I just discovered these guys and man am I glad I did! I was already a fan of stoner metal and I can hear the huge influence they had, especially on bands like Cathedral with their mid-90s stuff. Such an interesting and unconventional story, and they deserve way more recognition. Their first two albums and their (albeit obscure) 70s demos have already entered my rotation, some of the most infectious heavy music I've ever heard 🤘
Pentagram should have huge. So many great tracks, mostly great vocals. I like the demo stuff from tge 70s like catwalk and call the man much more psychedelic and because i made it is such an anthem. Great band just wish they got the proper credit. Thanks for the review.
being in precautionary quarantine, I first stumbled across the Documentary of Pentagram, then this morning.. saw the album rankings from the show! Looks like more listening today going by your recommedations!!! Love the show.. I cant seem to catch up with all the episodes!!!!
If you got a turntable- and $100 burning a hole in your pocket- see if you can find the original mix of "Day of Reckoning" with the late Stuart Rose on drums. Since I first heard that original analog version that's the one I prefer. (None of the reissues feature Rose' drum tracks.)
1) Be Forewarned 2) Pentagram (aka Relentless) 3) Day of Reckoning 4) Review Your Choices 5) Show ‘Em How 6) Curious Volume 7) Sub-Basement 8) Last Rites
Very few bands openly name check Blue Cheer as their MAIN influence, but Pentagram was one of them. And that made me, a Blue Cheer fan, very happy to know that. Their major goal when they started was to take what Blue Cheer did on the first two albums and progress it into the 70s. Their other influences are somewhat unconventional for a metal group--they really dug the Velvet Underground and the Stooges as well
Love the doom genre, and Pentagram was one of the best. How about a ranking of Solitude Aeturnus. So over looked. Really, one of the best bands of any genre , but in terms of doom, there are few better.
20 Buck Spin is a phenomenal song, and a phenomenal label (and imo a lot of the best stuff they put out are death/doom and OSDM albums, though almost everything they put out is great). I’m a little ashamed to admit that I’ve only ever listened to Pentagram’s debut album, and that’s it. I love doom metal, and basically all of the various doom sub-genres, and doom hybrid sub-genres, and the proto-doom, and OG Doom Metal Gods, yet for whatever reason I’ve just never explored Pentagram’s catalogue, and I know they’re just essential to the genre.. I’m too distracted by other artists, genre be damned; I know that’s why I’ve never done so ultimately, but I really do need to rectify that. I suppose this is as good as any guide to know where to start, but then again what’s ultimately gonna determine that is whatever of their stuff is on Apple Music, bc I cannot afford pretty much any other option.. Anyway, I’m still new to y’all’s content, but I dig it. Looks like there’s a lot of cool stuff to explore here. 🤘✌️❤️♾
1:Day of reckoning 2:Sub-basement (the new remastered version) 3:Be forewarned 4:Curious volume 5:Relentless 6:Last rites 7:Show em how 8:Review your choices
Awesome show. Being from Baltimore my entire life, I'm very familiar and am a huge fan of Pentagram and Victor Griffin. Actually the last days here documentary was done by the guys in another great band Serpent Throne from Pa. Maybe my favorite instrumental band of all time. Thanks Pete
Good timing since it was Greg Mayne and Victor Griffin's birthdays yesterday :) As for my ranking... First Daze Here. S/T (or Relentless). Day of Reckoning. Be Forewarned. First Daze Here Too. Sub-Basement. Review Your Choices. Show 'Em How. Last Rites. Curious Volume.
Great review Pete! I found these guys years ago when I was listening to a lot of doom. I LOVE Bobby. If you haven't seen the documentary from a few years ago, highly recommend it. Really get the background.
Thank l Franklin if all the background stuff was straightened out people would understand more about the fact that pentagram never had a real manager or booking agency or any guidance or money sunk in to them, and that's the true honest reason that they didn't climb quicker earlier take my word for it
Another great ranking Pete! Would LOVE to see you get around to doing a ranking of the Crowbar and Orange Goblin discography, two you shouted out in this! Two that most certainly have no bad albums.
