he simply keeps plowing ahead with a farrago of bends followed by more frantic fret runs thus leaving the listener gasping for breath! This fulminating display of pentatonic acrobatics goes on for ever and brings to mind McAllister's fast n' furious finger work on "Much Too Young To Know" (from the Human Hurricane compilation, which I can't recommend enough as well, along with the aforementioned First Daze Here). "20 Buck Spin" is another lead choked humdinger and most welcome reprise from the early "daze". The ribald lyrics evoke Liebling eschewing a cheap trick in a seedy back alley in favor of classier encounters with the fairer sex - ain't nothing wrong with that!

Whenever I bring up Pentagram and its stupendous (albeit inconsistent) discography, I'm taken for some wanton Devil worshiping yegg but really, it behooves fans of hard n' heavy blues rock/Black Sabbath derivative metal to check 'em out, pronto! Personally, this particular release not only represents the blueprint of my addled youth, but a passionate re-kindling of my love for heavy metal as well.

"Now I don my electric ax
I'm gonna lay you on your back
All psyched up and ready to go
Take you to hell and won't say hello

Walk with me through the black house
What a wild trip You're such a louse
Feel my power as it prevails
As you listen to sinister tales!"

This was the first true doom metal record that I ever owned, and I've played it over and over again ever since. I am not sure what draws me to Relentless. Maybe it's the Ozzy like vocals. Maybe it's the wonderfully fuzzy guitar tone. Or possibly the eerie riffs and lyrics. One is for certain though: It's my favorite doom record of all time. With all of the odd other versions and the ominous cover featuring a Pentagram in the 1993 versions and on, you'll feel this album's sinister power too.

The first thing that comes to mind when I think of Relentless is its magnificent songwriting and arrangements. Songs like "Sign of the Wolf (Pentagram)," "Death Row," "The Ghoul," and "Sinister" although very different, all share the same characteristic: they have stupendous songwriting. The riffs that are used to fill space are played only as necessary, and those that are fantastic are repeated, usually with a nice solo over them.

And speaking of solos, I can never get enough of Victor Griffin's melodic solos. They have an emotion that is attached to them that is very easy to feel. It's one of desperation and strife, but also power and might as well. They along, with Booby Liebling's haunting vocals make up the icing on this metal cake. There is something in the way that he phrases the lyrics in Pentagram lyrics that just gives me the chills. His range in this album is great. He hits high notes with force and the low ones with a evil quality to them. You can find both Liebling and Griffin's best playing/singing in "Sinister" and "Sign of the Wolf (Pentagram)." Bassist Martin Swaney can be heard in this record very well. He doesn't do anything too wacky, but he does his job of being the band's musical muscle very well. Joe Hasselvander was an interesting player on this record. He did his job as a metronome in songs where the guitar was focus, but also beat the tar out of his set in songs like "Dying World" and "Relentless." Overall, this lineup was one that harnessed the power of this band's music.

Pentagram's production had a definite old-school vibe to it. when some say that it sounds dated, I say simply say back to them that they captured a sound of legendary bands like Black Sabbath. Considering that bands who released records in 1985 and the couple of years surrounding it were producing records of a more polished production (Metallica is an example), this was a complete success in reproducing the old-school sound. Also, I could hear every instrument on every track. Sometimes I would have to strain my ear, but at least it was possible.

"Sinister" is in my opinion, the best track of Pentagram. Just listen to it. It reeks of evil and deviant debauchery. After listening to it, you can easily tell that the song is being sung from the perspective of Satan. It features some of the darkest riffs that Swaney and Griffin have to offer and Griffin throws in a melancholy solo to boot. Bobby Liebling and Hasselvander absolutely nailed it on this one. Along with "Sinister" all of this record's songs are original and different from each other. There isn't one bit of filler, which automatically puts my rating for an album in the ninety percent range.

For an album that is so perfect, there isn't much else to say, except listen to this thing. It's an essential for every doom metal fan and a very much recommended listen for those who like metal in general. Die on.

Pentagram are one of the most fucked up bands out there. They never got a break when they should have, then when they resurfaced 10 years after their time they decided to ignore everything that was going on around them and put out - in vastly altered form - the material that should have been so influential to begin with. Regardless of the time gap, Pentagram and Black Sabbath are often seen as revolutionary doom peers and I stake my support firmly with Pentagram's camp as the more interesting band. Notice, I don't say the better band, because I don't really believe that Pentagram are better than Sabbath and I think the right band got the attention. However, that's my preference.

