Reviews

Medal Invader - Pentagram - Show ‘Em How
(Black Widow) Total Time: 45:05

Living (?) doom myth Bobby Liebling, has decided to once again rise from his sarcophagus and resurrect the legendary PENTAGRAM. The long time collaborator guitarist/bassist/drummer Joe Hasselvander has departed and the PENTAGRAM of 21st century is no more a two-piece but a four-piece, as next to Bobby himself you’ll find Kelly Carmichael (guitars), Adam Heinzmann (bass) and Mike Smail (drums), in other words the current line up of Maryland doomsters INTERNAL VOID.

“Show ‘Em How” was a long awaited release, one that all we doom fans have been impatiently expecting for a long time, and the repeated postponements of its release date only amplified our anxiety. Yet, to be honest my expectations regarding “Show ‘Em How” were not very high. Let me explain why. Firstly, because, in my opinion, since Victor Griffin departed (after the “Be Forewarned” album) PENTAGRAM never managed to reach the they high standards they set both through their 70’s and 80’s incarnations. In other words, although both “Review Your Choices” and “Sub Basement” were very good and interesting albums they clearly were uneven and lacked a lot in comparison to the older albums such as “Day of Reckoning”, the self titled, or the 70’s material of the band. The second reason for my pessimism about this release was the well-known condition and health problems of mainman Bobby.

Well, I couldn’t be more wrong! Not only Bobby tricked Charon once more, but he also returned with a vengeance, forming a very strong band line-up and releasing a dynamite new album. Yes, “Show ‘Em How” is more than just a very good release. After 10 days of continuous spinning of the CD, I am convinced it’s a true masterpiece. Bobby and the rest of the band fused the 70’s and 80’s style PENTAGRAM (with the balance leaning towards the former) but with a modern sound quality and a lot of blues influences. And what’s more important is that this fusing is achieved in an original way, simply because it’s not intentional. It just comes naturally. You see, “Show ‘Em How” includes both new songs as well as tunes originally written in the pre-1977 period of the band (some of which were never released, while others we have heard in their original versions in the past, through the “First Daze Here” and other releases of vintage PENTAGRAM material). Thus, apart from Liebling and Carmichael, you will also see the name of Geoff O’Keefe and Randy Palmer (R.I.P) mentioned in the song credits.

I do have a list of favourite songs from this album, but I don’t think there is a reason for mentioning them. After all, these keep change after each listen of the CD, plus each one of you, that is wise enough to get a copy of this album, will have his own preferences. Whether it’s a proto-doom, a heavy doom, a blues doom, or a straight 70’s heavy rock song, each composition included in “Show ‘Em How” is a gem. Not a single weak moment in there, not a song that seems out of place. The guys from INTERNAL VOID treated the older material with the utmost respect (my only objection is that Carmichael could have used analog guitar pedals instead of digital effects to achieve an even more authentic sound), often breathing new air to classic songs like “Last Days Here” or “Starlady” (there is a very interesting sorry about the latter. Allegedly, in the mid-70’s KISS frontman Paul Stanley watched PENTAGRAM rehearse and impressed by the song offered Liebling $10,000 to buy it and use it for their upcoming “Destroyer” album, on the condition that it would be re-credited to Stanley/Simmons. Of course, Bobby declined the offer). But above all, Bobby gives one of his most awesome hair-raising and spine-chilling vocal performances, many times superior to the ones of his recent past. His performance exceeded even my most optimistic expectations. I mean, it’s like someone gave him a flask of water straight from the fountain of youth and he returned in his early 30’s for a while! The haunting feeling, the dark vocal colors, the gruesome bluesy voice and the pathos are all there, highlighted by a very suitable production and mixing. It seems that next to Lemmy, Keith Richards, and Iggy Pop we must add Bobby Liebling in the list of those greats who defy the laws of nature and are left untouched by time, despite their much-troubled lifestyles.

Concluding, all I can say is that “Show ‘Em How” is a work of genius, and I don’t say that just because I am a big PENTA-fan. After all, when in the past some of the material they released was not up to their level I said so without hesitation because I believe that true fans ought to be very demanding. But I really feel that halfway through 2004 I have found the album that will top my year’s best list, or at the very least be very close to the top. Listen to it and get some “further infections to feed your disease”.

Reviewer: Themis Pamfilos

CHAOS REALM - STUFF YOU SHOULD HEAR!!!