Did u ever catch em live pete - seen them at the voodoo lounge in dublin a couple of years ago - you could actually feel the soundwave coming off the stage from victors hot rodded laney iommi amps lol
Have every pentagram album and love every one, including showem how which i would rate above last rites and curious volume, maybe even review your choices.. its a bit different but very doomy and bobby sounds great. The guys in internal void did a great job as well
The 70s era with Bobby Liebling, Vince McAllister, Greg Mayne, and Geof O'Keefe is by far my favorite. Also be sure to check out the Bedemon side project featuring "occasional" Pentagram member Randy Palmer.
Thanks Pete. I checked them out and it's really good stuff. Surprised I didn't know about this band. Maybe I did, who knows. Ordered all 9. Except for Show 'em All.
You should do a part 2 of the discussion of concept albums based on books, films, comic books and history. There's an album based on a book coming out this Friday [December 4th]. The album is by a Swedish band called Majestica, which is Tommy Johansson's band outside of Sabaton, and the album is called A Christmas Carol, based on the Charles Dickens novel of the same name.
I finally got to see Pentagram live in my home city a couple years ago and they did not disappoint. Bobby actually showed up (!) and was incredible on stage. His voice sounded excellent, so he must have been on a solid streak of staying clean.
A little correction : the band is called Internal Void, not Infernal...anyway as always a pleasure to watch your vids Pete!, Here's my ranking: 1) Day of Reckoning (although, if they were 'real' studio albums I would put the 2 Last Daze Here in the first 2 places !) 2) Be Forewarned 3) Sub-Basement 4) Review your choices 5) Relentless 6) Show'em how 7) Last Rites 8) Curious Volume
I'd love to be able to do an interview for you maybe slightly alarming but I'd keep it Charming!!👍 and thanks dearly for taking the time to review these
Wow, my first 4 are exactly PETES first 4. Tremendous summary on description of no 1. 7 songs/ 34 mins. Kicks 🦵 your ass/ & get out of dodge/. Exactly 👍💯
Wow great ranking!! They are always up there for me with Black Sabbath. Some times with the doom laden riffage when I am in that mood I prefer Pentagram for their power
Pentagram have been one of my favourite bands for years, and I'm pretty on board with this ranking (although I'd say I prefer Sub-Basement over Last Rites - I believe Sub-Basement is also Bobby's favourite Pentagram album). But it's hard to pick a favourite album when they're all so chock-full of amazing songs. In case people don't know, just about every Pentagram album (other than Relentless) is at least 50% old stuff Bobby wrote in the 70s and the rest is material they wrote as Death Row, music they wrote for the album or in Be Forewarned's case, a lot of the "new" songs were demos Victor Griffin had recorded for his first solo album. I say this because they have such a wealth of great old, unrecorded material to fall back on that if we get another Pentagram album soon, it will also likely have songs written way back in the 70s. I have a few rehearsals from that era on my channel if anyone is interested in checking them out. It's fascinating to hear how many songs on the studio albums sounded in their infancy, and what they might have been if they were recorded 10 years earlier.
Unfortunately I have only ever been able to find 4 albums by Pentagram love the band. From what I've heard of the band First Days Here is by far my favorite. I also love the song Burning Savior from Day of Reckoning
Great stuff, one of those alternate-universe "if onlys" in the history of metal. Top notch Sabbath derivation, with awesome original tweaks. Could really just come down to drugs of choice, and amounts of drugs of choice.
That’s Internal Void to you Pete :) but yeah Bobby was not at all in the best of shape around the time Show ‘em How came out (I happen to recall he said his rock bottom was in 2005 when his drug problems got real bad). Thank god Bobby’s pretty clean these days, lets hope the ‘Ram family will do an album and/or tour next year.
It should be noted that a great deal of songs done on the albums that exclusively credit Bobby as the sole writer more than likely were written some time in the 70’s, and there are lots of songs that he’s written (performed on demos, rehearsals and bootlegs) that should get there dues.
I should probably like Pentagram more than I do, but Bobby is so insufferable. I have owed all of these, but now just have my top 2 and the comps I mention later. 8) Last Rites 7) Curious Volume 6) Sub-Basement 5) Review Your Choices 4) Show 'Em How 3) Pentagram/Relentless (I rarely listen to anything lower on my list) 2) Be Forewarned 1) Day of Reckoning Really, my favorites by far are the First Daze Here, Vol 1 & 2 comps. Thanks for the video, Pete!