Relentless (I'm reviewing the second version of the release) plays almost like a live album. As soon as 'Death Row' booms abruptly out of the speakers, every note for the next 40 minutes sounds spontaneous, off-the-cuff, and gloriously unprepared. That's one of the best things about this album and it's also one of the worst. It's great because the songs themselves are actually quite simple and would fall flat with a generic performance or studio-rehearsed quality, plus it keeps the excitement high despite the relatively slow pace of the album. In fact, it sounds much faster than any other Pentagram album purely because of the next-room immediacy of the recording, which is a massive plus. However, the live sound also results in an occasionally unbalanced sound, usually in the vocals, which suddenly shriek across the whole band when Bobby Liebling goes for a climactic declaration. It's messy and unprofessional, especially considering that Liebling doesn't have the perfect singing voice, but I suppose it's acceptable given the circumstances.

The instruments individually get a good kick out of the album's sound. Everything is bathed in a grimy, cobwebby film that provides atmosphere at any pace, though doesn't suck the power from anything, except maybe the drums. They come across slightly quiet and boxy, although actually played with a good deal of attack on at least half the songs, with more notes per second than the majority of doom bands, as well as many many fills and variations. Listening to the drums alone, you wouldn't expect this to be a doom metal album at all, but the guitar tone (and tuning hahaha) are nothing but pure doom. Victor Griffin plays down at B and the sound is so wide and warm that the quartet never sound anything less than colossal, even if his style is more akin to hard rock on songs like 'Run My Course' and 'The Deist'. The riffing mostly remains simple, with emphasis on momentum or oppression, depending on the pace of the song; however, Griffin has an ear for a good riff regardless of technical ability and 90% of his contributions sound great, especially because the bass always deploys maximum power on keeping that wall of sound absolutely gigantic. The licks and phrasing of both instruments add a lot of joy and spontaneity to the album, which is its major asset.

The first 5 songs are all incredible doom classics. 'Death Row' just blasts riff after riff after riff at the listener and doesn't let up until it starts to fade out, while 'The Ghoul' is a churning, menacing number that completely lives up to its title. Perhaps the highlight, 'Sign of the Wolf' somehow manages to be a super-catchy 3 minute atmospheric epic with amazing lyrics and a gorgeous key-change in the solo. A few less impressive songs hang about Relentless, like the rather ponderous 'Sinister', which trades Griffin's riffs for menacing chords, plus the slightly plain 'You're Lost, I'm Free' and 'The Deist'. The closing track '20 Buck Spin' has a very lively first minute, but then loses its way, relying on an extended solo for excitement that should sound like Griffin's star moment though in fact is the worst on the album, with no atmosphere and repetitive shredding - a real turn-off to end a great album.

Relentless is a massively flawed and patchy album which shouldn't be anywhere near as enjoyable as it is. Nevertheless, there is just so much character in the performances and such immense quality in the good songs that it weighs the album heavily with the "classic" tag. There are probably 6 classic songs here (the openers, plus 'Dying World') and those inspired performances win the album my love and admiration.

While thrash and death metal ruled in the mid 80s, there was an underground metal scene that went largely unnoticed in comparison: doom metal. In the UK, bands like Witchfinder General and Pagan Altar used the doomier aspects of Black Sabbath's music to create some very good NWOBHM. In the US, there were primarily two bands that would use the dark, heavy elements of Black Sabbath's music to create their very own brand of metal that would become known as doom metal. These bands were Saint Vitus and Pentagram. The latter one had been around for longer, but released their debut album around the same time Saint Vitus did.

Pentagram's self-titled debut album (sometimes known as 'Relentless') is some of the dirtiest and most ass-kicking heavy/doom metal you can find. This particular Pentagram line-up was by far the strongest. Bobby Liebling IS Pentagram. Throughout the years, he has written absurdly many songs; and many of these songs were recorded in their early days in the 70s and almost scored the band a good deal that would most likely had made them a big band a la Black Sabbath. But, Liebling's drug addiction and stubbornness sort of blew it for Pentagram and they would go on without any proper release until the mid 80s, when this gem was finally released.

