Doom fans rejoice! It's a new album by PENTAGRAM! Well, as usual a "new" album by PENTAGRAM is a combination of new material and some re-recorded versions of older songs. I'm not familiar with everything PENTAGRAM put out but I know at least three of the songs ("Starlady", "Last Days Here" and the title track) from earlier albums. What IS new is the lineup, since singer Bobby Liebling is now the only remaining original member. He has surrounded himself with something of a doom-supergroup with Mike Smail (CATHEDRAL, PENANCE) on drums, Adam Heinzmann (INTERNAL VOID) on bass and Kelly Carmichael (INTERNAL VOID) on guitars.

To say PENTAGRAM's sound is rooted in the 70's would be a huge understatement. Even with a group largely consisting of new members, PENTAGRAM still sounds like the 80's and 90's never happened. Their music has the same kind of raw, basic heaviness that can also be found on albums like "Master of Reality", "Vol. 4" and the first two BUDGIE records. In this age of sampling, Pro Tools, and other studio gadgets, it's weirdly refreshing to hear music that sounds so pure, organic and...well, untampered with. The general public may think that big-budget hypes like THE WHITE STRIPES or THE STROKES are the personification of basic rock rawness, but that's only because the public is largely ignorant of what actual rock music sounds like. Of the more recent releases only the albums by OGRE and WITCHCRAFT come close to this in terms of pure, unadultered, old-fashioned quality heavy rock.

Some people may have difficulty with the new version of "Starlady", which is played in a slightly higher key than the original. Admittedly it takes some getting used to, but after some repeated listens, I can only say that it is an improvement. On the whole this is a pretty solid album with some great song material. Now, chances are (young) people who are used to more contemporary guitar sounds and not as familiar with the genre's history may not get what's so 'heavy' about this (wretched fools, I pity them). And although technically Bobby Liebling may not be the greatest singer in the world, his voice (sort of a cross between WITCHFYNDE's Steve Bridges and JETHRO TULL's Ian Anderson) practically oozes personality. The only fault I can find with this album is its timing, since PENTAGRAM's combination of wailing riffs and dark, haunting melancholy is the perfect soundtrack for a cold, gray autumn (and the summer has just started in Dutchman-land).

If you are a regular visitor of this site and not familiar with PENTAGRAM yet, I say it's about fucking time. People who do know and love them will most probably like this too, although the new lineup does give a relatively fresh twist to their still old-fashioned sound. Nothing too original or groundbreaking to be found here, but listening to a new PENTAGRAM album is a lot like meeting up with an old friend you haven't seen in quite a while. It's good to have them still around. And with this lineup, let's hope they make a few more albums that are just as good. "Show 'em How" doesn't disappoint.

- Van Hoften

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