Their 70's output ("First Daze Here", and "First Daze Here Too") is by far the best music they have ever done, followed up closely by their "official" debut LP: "Relentless" (aka Pentagram) from 1985.
Hell yes "overthought" those are my two favorite ones too; sub-basement is far and above my all-time favorite that we ever did. it was a fluke and had absolutely no Clunkers, in my opinion...a/the riffs throughout are our most brutal of all to date.. thanks for the voicing of opinion!!🎸🎸🥁🎤🔊💣🤯🎯
@@overthoughtmusik772 I think "Mad Dog" also deserves alot more attention than it usually gets... Just Pumped it in my car the other day and I swear, it goddamn almost took off from the ground 👹🤩🤩
Day of Reckoning no.1 for me too, well-produced and sharp, needs no more than 7 crushing tracks to knock you down. No idea how drumming sounds on the original vinyl but Hasselvander's re-recording is brilliant and tight.
If they were ever able to get good production like candalmass got in the 80s, they would have been huge. Many songs that could have been great are sabotaged by their lack of production quality
Weird that Sabbath were very popular in the States but the homegrown version who were pretty much just as good got nowhere. From what I remember they had a deal lined up with Columbia but Liebling 'had a moment' and they pulled it - sadly his personality disorder basically prevented him from becoming as successful as he should have.
![Pentagram - 1973 Demo [FULL DEMO]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/le9owUm8bFM/mqdefault.jpg)
Thanks for the video! Curious Volume is my favorite strictly cuz I played drums on it lol. Again thank u for giving us some time and kind words!
And I actually showed up to sing haha what's that all about🤯💬🤣🤣
@@bobbyliebling8968 what u lookin at my eyes fo!!!!
How about ranking all the Candlemass albums? Another great band in this genre of music
Also Saint Vitus & the Obssessed rankings!
Messiah!! Flippin' love his voice.
Sleep
I just discovered these guys and man am I glad I did! I was already a fan of stoner metal and I can hear the huge influence they had, especially on bands like Cathedral with their mid-90s stuff. Such an interesting and unconventional story, and they deserve way more recognition. Their first two albums and their (albeit obscure) 70s demos have already entered my rotation, some of the most infectious heavy music I've ever heard 🤘
Pentagram should have huge. So many great tracks, mostly great vocals. I like the demo stuff from tge 70s like catwalk and call the man much more psychedelic and because i made it is such an anthem. Great band just wish they got the proper credit. Thanks for the review.
They are from Germantown, MD which is a DC suburb.
being in precautionary quarantine, I first stumbled across the Documentary of Pentagram, then this morning.. saw the album rankings from the show! Looks like more listening today going by your recommedations!!! Love the show.. I cant seem to catch up with all the episodes!!!!
If you got a turntable- and $100 burning a hole in your pocket- see if you can find the original mix of "Day of Reckoning" with the late Stuart Rose on drums. Since I first heard that original analog version that's the one I prefer. (None of the reissues feature Rose' drum tracks.)
Well said the one with Stuart was much better
@@bobbyliebling8968 Is there ANY chance of a reissue (LP and/or CD) of that original mix?
Forever My Queen was a must for the band i was in for over 20 years.. Legendary Band..
1) Be Forewarned
2) Pentagram (aka Relentless)
3) Day of Reckoning
4) Review Your Choices
5) Show ‘Em How
6) Curious Volume
7) Sub-Basement
8) Last Rites
Very few bands openly name check Blue Cheer as their MAIN influence, but Pentagram was one of them. And that made me, a Blue Cheer fan, very happy to know that. Their major goal when they started was to take what Blue Cheer did on the first two albums and progress it into the 70s. Their other influences are somewhat unconventional for a metal group--they really dug the Velvet Underground and the Stooges as well
Hadn't heard them before- just heard a few tunes, they're great. Will definitely check them out! Thank you for the intro.
Especially give their 70's albums (compilations) a listen, aka First Daze Here I/II! The best rock music I have ever heard, and I am not exaggerating.
Pentagram rocks it!!🎼🎤🎸🎵🥁
The Last Days documentary is a must watch. Very painful though.
