Pentagram is an American doom metal band from Alexandria, Virginia. They are noted as one of the pioneers of heavy metal, particularly of the aforementioned subgenre doom metal. As such, they are considered one of the "big four" of doom metal alongside Candlemass, Saint Vitus, and Trouble. The band's sound has drawn comparisons to Black Sabbath. Pentagram frontman Bobby Liebling has expressed distaste for the "doom metal" terminology, instead preferring Pentagram to be referred to as a "heavy hard rock" band.
While active in the underground music scene of the 1970s, Pentagram produced several demos and rehearsal tapes. However, their first full-length album, Relentless, was not released until 1985; it featured a new lineup, with the only original member being vocalist Bobby Liebling. The band has since released eight more studio albums. The current lineup of Pentagram consists of Liebling, Tony Reed (guitar), Scooter Haslip (bass), and Henry Vasquez (drums).
Lead vocalist Bobby Liebling has been referred to as "very much the US version of Ozzy Osbourne, but without the money or sustained success." Kiss reportedly attempted to purchase the rights for two songs from the band at some point in the 1970s.
History 1970s In 1971, Bobby Liebling and Geof O'Keefe left their previous groups (Shades of Darkness and Space Meat, respectively) to form a new band that reflected their interest in the emerging genres of metal and heavy rock. Liebling suggested naming the group "Pentagram" to reflect the gloomy subject matter of their material. Although the band changed its name several times between 1972 and 1974 ("Macabre" in 1972, "Virgin Death" in 1973, and "Wicked Angel" in 1974 were all considered during this period), they eventually (and permanently) returned to Pentagram. Contrary to popular belief, Liebling gave Space Meat the name "Stone Bunny" when he briefly joined the band.Pentagram biography at MusicMight
During their five-year career, they were represented by seven different managers, including Gordon Fletcher, a Washington, D.C. rock journalist, Steve Lorber, Phillip Knudsen, Skip Groff, Bob Fowler, Tim Kidwell, and Tom McGuire.
Early lineups, the Ram Family
The initial Pentagram lineup consisted of Liebling on vocals, O'Keefe on guitar, Vincent McAllister on bass, and Steve Martin on drums. Early practices included the long-time standard "Livin' in a Ram's Head" and other enduring Pentagram classics.
After a month of rehearsals, Space Meat alumnus John Jennings joined to create Pentagram's dual-guitar "Mark II" lineup, but he was soon asked to leave the group and his position was filled by guitarist O'Keefe. After this lineup's first rehearsal, Jennings called O'Keefe to tell him that he was leaving the group, citing a lack of interest in heavy music as his reason for departure. McAllister would become Pentagram's guitarist for the next five years. McAllister would leave for California in 1980 to attend classes at the Guitar Institute of Technology, and Jennings would subsequently collaborate with Mary Chapin Carpenter during the 1980s and into the 1990s as her primary guitarist.
On Christmas Day 1971, this Pentagram lineup began rehearsing, with Liebling on vocals, McAllister on guitar, Greg Mayne (formerly of Space Meat) on bass, and O'Keefe on drums. In mid-1974, rhythm guitarist Randy Palmer joined the "Ram Family", as the group was known, but left in January 1975 due to drug problems, and the group once again continued on as a quartet.
On April 29, 1975, Fletcher persuaded Sandy Pearlman and Murray Krugman (producer and manager of Blue Öyster Cult) to see them rehearse. The two arranged a demo session at Columbia Studios in New York City that September. Liebling and Krugman had conflicting opinions on a point of production. On December 16, 1975, Liebling and his girlfriend were arrested. The decision was made that the rest of the band would quit the group because Liebling owned the rights for the name "Pentagram", and they could not continue under that name without him. The remaining members unsuccessfully auditioned singers during much of 1976 before recruiting Marty Iverson as a second guitarist in the summer of 1976. After beginning a recording session at Underground Sound in Largo, Maryland, the band split from Liebling again, leaving the sessions unfinished.
Pentagram's first 7-inch, "Be Forewarned", was released under the name Macabre and included "Lazy Lady" on the B-side. The record was produced by Phillip Knudsen and released on Intermedia. This recording ended up being one of the band's only proper releases, although a promotional 7-inch of the song "Hurricane" was also released during that time. Pentagram's repertoire reportedly consisted of nearly 80 original songs, written or co-written by Liebling. Many of these demos would appear on the semi-authorized 1972–1979 compilation, the bootleg follow-up 1972–1979 (Vol. 2) and the hard-to-find (albeit official) Human Hurricane compilation. In 2001, Relapse Records issued an authorized compilation of 12 early tracks, three of which were live rehearsal recordings, titled First Daze Here (The Vintage Collection). Relapse later released First Daze Here Too in 2006, a two-disc, 22-track compilation of additional unreleased material.
High Voltage era After O'Keefe, McAllister, and Mayne split from Liebling, a new lineup consisting of Liebling (vocals), Randy Palmer (guitar), and John Ossea (drums) began rehearsing in the basement of a dentist's office. Bass players during that period included Rick Marinari, who went on to join Albatross, and Vance Bockis, later of the Obsessed. However, this lineup broke up after a couple of months.
