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PENTAGRAM ‘Day Of Reckoning’ Peaceville (1987/2005)
For a band that has been to hell and back on numerous occasions, Pentagram have achieved quite a lot of things during their thirty five-year-long career. Having lost the great chance of signing a contract with Casablanca Records in the mid-70's, a label that was owned by Kiss' own Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley, the band spent the first fifteen years trying to release their first ever full-length album.
The members of Pentagram were eventually rewarded for their stubbornness and patience in 1985 when "Pentagram" (later re-released under the name "Relentless") was finally released. With doom metal opuses "Death Row", "Sign of the Wolf (Pentagram)", "Relentless" and "The Deist", this album didn't just become a dominant force for its genre, but was hailed as one of the best albums recorded during the 80's.
Unfortunately, even with such an important album behind them, Pentagram didn't get the financial support from their record label which would allow them to cross the Atlantic Ocean and play in front of their passionate and quite devoted European audiences. Instead of that, they played a few gigs in their local Washington DC area, and did some more shows in places like Tennessee and New York, but, most importantly, they started preparing for the recordings of their second studio album, entitled "Day of Reckoning".
Even though they were still recovering from their struggle to release "Pentagram", Bobby Liebling (vocals) and Co soon realised that their next step would be very decisive for the band's future. The standards that they themselves set with "Pentagram" were already quite high, and the pressure for reaching them once again was already mounting on their shoulders. As a result, Joe Hasselvander (drums) decided to quit the band and was replaced by Stuart Rose - a decision that didn't last for long, since he made his return to his "natural environment" a few months before mid-1987, when the "Day of Reckoning" was finally released.
Every single one of the band's loyal fans that was waiting for "Day of Reckoning" to be released and was eager to make a comparison between the two albums must have felt quite pleased after listening to the same-tiled composition which opens this thirty-five minute release. Bobby's strong and colourful voice is as dominant as ever, Victor Griffin's Sabbath-influenced groovy mid-tempo riffs are a joy to everyone's ears and the rhythm section of Joe Hasselvander (drums) and Martin Swaney (bass) are doing the best to build up a positive tension in your senses. Have the members of Pentagram decided to use the same successful formula once again? Is "Day of Reckoning" a "Pentagram, part II"?
The answer to these questions is both yes and no, and what I am saying now becomes more clear when listening to the following compositions like "Evil Seed", "Broken Vows" and "When The Screams Come". This time round, Liebling and Co have invested more in the dark/atmospheric elements of their music and by sacrificing some of the grooviness and speed, they have managed to give "Day Of Reckoning" a character different to that of their debut album.
No one should feel intimidated by this small change, though, simply because if this had not been the case, none of us would have been lucky enough to listen to such an amazing composition as "Burning Savior". Doom Metal can sound mean and evil, and the amazing acoustic guitar intro which is soon followed by Liebling's unique vocals and Griffin's guitar melodies has become the template for many future Doom Metal compositions – this is perfection in its making. "Madman" is the one song after the same-titled composition, which will attempt to accelerate a bit, but always within the already-designated limits. The same applies to "Wartime" - the last composition of the album.
This album was first released eighteen years ago, and the fact that Peaceville records have quite recently decided to re-release it indicates its great importance and artistic value. I don’t believe that the magic of “Pentagram” would ever be repeated, but “Day of Reckoning” was the closest the band could get to such an important release and is also an important moment in the band’s career. Is there still an audience for Pentagram's music out there? Yes, indeed there is, and I am pretty sure that they are going to pay "Day of Reckoning" the respect it really deserves. I, for one, am glad because it means that I can now stop giving a hard time to my poor vinyl, and concentrate on the lyrics and rare photos of this beautifully created digipack.
****
Review by John Stefanis
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