That’s what got me into pentagram
I couldn't remember the name. What a story.
I loved the relentless album on first listen and the documentary crystallized the band in my memory
Thankyou for doing this band.
Thanks Pete, great insight as always. I'm only missing a couple of these, need to fix that.
Love the doom genre, and Pentagram was one of the best. How about a ranking of Solitude Aeturnus. So over looked. Really, one of the best bands of any genre , but in terms of doom, there are few better.
Solitude Aeternus would be great for ranking. I really like the new Tyrant album Hereafter with Robert Lowe on vocals.
Love your Sea of Tranquility shirt!!🎼🎤🎸🎵🥁
Pete, are you a Saint Vitus fan? What about Reverend Bizarre?
Relentless was my introduction to Pentagram and it still remains my favorite!!! Great choices Pete. Good ranking of the albums!!!
20 Buck Spin is a phenomenal song, and a phenomenal label (and imo a lot of the best stuff they put out are death/doom and OSDM albums, though almost everything they put out is great).
I’m a little ashamed to admit that I’ve only ever listened to Pentagram’s debut album, and that’s it. I love doom metal, and basically all of the various doom sub-genres, and doom hybrid sub-genres, and the proto-doom, and OG Doom Metal Gods, yet for whatever reason I’ve just never explored Pentagram’s catalogue, and I know they’re just essential to the genre.. I’m too distracted by other artists, genre be damned; I know that’s why I’ve never done so ultimately, but I really do need to rectify that. I suppose this is as good as any guide to know where to start, but then again what’s ultimately gonna determine that is whatever of their stuff is on Apple Music, bc I cannot afford pretty much any other option..
Anyway, I’m still new to y’all’s content, but I dig it. Looks like there’s a lot of cool stuff to explore here. 🤘✌️❤️♾
1:Day of reckoning
2:Sub-basement (the new remastered version)
3:Be forewarned
4:Curious volume
5:Relentless
6:Last rites
7:Show em how
8:Review your choices
So proud of my hometown Boys. Pentagram !
Awesome show. Being from Baltimore my entire life, I'm very familiar and am a huge fan of Pentagram and Victor Griffin. Actually the last days here documentary was done by the guys in another great band Serpent Throne from Pa. Maybe my favorite instrumental band of all time. Thanks Pete
Really enjoyed this. What an awesome band.
Good timing since it was Greg Mayne and Victor Griffin's birthdays yesterday :) As for my ranking...
First Daze Here.
S/T (or Relentless).
Day of Reckoning.
Be Forewarned.
First Daze Here Too.
Sub-Basement.
Review Your Choices.
Show 'Em How.
Last Rites.
Curious Volume.
Maybe a ranking of RAVEN
Great review Pete! I found these guys years ago when I was listening to a lot of doom. I LOVE Bobby. If you haven't seen the documentary from a few years ago, highly recommend it. Really get the background.
Thank l Franklin if all the background stuff was straightened out people would understand more about the fact that pentagram never had a real manager or booking agency or any guidance or money sunk in to them, and that's the true honest reason that they didn't climb quicker earlier take my word for it
@@bobbyliebling8968 Pentagram should have been huge! I love the material and have for so many years! Thank you for all you’ve done Bobby!!
Another great ranking Pete! Would LOVE to see you get around to doing a ranking of the Crowbar and Orange Goblin discography, two you shouted out in this! Two that most certainly have no bad albums.
Internal Void was an awesome band. Unearthed is a killer album
Did u ever catch em live pete - seen them at the voodoo lounge in dublin a couple of years ago - you could actually feel the soundwave coming off the stage from victors hot rodded laney iommi amps lol
Amazing band indeed, probably the best american answer to Sabbath, I agree with Day of Reckoning being their number 1.
Internal Void
A band I have heard of, and may have listened to a couple of tracks. I will definitely be check out the discography in more detail.
There are actually 20 albums grand total
Have every pentagram album and love every one, including showem how which i would rate above last rites and curious volume, maybe even review your choices.. its a bit different but very doomy and bobby sounds great. The guys in internal void did a great job as well
Relentless and Day of Reckoning flip flop over which is my favorite Pentagram record.