You can compare Pentagram's debut with Saint Vitus' debut in many ways: it's definitely doom metal. The album artwork is very simple; black and white/grey, the riffs are a mixture of raw, dirty and groovy rockers and slower crawlers, both bands have a solid rhythm section; and certainly the bands have their very own madman singing in the most haunting ways possible. On top of that, the production is similar on these albums: highly unclean! This is a good thing, because it sets the dark and mysterious atmosphere for these obscure (at the time) bands.

The key difference between Pentagram and Saint Vitus are their musical backgrounds (influences). While Black Sabbath are obviously a huge influence on both bands, they borrowed from two different genres. While Saint Vitus' sound was punk-influenced doom metal (Black Flag + Black Sabbath), Pentagram relied more on actual heavy metal (Judas Priest, for instance), as well as the dirty, heavy and down-tuned guitar tone that is often associated with doom metal. Whether this was a sign of Pentagram's instrumentalists being better musicians than Saint Vitus' or if it was simply a matter of taste, I don't know, but Pentagram's axe-man Victor Griffin created some mean, heavy/doom metal riffs and had some great leads/solos, whereas Saint Vitus' Dave Chandler relied on simpler and wilder riffs and solos (like punks do). Joe Hasselvander's drumming is magnificent. It's solid, tight and yet loose, as he's not afraid in throwing in impressive fills and utilize his kit to its fullest. Martin Swaney's bass isn't that audible on this release, but certainly does its job well.

The music on 'Pentagram/Relentless' is varied. There are some traditional heavy metal-inspired doom rockers like "Death Row", "Relentless" and "Dying World" with some lively riffing and up-beat tempo. Other tracks are slow and heavy, and can be considered "true doom", such as "All Your Sins", "The Ghoul" and "Sinister". And then finally, there are some elements of Liebling's earliest influences (Blue Cheer, UFO etc.) on tracks such as "Sign Of The Wolf (Pentagram)" and "20 Buck Spin"; the latter one being a song written by Liebling in the 70s.

The dark, dirty, groovy and of course heavy music on Pentagram's debut is something that is and will continue to be revered among fans of doom metal and probably most heavy metal fans in general. Despite losing out on "the big scene", Pentagram's influence on heavy/doom metal is immense, and is second only to Black Sabbath. And for being such a dirty and evil/mad sounding record, Pentagram's debut is surprisingly accessible thanks to the very decent mix of spices in each song. This is a must-listen to fans of doom metal all over the world.

Pentagram has had some terrible luck over the course of their forty year history. While their influence over doom metal may be second only to Black Sabbath, they will always be remembered as the 70s band who never got their due thanks to the antics of one Bobby Liebling. Hell, their 1985 debut wasn't even intended to be a Pentagram album, as the group of musicians had originally recorded it under the Death Row moniker. Either way, Relentless has become a true classic in the doom metal canon.

Seeing how this was originally recorded as a demo in 1982, it isn't too surprising that this is one of Pentagram's rawest efforts to date. The sound could be compared to Venom's first couple albums in that it has a dirty tone while allowing a balance between instruments. Martin Swaney's bass can barely be heard but Victor Griffin's guitar and Joe Hasselvander's loose drumming set a grim foundation set for Liebling's macabre delivery.

In a strange bit of irony, this fixture of doom is actually one of the band's faster paced albums and largely lacks the 70s flair that they're otherwise famous for. You sure won't find any speed or thrash metal on here, but songs like "The Deist" and the title track seem to take more cues from Judas Priest than Captain Beyond or Blue Cheer. There is also a touch of classic metal influence as a band like Manowar could probably match the gallops on "Death Row" if they took enough downers.

But even if Relentless is one of the band's odd ducks stylistically, it does contain the best songs they ever put out. "All Your Sins" is the quintessential Pentagram anthem as a groovy drum roll gives way to a blistering set of mid-tempo riffs and catchy vocal lines. From there, "Sign of the Wolf (Pentagram)" is an infectious romp and "The Ghoul" offers a percussive yet gloomy taste. 70s diehards will also appreciate the inclusion of "You're Lost, I'm Free" and the classic "20 Buck Spin" though they don't quite the same power as the tracks before them.

It may have taken forever for Pentagram to get its first full-length album out there, but the result is worthy of its legendary status. It may not be the band's best album, but it is one of their strongest and truly showcases their lineup at its best as a unit. The albums Saint Vitus and Candlemass released around the time may be better examples of 80s doom as we know it, but this one is essential listening.