On Halloween 1978, the singer bumped into his friend Joe Hasselvander at the Louie's Rock City club in Falls Church, Virginia while seeing Sex, a band featuring ex-members of both Pentagram and the Boyz (Hasselvander's previous band). Hasselvander was playing in a group consisting of himself (drums), Richard Kueht (guitar), Paul Trowbridge (guitar), and Marty Swaney (bass). Personal problems caused this lineup to dissolve later in 1979. It is generally referred to as the "High Voltage era" of Pentagram.A Keg Full of Dynamite liner notes
1980s and 1990s Death Row, Victor Griffin era In 1980, bassist Lee Abney and guitarist Victor Griffin formed a Knoxville, Tennessee, (later based in Northern Virginia) doom metal band named Death Row. Shortly thereafter, drummer Joe Hasselvander joined, and the group recruited Liebling on vocals. Former member Swaney soon replaced Abney on bass and the band re-assumed the name 'Pentagram'. Following two demos in 1982 and 1983, Hasselvander left the band in 1984 and Stuart Rose was chosen as his replacement. The 1982 demo, All Your Sins, was then remixed and partially re-recorded in 1984 for release in 1985 as the band's eponymous debut album.
In 1985, the band released their first studio album, featuring "Death Row" material and the lineup of Liebling on vocals, Griffin on guitar, Swaney on bass, and Rose on drums. Initially self-titled, the album was often referred to as Relentless due to it being renamed when it was reissued by Peaceville Records in 1993. The record's obscure lyrical themes helped Pentagram's reputation as a classic doom metal style band. After recording their second album, Day of Reckoning, the band folded. In 1989, 1970s-era members Mayne and Palmer rejoined Liebling with the addition of Ted Feldman on guitar and John Cook on drums. The band was working on recording a third LP, but shortly after their first performance in Maryland, they split up in 1990.
The previous "classic" lineup of Liebling, Griffin, Swaney, and Hasselvander reformed in 1993, and Peaceville Records reissued the first two albums. During this same time, Peace Records released the semi-legitimate 1972–1979. In 1994, they released their third full-length album, Be Forewarned. Griffin and Hasselvander briefly joined UK doom band Cathedral as live musicians in 1994. Bassist Greg Turley and drummer Gary Isom occasionally performed live with the band, filling in for Swaney and Hasselvander.
Liebling and Hasselvander Pentagram split up again, and in 1996, a new lineup was forged, consisting of Liebling on vocals, Hasselvander on drums, and new members Greg Reeder on guitar and Ned Meloni on bass. This lineup recorded a demo, Change of Heart. Shortly afterward, Pentagram re-emerged as a studio duo, with Liebling retaining vocal duties and Hasselvander taking care of all instrumentation. In 1998, Downtime Records released a number of early recordings on a compilation album titled Human Hurricane; and 1972–1979 (Vol. 2), a bootleg follow-up to 1972–1979, was released in 1999 by Peace Records.
Liebling and Hasselvander recorded both 1999's Review Your Choices and 2001's Sub-Basement as a duo. In-between those albums, a brief live reunion of the Death Row classic lineup took place with Liebling, Griffin, Hasselvander, and Abney. The combo of Liebling and Hasselvander occasionally performed live as Pentagram during this period, assisted by bassist Walter White and drummer Dale Russell.
In 2001, Relapse Records issued First Daze Here (The Vintage Collection), a compilation consisting of unreleased material from the 1970s. In 2002, Peaceville Records released a compilation of songs from the first three albums titled Turn to Stone. Peaceville re-released the band's first three albums on CD in digipak format in 2005.
After 2000 Shortly after Sub-Basement, Hasselvander split with Liebling, who soon recruited guitarist Kelly Carmichael, bassist Adam Heinzmann, and drummer Mike Smail, all members of the doom metal band Internal Void. This totally new lineup recorded Show 'Em How in 2004, an album that featured seven rerecorded 1970s-era Pentagram songs along with three new originals. In 2006, Relapse released a second compilation of unreleased 1970s material, First Daze Here Too. After Show 'Em How, Liebling collapsed in the intro of a show in Washington, D.C., Black Cat, forcing the band to recruit Hasselvander and others from the audience to perform in his stead.
In July 2000, former members Griffin and Abney formed Place of Skulls, following their departure from Pentagram. Place of Skulls briefly featured doom metal legend Scott "Wino" Weinrich on their 2003 With Vision album, though he later left to concentrate on the Hidden Hand. Abney left in 2002 but returned in 2007.
Palmer died in 2002 from injuries suffered in a car crash while McAllister died in May 2006 from cancer.
Hank Williams III included renditions of the classic versions of Pentagram's "Be Forewarned" and "Forever My Queen" in his live set. During his performance at the Black Cat club in 2006, Liebling joined Williams onstage and performed the songs himself. On September 15, 2006, Liebling joined Witchcraft onstage at a show at The Rock and Roll Hotel in Washington D.C., to sing Pentagram covers "When the Screams Come" and "Yes I Do".
Hasselvander's solo project, the Hounds of Hasselvander, released an album in 2007. For live performances, Hasselvander recruited Kayt Vigil on bass and former Pentagram drummer and Maryland doom mainstay Isom on drums. Hasselvander also contributed to Blue Cheer's 2007 album, What Doesn't Kill You. On August 23, 2008, a new Pentagram lineup was announced by Liebling, which featured guitarist Russ Strahan, former live drummer Gary Isom, and bassist Mark Ammen, who came in after a short period with Kayt Vigil.