Pentagram
Last Rites

The echoes of "Day of reckoning" and "Be forewarned" still resound: guitar riffs of tar and alcohol in the wake of Black Sabbath. Pentagram lived off the proceeds of their first two works, becoming a true cult icon of the overseas metal underground.

The band hadn't released a true release since 2004. The good "Show 'em how" was the last studio work from Pentagram, so the years that have passed since that release have further heightened the anticipation level for the new CD, as well as reinforcing that aura of mystery and legend that Pentagram has carried with them since their inception in 1971.

Then, on April 12, 2011, Last Rites saw the light, the seventh full-length in their discography. The curiosity about its content and especially the desire to hear how Pentagram is aging immediately clashed with a not too veiled fear: many interpreted the title as a message from the band addressed to the fans. Could it be that this is the last album by Pentagram? Few believed it, and frankly, seeing how they have held firm throughout their career, we can expect some more "rites" of bloody heavy metal on the horizon.

It is impossible, therefore, to miss the latest work of one of the most important realities for the consolidation and then development of American heavy metal, starting from the '70s. Yet listening to Last Rites can leave you bewildered. At first superficial listen, it seems like we're facing a more doom and modern version of Kyuss: the recording clearly leans towards stoner rock. Could this be a bad thing? After the first beats, it is difficult to assimilate Pentagram with their new sound, but listens bring the hoped-for help, and in the end, "Last Rites" turns out to be yet another positive release in their career.

Bobby Liebling, despite all the problems connected with his person in recent years, once again manages to lead the band, which sees the return of the historic guitarist Victor Griffin on the six-strings. The four members propose some old tracks of the band (the epochal masterpiece "Call the man"), along with others of recent writing, like "8", a melancholic fusion of stoner and doom with a fungoid stench. A pike dive back in time for "Windmills and chimes", a composition with blues/hard rock traits on which Liebling's voice stands out. Excellent tracks like the ones mentioned before are followed by others less successful but still appreciable like "Walk in the blue light" and "Nothing left", excellent examples of the Pentagram style. They are, however, accompanied by tracks that do not convince, like "American dream", which stands out only for the fierce critique of American society, and "Horseman", an anonymous track lacking the charge of pathos you would expect from a band like Pentagram.

Despite the switch to Metal Blade having raised eyebrows among many and despite the various lineup difficulties that have always characterized the Washington group, Pentagram has returned with the usual massive dose of heavy metal spiced with doom influences and never as in this case stoner. It won't be the album of the year; it won't be the release that makes them known to the general public, but Last Rites once again reconfirms (if there was ever any need for it) Pentagram's great charge. Another one of those realities still unknown to most who claim to be "connoisseurs" of music...

Rating: 3 and a half.

1. "Treat Me Right" (2:32)
2. "Call The Man" (3:49)
3. "Into The Ground" (4:21)
4. "8" (5:02)
5. "Everything's Turning To Night" (3:18)
6. "Windmills And Chimes" (4:32)
7. "American Dream" (4:32)
8. "Walk In The Blue Light" (4:59)
9. "Horseman" (3:38)
10. "Death In 1st Person" (4:01)
11. "Nothing Left" (3:36)
12. "All Your Sins - Reprise" (0:57)