Highlights:
"Death Row," "All Your Sins," "Sign of the Wolf (Pentagram)," "The Ghoul," and "The Deist"

Originally published at http://psychicshorts.blogspot.com

What would have been considered traditional heavy metal in 1985 was simply not cool. Black Sabbath at that point had been reduced to a solo project with Iommi politely trying to accommodate the more up tempo and cleanly landscape of the day. Those metal bands who played in the vein of albums like Vol. 4 or Sad Wings of Destiny were an unwanted few. The mighty Pentagram's Relentless is a fine slab of heavy metal played by some of the progenitors of the genre. And the title of the record is absolutely apropos, for relentless it is from top to bottom. It's not full blown doom, with the majority of the songs on the fast-ish side, but it is 100% heavy fuckin metal.

"Death Row" sets the eerie and foreboding tone of Relentless with its stomping riffage and the demonic voice of the madman, Bobby Leibling. This record certainly has moments of bone-crushing doom, with the likes of "Sinister," and the masterpiece that is "All Your Sins." Goddamn, the drum fill that cracks that song into being is just fuckin bestial, and some of the undeniably heaviest riffs ever written can be found here. This is definitely one of the stand-out selections in all of Pentagram's vast catalogue, and a true gem of the doom metal genre. And let's not forget the moribund plodding of "The Goul." Leibling's demented vocal delivery will make you believe that he is not among the living, for the ghoul he shall forever be.

The title track of this record is one of the fast songs that will stick in your brain. That riff is smokin' and one of Griffin's finest conceptions. They drop it to half time for the verses, with some of the Gram's best lyrics on offer:

"Now I don my electric axe
I'm gonna lay you on your back
All psyched up and ready to go
Take you to hell and won't say hello."

What I like best about Relentless and Day Of Reckoning is the production. It sounds like they brought Rodger Bain out of retirement to get that compressed, crushed under the weight of the ocean Master of Reality guitar tone. The bass is clearly represented and Swaney's adventurous style definitely calls to mind a certain old Geezer. Joe Hasselvander's drums are bad ass. He's a very tasteful and creative player who knows exactly how to accent and color the songs by opening or closing the hi-hats when called for and he never wanks with his fills. Quite an underrated dude I must say.

Though there are a couple of songs here that are a tad forgetable, it's forgiveable considering it took these guys like 15 years to do a proper LP. And when it finally arrived the most popular metal was pretty black and white: either thrash or glam; there was no margin for the Sabbathian except for the darkened lairs of the long haired stoned out weirdos who worshipped at the altar of the archaic.

In the words of Wino, "Bobby was the first." What I'd like to think he means by that is Bobby Leibling was the first American to truly "get it" as far as concerns the heavy metal ethos that was spawned in England. Relentless is the first of a triumvirate of albums recorded by one of America's very first heavy metal bands. If the refrain of "You can never win/pay for all your sins" isn't scorched into your brain upon first listen, then I can't help you.

'Relentless' is one of these records that you hardly find words for, yet at the same time the urge to express your feelings about it is uncontrollable, because it is just so damn special. For my biggest shame, I heard about it a lot later than other doom classics. I couldn't believe that I've missed such music by the second minute of the opener 'Death row'. Anyway, when I did hear it, my heart instantly started to beat with its frequency and I think it will for years on.

To start with, this release gathers in itself everything that heavy metal (being doom or not) should strive for. It is absolutely honest, angry, H E A V Y, dark and what is most important for me - it really makes you feel free. I know that many people compare it to Black Sabbath's debut - you can almost never read something about 'Relentless' without seeing the former name written at least a hundred times. Well, I can see where this comes from - both Sabbath and Pentagram are bands from the 70s and this type of songwriting was too heavy for their time. But while on the debut of Sabbath there are really slow-paced songs like 'Black Sabbath' almost doom metal as we see it these days, on 'Relentless' most songs are rather dynamic and don't vary so much in tempo. Also, while BS have this mythical, even folk feeling to some songs, I don't really hear this on 'Relentless' - in that sense Pentagram are heavier and angrier. I almost always feel as if the songs are sang by a werewolf.