PENTAGRAM – “Show ‘Em How” CD ’04 (Black Widow, US) – Some people say the memory is the first thing to go. I’m 46 years old & to be honest, I can’t remember if that’s correct or not. At least I know what isn’t the first thing…well, all I’m saying is I don’t need no Viagra yet! Thing is, I can’t reckon how I started my reviews of the last couple PENTAGRAM albums, so I may be repeating myself here. Even so, it’s worth the mention when I say that in the history of 30+ CHAOS’s as a printed zine, there were only 2 bands to whom I ever devoted an entire issue. One was Mercyful Fate, the other was PENTAGRAM. So if I was lazy, I could just mutter “ ‘Nuff said, off you go, buy the album.” But you know I’m not going to do that, don’t you? See, this is too important, too improbable & simply too damn good. Back in mid-2001 when PENTAGRAM imploded onstage at Doomsday in Towson, MD, something like this was nothing more than a dream. The jury was still out on whether the band’s then-pending record “Sub-Basement” would even see the light of day. (It did). And yet…and yet…. Four years down the pike, Bobby Liebling, the ancient wisp of a man with a throat of gold somehow summoned 3 younger-but-seasoned guns around him. Mounting the drum throne would be Mike Smail who once sat astride the tubs for Cathedral & Pennsylvania doom legends Penance. On bass would stand Adam Heinzmann, 4-string plunderer from Maryland’s Internal Void. But who would man the guitar slot? Here was a station previously occupied by a formidable lineage of axe slingers the likes of which could fill a metal hall of fame with whispers of awe. Names like Vincent McAllister, Randy Palmer, Victor Griffin & Joe Hasselvander loom to intimidate all…all except another member of Internal Void themselves, Kelly Carmichael. When I first heard news of this line-up, I stopped for a second & stared. Then I nearly wet my pants. I’ve watched Kelly for years in Internal Void, not only on their 2 incredible CD’s, but also live, where he turns it loose even more & wondered about the possibilities of this unholy alliance. See, as much as I’ve totally dug (ok, ok, worshipped) all the previous PENTAGRAM studio platters, I have always wanted to hear Bobby set sail on an official new album with a guitarist steeped more in the ‘70’s bluesy hard rock ethic like McAllister & Palmer. In all the times I’ve seen ‘VOID live, Kelly blew me away in that very aspect. Hey, first off, he was cool ‘cause he occasionally wore a Clutch t-shirt, but that wasn’t all. I remember the first time I saw this motherfucker, I can’t remember the year, but all I was thinking was that I’d gone back in time & was seeing the guitarist for Hairy Chapter ripping it out in some smoky old bar in Germany. I’m thinking, that can’t happen! Something is going to go wrong here, this album will never come out, this dastardly union will never emerge to kick my ever-loving ass. Well, here’s the news, good people. On Monday, June 21 my ol’ solid bud, Chester the Mailman walked down the front walk of my house & handed me several packages, sandwiched between them being one from Black Widow Records. Tearing it open, I saw before me what I alternately had dreamed of and feared would never come. Rushing inside, I knocked over my 2 year old daughter, stepped on our pot-bellied pig and kept on going till I threw the small, circular piece of plastic into my blaster. I then knelt before the dB’s in full homage. My soul became at once becalmed and my head went into full banging mode. Hands wrenched themselves fitfully into air guitar position and I threw my head back on my shoulders and howled in both joy and in as much harmony as I could muster with Mr. Liebling. Through “Wheel Of Fortune,” “Elektra Glide” & “Starlady” we began and it was even better than I could have imagined. Smail & Heinzmann plant a rhythm so dynamic & organic as to have been stripped from 1972 and then overdriven in some deranged mechanic’s demonic workshop. Over top it, Carmichael’s guitar is perfect. It is rare I can say those words in a review, but this is clearly a perfect guitar sound. It’s the guitar sound I hear in my head when I imagine my favourite records that have yet to even be recorded them & compare them to classics from the past. Then we get to “Prayer For An Exit Before The Dead End” and the combination of Bobby’s haunting vocals (some of his best ever) and Kelly’s attack-mode solo entrance is the stuff of cosmic slaydom. I’d be dead of a massive guitar-shot wound to the chest if I didn’t have to stay alive to be killed again by “City Romance” and “If The Winds Would Change.” Then, when the title cut kicks in, I am absolutely defeated to try to begin to describe the riff Kelly uncorks here and the lead is beyond comprehension. This fucking RAWKS!!!! Like no other thing else in this world, this song is goddamn art so far beyond that I’m simply no more good. That is, until this merciless band finishes things off with a version of “Last Days Here” in which Bobby Liebling lays his cards on the table with as much pure gut-wrenching soul & emotion as any vocal performance you’ll ever here. My God!!!! This is absolutely incredible, the comeback of the year, the album of the year so far (I want to see what’s going to try to touch this in 2004!) and the soundtrack to what the words hard rock & heavy metal should be. Viagra my ass, “Show ‘Em How” is a full-tilt stand-up auditory hard-on that can never die! Essential beyond human comprehension.

Ray Dorsey

PENTAGRAM - "Show 'em How", 2004 (Black Widow)

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.

- The Angry Dutchman