Rating: 10.0

Country: USA

Release Date: 2005

Record Label: Peaceville

Track list:
1. Day Of Reckoning
2. Evil Seed
3. Broken Vows
4. When The Screams Come
5. Burning Saviour
6. Madman
7. Wartime

Band Website: Pentagram

Pentagram - Day of Reckoning (Reissue)

Bobby Liebling- Vocals
Victor Griffin- Guitars
Marty Swaney- Bass
Joe Hasselvander- Drums

So yeah. This is basically one of my favorite albums in the history of music, from one of the most unmistakable bands in the history of music. This album presents Pentagram at their bleakest, a vacuous mass of spite and despairing introspection that, for the first time really, somewhat legitimizes unfair parallels to kindred spirits Black Sabbath. Still, Pentagram and Sabbath very much remain separate musical entities, though one might suggest that they inhabit common musical and lyrical ground.

Much like comrades Butler and Osborne, Pentagram shared an overwhelming fascination with occultism and mysticism, as well as the ubiquitous conflict between sin and virtue, the divine and the infernal. However, the means by which they articulated this tension was simultaneously more theatrical and conversely, more understated than Sabbath. Visually, Pentagram held their own against the likes of Celtic Frost/Hellhammer, Venom, Black Widow, Death SS, Mercyful Fate and Darkthrone as far as the “Scariest Fucking Band Ever” stakes go. Have a gander at some old Macabre/Death Row/Pentagram photos and the evidence will shock you- corpsepaint, spikes and wild hair, all in the late ‘70s/early ‘80s. Musically, however, Pentagram's approach has always been moodier, slightly more sedate, considerably more minimalistic than much of Sabbath's output, like the Hellhammer to Sabbath's Celtic Frost. Yet, Pentagram were never a bunch of callous, sloppy hacks- within this sludge-and-drudge monochromaticism lay an abundance of musical sensitivity, cohered through a profound understanding of subtlety and ornate nuance. Nowhere is this more apparent than 'Day Of Reckoning', perhaps THE definitive Pentagram record as far as “mood” goes.

Opener “Day Of Reckoning” is the most uptempo number on the record, as well as the briefest by quite a margin. Droning three-chord riffing couples with some GREAT fill-intensive bass work by Marty Swaney and pulsating, frantic drum work by the characteristically brilliant Joe Hasselvander. A necksnapping bridge riff, catchy vocal melodies and inspired musicianship in all departments renders this a definite winner, though one might suggest that it is somewhat awkward when sequenced with the more morose numbers that follow. Take, for instance, “Evil Seed”, a funereal ode to lovelorn desolation and solitude. Very understated/subdued, but HEAVY rhythms dominate, accented by whispering, foreboding, sparse guitar and lumbering, omnipresent bass, the skeletal structure of the song really amplifying the anguish cohered by Liebling's otherworldly, lackadaisical croon. This is clearly not the same pummel-and-clobber Pentagram of “Pentagram/Relentless”, nor is it the dark Motor-City-by-way-of-Blue-Cheer throb of the ‘70s singles, this is a band that is continuing to develop, and subsequently exert, an assertively individual personality will change the face of heavy music.

“Broken Vows” is dark, driving rock n' roll that finds itself more at home with their ‘70s output, exhibiting that nefarious, nauseatingly dark dimension that has always defined the Penta-sound. On the surface, one observes insistent, midtempo power-trio styled riff-based rock n' roll not altogether removed from, say, May Blitz or Sir Lord Baltimore, but the affected desperation of the lyrics, the excellent vocal phrasing/expression on Liebling's part and a SUPERBLY gloomy bridge/solo section lends it an edge that is fiercely Pentagram. “When The Screams Come”, of course, is a timeless, transcendental number that has found itself on many a Penta-fan's all-timer mixtape, a number culled from Pentagram's ‘70s repertoire, and one VERY much at home with the direction of this record, its despondent melancholia segueing flawlessly with the rest of the record.

Then, it happens. THE finest song in Pentagram's extensive catalogue of revelatory musical experiences. “Burning Saviour”. What a song. WHAT A SONG. WHAT A SOGNOSINFSOIDNAOIAOIGSNOIGNS. Opening with an elegantly-expressed, unspeakably demonic, sparse clean arpeggio, the song escalates into a pummeling, droning, blare accented by an EXTRAORDINARILY THICK bass sound and some really ponderous, lead-footed rhythms. One really wonders why Swaney never let loose quite as much on the other Peaceville records, as his playing throughout this LP is very inspired. The lyrics….what infernal poesy: “LUCIFER LIVES, it's no illusion, your mind is in confusion, thoughts denied all come true, when he takes your soul from you!”. I can, with reasonable confidence, assure you that your fingers will be reaching for the repeat button, and you too shall be singing “Goat of mendes, standing by firm!” at the conclusion of each chorus.

In all honesty, I wish the concluding two songs were sequenced prior to “Burning Saviour”, as everything really pales in comparison to that momentous monolith of the macabre. Also, one might contend that “Madman”, in particular, is not very apropos with the proceedings, a “The Ripper” type homicidal rocker that boasts a tempo more decidedly balls-to-the-wall r'n'r than anything else on this recording. All this doesn't detract from the sheer magnificence of this record, of course, and while my objectivity as certified Pentagram fanboy may be somewhat skewed, I can with absolutely no hesitation offer this as THE best doom rock record since 'Sabotage'. Magma thick riffing, depthless emotional content, it's all here in spades, and really, other than Sabbath, no other band has exhibited as profound of a grasp of despair, desperation and dementia as Liebling, Griffin, Hasselvander and Swaney.

January 15th, 2006