On the part of the vocals - they are clear, very hetero sounding and at the right pitch at all times. I think that this is how a male doom vocalist should do it. There are some really great bands in this genre that produce excellent music, but quite often their vocalist sounds too power. As much as I like Candlemass's riffs and harmonies, there are some albums I can't really enjoy because of Messiah Marcolin. So, the whole theatrical thing with the singing is missing here, thankfully. On the contrary, I think that Bobby Liebling's screams are absolutely unmatched. And since I mentioned the feeling of freedom in the first paragraph, maybe I should say where it comes from - the vocals. And who might present it in a better way? The lyrics, of course:

'A lone soul at night sits and bays at the moon
Though sometimes he's a man it's a Pentagram
Shotgun blasts as he runs with the wind
But he just can't win it's the Pentagram'

At certain times I can picture myself walking across a desolete and empty road, surrounded only by trees and the full moon. I guess this is what makes me love 'Relentless' so - its atmosphere is totally haunting.

The riffs and the downtuned guitars is what makes this album so damn great and memorable. While these days most riffs are written in one way or another - in 'Relentless' you can hear diverse and remarkable riffing. Also, the fact that so many bands try to copy this sound is one more evidence that it was something innovative and revolutionary (the down tuning in particular). And what makes records more evil if not downtuning and HEAVY crusty bass. Hell yeah. About the soloes - there are so many great ones here. The crushing soloes in songs like "Dying world" and "20 buck spin" add for the excellence of this release. Because you can never have a high quality doom release without the harmonies which make you shake your head crazily in the end.

Whoever has not yet listening to 'Relentless' yet, you should correct this mistake right now. For the others who are already enchanted by the magic - cheers, brothers!

Pentagram are in many respects the real heavy metal underground band. I look back at when they formed. 1971. Wow. Nixon was still serving his first term up the road in D.C. when this Virginia band got together. And yet here they are still playing the same type of heavy metal alongside other underground bands with members that weren't even born when the band was already a veteran of the bar and club circuit. Nor are they much more well known than some of those bands they sometimes even support(and have sold less records too). They've gotten more recognition in the last dozen years, sure. But then again, many "underground" bands have because of the internet. Pentagram has played Wacken and Maryland Deathfest in recent years but they were not a main stage act in either event. Yep, they have more service time than you can shake a stick at. They're just so..Relentless.

These guys are a live band through and through. And 1985 was when they finally decided to go into the studio and record all that material they've been performing on the road. It's common knowledge in the metal world that Pentagram are one of the premier Black Sabbath "rip-offs". What was once a rip-off is now its own subgenre: doom metal. The Relentless album lives up to that doominess. There's a sobering angst and cynicism felt in the lyrics backed up by Victor Griffith's moody minor-key riffing. The guitar intonation is a constant breeze of malaise throughout from song one to the end. Pentagram knows their source material/inspiration well. Death Row(the first track) begins with that tried and true doom hook of having an upper tempo riff compared to many of the following songs. Yet compared to Born Too Late or Witchfinder General's Death Penalty, I realized that Pentagram are actually more uptempo on average. Bobby Liebling's singing is more elemental and less imitative of John "Ozzy" Osbourne compared to many of the others but the token impressionism of Ozzy's style is of course still there nevertheless. But anyone who has listened to enough early heavy music will pick up on the fact that Liebling also sounds a lot like Dickie Peterson from Blue Cheer.

While I admire what is played on Relentless, the cavil with the album would be that it's not as good as Day of Reckoning. Relentless does have slowed down drifts of doom tracks and those-while good-seem too standard and lost in the shuffle. They're not as mixed in as well as the Day of Reckoning release. They also lack that drugged out flair that Saint Vitus has. So I guess Relentless is lacking only in comparison to other similar albums by themselves and other doom bands. That's not so bad but it does point out that there may be a couple more songs that are a tad redundant and the album may just be that much overlong. The guitar soloing on the record is done good if not very memorable. Griffith much of the time seems too comfortable with just the main fuzzy riffage filling out the doom trademarks. You're Lost I'm Free is a short song with him doing a nice electric blues type solo with mammoth opening riffs that reminded me most from Sabbath's debut.

Relentless has no shortage of highlights and it's a high quality offering in all the other respects especially when I look for more classic elements of doom. Sign of the Wolf would be my first example. It has riffs reminiscent of the cranky tone that Tony Iommi brought out on Wheels of Confusion/The Straightener. 20 Buck Spin does too. I would say Black Sabbath Vol. 4 would be the album that Relentless is most like if you want to look at it from a recommendation angle.