The 70s era with Bobby Liebling, Vince McAllister, Greg Mayne, and Geof O'Keefe is by far my favorite. Also be sure to check out the Bedemon side project featuring "occasional" Pentagram member Randy Palmer.
Thanks Pete. I checked them out and it's really good stuff. Surprised I didn't know about this band. Maybe I did, who knows. Ordered all 9. Except for Show 'em All.
Ranking all Saint Vitus albums would be great.
Another band I'd love to see you do is Witchfynde. They were also in this genre and NWOBHM (another show that has got to be a 2 to 3 part set)!!
You should do a part 2 of the discussion of concept albums based on books, films, comic books and history. There's an album based on a book coming out this Friday [December 4th]. The album is by a Swedish band called Majestica, which is Tommy Johansson's band outside of Sabaton, and the album is called A Christmas Carol, based on the Charles Dickens novel of the same name.
I think one part was good enough for now. We have tons of other topics on our to do list.
I finally got to see Pentagram live in my home city a couple years ago and they did not disappoint. Bobby actually showed up (!) and was incredible on stage. His voice sounded excellent, so he must have been on a solid streak of staying clean.
I watched documentary from 2012 - great .Bobby is nice and sweet man .
No mention of Broken Vows - the best song off of Day of Reckoning? 😉
Great review and ranking
Finally!!! Thank you!
I just discovered them man they are so great sounds like a mix between jethro tull and Sabbath i think that they are great
Great band. First heard of them from an episode of That Metal Show.
How about ranking the Saint Vitus albums?
A little correction : the band is called Internal Void, not Infernal...anyway as always a pleasure to watch your vids Pete!, Here's my ranking:
1) Day of Reckoning (although, if they were 'real' studio albums I would put the 2 Last Daze Here in the first 2 places !)
2) Be Forewarned
3) Sub-Basement
4) Review your choices
5) Relentless
6) Show'em how
7) Last Rites
8) Curious Volume
Got to agree pretty much in lockstep with this ranking 👍👍
Love love love Pentagram🤘 I own all the music they ever put out! The only thing I am missing is a band t shirt which I need to own!
Pete have you had Bobby on for an interview? You should!
I'd love to be able to do an interview for you maybe slightly alarming but I'd keep it Charming!!👍 and thanks dearly for taking the time to review these
Wow, my first 4 are exactly PETES first 4. Tremendous summary on description of no 1. 7 songs/ 34 mins. Kicks 🦵 your ass/ & get out of dodge/. Exactly 👍💯
I didn't know Hasselvander was ever in Pentagram. I got to see him live when he was in Raven some years back.
He was briefly with Blue Cheer
How about a SOT top 10 Beer countdown with appropriate brews for each album?
Day Of Reckoning is also my favorite Pentagram album. Relentless number 2 and Be Forwarned number 3.
Be forewarned cause I'm comin' after you!!!🤘😁
Wow great ranking!! They are always up there for me with Black Sabbath. Some times with the doom laden riffage when I am in that mood I prefer Pentagram for their power
hey, how about a Devin Townsend Ranking? Could become an epic long Show :-)
would like to watch a ranking of Saint Vitus if you are fan
Pentagram have been one of my favourite bands for years, and I'm pretty on board with this ranking (although I'd say I prefer Sub-Basement over Last Rites - I believe Sub-Basement is also Bobby's favourite Pentagram album). But it's hard to pick a favourite album when they're all so chock-full of amazing songs.
In case people don't know, just about every Pentagram album (other than Relentless) is at least 50% old stuff Bobby wrote in the 70s and the rest is material they wrote as Death Row, music they wrote for the album or in Be Forewarned's case, a lot of the "new" songs were demos Victor Griffin had recorded for his first solo album. I say this because they have such a wealth of great old, unrecorded material to fall back on that if we get another Pentagram album soon, it will also likely have songs written way back in the 70s.
I have a few rehearsals from that era on my channel if anyone is interested in checking them out. It's fascinating to hear how many songs on the studio albums sounded in their infancy, and what they might have been if they were recorded 10 years earlier.
Do the ranking of Unleashed or Magnum
somehow just discovered this band not long ago.Anyway "day of reckoning" is in the mail.