That brings me back to the point about the "niche" that Pentagram filled when this album came out in '85 because it pertains to what I was telling about how underground this band was back then. Obviously, Black Sabbath at that point in time had reconfigured their heavy metal sound while this album by Pentagram was doing the retro Sabbath sound. The thing is, 1980's American entertainment and culture was defined by glitz and materialism. An album as Relentless is fastidiously stuck to the 70's; a decade characterized by dazed paranoia and cynicism. A 70's antiquity like this was anything but marketable in the 80's even in heavy metal circles. No one wanted anything to do with the prior decade. Fast, sharp and fresh(but still angry) was why Metallica came up famous in heavy metal back then. That's how Pentagram filled a niche for those who would not give up the ghost. Relentless is indeed an antique enduring the prior decades.

After 15 or so years knocking around the underground, Virginia’s doom godfathers finally got around to making a debut album. Not to sound judging in that comment, the band had recorded (a lot, chiefly demo stuff and some seven inch singles) and gone under a host of aliases (Deathrow, Bedemon, etc.) before settling on Pentagram as a nome de plume. Tons of said recordings are available in bootleg form, but in far better form on two collections from Relapse Records (see reviews somewhere else in the book you’re holding). By around ’81 however, the former flirtations with psychedelia and even hard R&B had condensed into a formidable doom approach, informed but not openly imitative of that influence of influences, Black Sabbath. The pairing of singer Bobby Liebling and guitarist Victor Griffin was a very fruitful one, resulting in some molten, yet well-crafted material that has really stood the all too debilitating march of time.

Sonically this album is only slightly less unbaked than a demo tape, but that’s a good thing, as the raw underbelly of the band is a powerful organ indeed. Truly though, the proof of this album’s brilliance is in the songs, which are like stone tablets of divine law in the (as yet unpublished) Bible of Doom Metal. “All Your Sins” creeps with a sinister riff and tormented lyrics as Liebling informs a sinful soul that judgment is nigh and it will not be pretty. “Sign of the Wolf (Pentagram)” is a chugging, head wrecking monster that is (no exaggeration) one of the best heavy metal HM songs ever written. Liebling’s tale of possession by evil, in spite of heavenly guidance, matches the molten punch of the riffs perfectly, and DAMN that’s a killer guitar solo!! “The Ghoul” creeps back into semi-doom tempo, whilst “Relentless” is a speedy but weighty cut with more killer riffs. The remainder is good at worst, awesome at best, and would you believe that this band’s next album was actually better than this?

Issued in ’85 with very little fanfare, it was re-issued under the moniker Relentless by Peaceville Records in the mid-90’s. Bottom line – a must have with no excuses allowed. Non-compliance with this policy is punishable by death or a Nickelback listening marathon. God, oh God, which is worse?!

Though issued by Peaceville in 1993, this album originally was released by "Pentagram Records" (i.e. independently) back in 1985. Pentagram were a DC-based doom band which had actually existed since the late 70s (and even earlier, to hear the story from the band's vocalist/founder Bobby "Plugie" Liebling), and though they always called themselves influenced by stoner-rock band Blue Cheer, their sound actually landed VERY close to Black Sabbath - Thick slabs of power-chord sludge. Plugie's vocals were rather unique - not very forceful (he never really 'lets loose'), but he concentrates on weaving a good vocal melody into the songs - sort of like other 'sloth-doom' bands like, say, St. Vitus or the Obsessed. The rest of the band is also similarly competent: guitarist Victor Griffin just lays down the riffs and rarely indulges in solos, but when he does they're quite slow and melodic rather than 'noodly', and they fit well. Bassist Martin Swaney also basically sticks with the groove of the songs, throwing in the occasional well-placed fill. And finally, drummer Joe Hasselvander (who went on to play with Raven) sticks to the song's groove, choosing his fills well. The playing is understated, but in a good way, because each member simply plays to the song rather than using the songs to show off. It's rather hard to pick out a standout track, because the album is quite good overall, but the first track "Death Row" has some of everything that made Pentagram such a great band.

The music probably sounds dated to those used to the extremities of modern metal, but for fans of doom metal, Black Sabbath, or just that old 'vintage' crunch, Pentagram's first album is one album to check out.

(Originally published at LARM (c) 1999)