Hi Pete, loving your specials. Could you please 🙏 do a Type O Negative special? Thanks
Not a fan, sorry.
Unfortunately I have only ever been able to find 4 albums by Pentagram love the band. From what I've heard of the band First Days Here is by far my favorite. I also love the song Burning Savior from Day of Reckoning
Saint Vitus and Paradise Lost
Prefer Candlemass for this genre but agree Day of Reckoning is a classic.
Great stuff, one of those alternate-universe "if onlys" in the history of metal. Top notch Sabbath derivation, with awesome original tweaks. Could really just come down to drugs of choice, and amounts of drugs of choice.
Great band
Must check this band out..
Own first daze got to say one of the heavyest band from the 70s easley for me at least
The unsung heroes!!!
Love 70s Pentagram and Bedemon!! Muhahaha!
That’s Internal Void to you Pete :) but yeah Bobby was not at all in the best of shape around the time Show ‘em How came out (I happen to recall he said his rock bottom was in 2005 when his drug problems got real bad). Thank god Bobby’s pretty clean these days, lets hope the ‘Ram family will do an album and/or tour next year.
It should be noted that a great deal of songs done on the albums that exclusively credit Bobby as the sole writer more than likely were written some time in the 70’s, and there are lots of songs that he’s written (performed on demos, rehearsals and bootlegs) that should get there dues.
It all started with Bedemon as well
I should probably like Pentagram more than I do, but Bobby is so insufferable. I have owed all of these, but now just have my top 2 and the comps I mention later.
8) Last Rites
7) Curious Volume
6) Sub-Basement
5) Review Your Choices
4) Show 'Em How
3) Pentagram/Relentless (I rarely listen to anything lower on my list)
2) Be Forewarned
1) Day of Reckoning
Really, my favorites by far are the First Daze Here, Vol 1 & 2 comps.
Thanks for the video, Pete!
Their 70's output ("First Daze Here", and "First Daze Here Too") is by far the best music they have ever done, followed up closely by their "official" debut LP: "Relentless" (aka Pentagram) from 1985.
I agree but be forewarned is also good
Maybe I'll eternally be in the minority, but the two Hasselvander albums will always be my favorites...After the Last is the heaviest track ever.
Hell yes "overthought" those are my two favorite ones too; sub-basement is far and above my all-time favorite that we ever did. it was a fluke and had absolutely no Clunkers, in my opinion...a/the riffs throughout are our most brutal of all to date.. thanks for the voicing of opinion!!🎸🎸🥁🎤🔊💣🤯🎯
@@bobbyliebling8968 Sub Basement rules. I love that that's your favorite, because it's always been mine too...
After the last is definitely one of my top 10 pentagram songs of all time💣🤯👍🤣👀🎶🎸🥁🎤🔊💬🥂🎯
@@overthoughtmusik772 I think "Mad Dog" also deserves alot more attention than it usually gets... Just Pumped it in my car the other day and I swear, it goddamn almost took off from the ground 👹🤩🤩
The Obsessed (Wino} might have been more influential than Pentagram.😀
Hey Pete, do Electric Wizard
Day of Reckoning no.1 for me too, well-produced and sharp, needs no more than 7 crushing tracks to knock you down. No idea how drumming sounds on the original vinyl but Hasselvander's re-recording is brilliant and tight.
D.o.r. is their classic!
Good friends of mine.
If they were ever able to get good production like candalmass got in the 80s, they would have been huge. Many songs that could have been great are sabotaged by their lack of production quality
Weird that Sabbath were very popular in the States but the homegrown version who were pretty much just as good got nowhere. From what I remember they had a deal lined up with Columbia but Liebling 'had a moment' and they pulled it - sadly his personality disorder basically prevented him from becoming as successful as he should have.
You should ask the horse's mouth what really happened
@@bobbyliebling8968 Go on then...
The American Black Sabbath. Closest thing to it.
This
Y E S.
From Alexandria Virginia, not Baltimore
The band is called Internal Void!!! Not Infernal.........
excuse me, "inTernal void" ;) cool video anyway!!
Show em How should be way higher!
Are you also a Meat Loaf fan? Just curious
Show em how is a great album
Pen tag ram. I can see that cool shirt through time they was fake hollywoods bubbas.