Pentagram (band)
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| Pentagram | ||
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| Background information | ||
| Origin | Virginia, USA | |
| Genre(s) | Stoner metal Doom metal |
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| Years active | 1971 - 1976, 1983 - present | |
| Label(s) | Peaceville Records Snapper Records Black Widow Records Southern Lord Records Fierce Records |
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| Associated acts |
Place of Skulls Bedemon Internal Void |
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| Members | ||
| Bobby Liebling Kelly Carmichael Adam Heinzmann Mike Smail |
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| Former members | ||
| Victor Griffin Joe Hasselvander Vince McAllister Greg Mayne Geof O'Keefe Randy Palmer Martin Swaney Stuart Rose |
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Pentagram are a long-running American heavy metal band from Virginia, most famous as performers of Sabbathesque doom metal. The band was quite prolific in the underground scene of the 1970s, producing many demos and rehearsal tapes, but did not release a full-length album until reforming in the early 1980s with an almost completely new lineup. Throughout the band's history the only constant member has been vocalist Bobby Liebling. The revolving lineup of Pentagram has featured many well respected musicians in the local doom metal scene, with members spending time in other acts such as Place of Skulls, Internal Void, Spirit Caravan, among many others.
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[edit] The 70's
In the fall of 1971, Bobby Liebling and Geof O’Keefe decided to leave their previous bands (Shades Of Darkness and Space Meat, respectively) to form a new band that reflected their interest in emerging metal acts such as UFO, Uriah Heep and Sir Lord Baltimore. At Liebling’s suggestion, the group was named Pentagram, a sinister moniker that reflected the gloomy subject matter of their material. Although the band would change its name several times during 1971 and 1972 (Virgin Death, Macabre, and Wicked Angel were all considered during this period), they would eventually (and permanently) return to their initial moniker.
Also, contrary to popular belief, they were never called Stone Bunny; this was the name given to Space Meat when Bobby Liebling joined them briefly.
During their 5-year career, they would have 7 different managers, including Gordon Fletcher, a Washington D.C. rock journalist who wrote for magazines such as Rolling Stone, Creem and Circus. The others were Steve Lorber, Philip Knudsen, Skip Groff, Bob Fowler, Tim Kidwell and Tom McGuire.
[edit] Early Line-ups
The initial Pentagram lineup consisted of Bobby Liebling (vocals) Geof O'Keefe (guitar), Vincent McAllister (bass), and Steve Martin (drums). Early practices included the long-time standard "Livin' in a Ram's Head", along with several other long-lasting Pentagram stalwarts.
After a month of rehearsals, Space Meat alumni John Jennings joined to create Pentagram's dual-guitar "Mark II" lineup. It soon became clear, however, that Steve Martin's jazz-influenced drumming did not fit Pentagram's hard-rocking style, and so he was asked to leave the group. His position on the drum stool was dutifully filled by guitarist Geof O'Keefe, reprising the role of drummer he had previously enjoyed in Space Meat.
This "Mark III" lineup of Pentagram was a strong one, and at the time, it seemed like Pentagram had found a permanent lineup. However, 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. After a few rehearsals without a guitarist, bassist Vincent McAllister picked up a guitar and proceeded to shock and amaze Liebling and O'Keefe with his frenzied, feedback-laden soloing. Prior to this revelatory moment, O'Keefe and Liebling couldn't possibly have anticipated that their humble bassist would go on to become Pentagram's resident guitar god for the next five years.
[edit] Classic Line-up
On Christmas Day 1971, this "classic" Pentagram lineup began rehearsing, with Bobby Liebling singing, Vincent McAllister on guitar, Greg Mayne (formerly of Space Meat) playing bass, and Geof 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 four-piece. Two occasional members were Steve Martin and John Jennings.
Thanks to manager Gordon Fletcher's industry connections, the group had several "close calls" in the following years with regard to a recording contract. On April 29, 1975, Fletcher persuaded Sandy Pearlman and Murray Krugman (producers and managers for the legendary Blue Oyster Cult) to see them rehearse. Impressed, the two arranged a demo session at Columbia Studios in New York in September. Unfortunately, the session went sour after a conflict between Liebling and Krugman over a point of production, and the group's major label hopes were dashed. The group would also rehearse in front of Kiss members Gene Simmons and Paul Stanely in December 1975, but the Kiss camp was unimpressed by the group's lack of image and the group remained unsigned.
[edit] Initial Breakup
On December 16th 1975, Bobby Liebling and his girlfriend were arrested, leading to the other members of the band meeting on New Year's Eve to discuss their status. The decision was made that the rest of the band would quit Pentagram, 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 and deciding to give Liebling a second chance. However, after beginning a recording session at Underground Sound, the band split from Liebling again, leaving the sessions unfinished and unmixed.
[edit] Warehouse Recordings
For much of their career, Pentagram rehearsed at the American Mailing warehouse in Alexandria, VA, due to the fact that both Geof and Bobby lived in high-rise apartments. Geof’s father, George, was an executive at American Mailing. Geof had used this location for many of his previous musical projects, whether on his own or with Space Meat. At the warehouse, the group was able to have a good practice room to store their equipment and play loudly without the worry of complaining neighbors. Many of these early rehearsals were recorded onto Geof's reel-to-reel tape recorder. Many of these rehearsal tapes are now traded amongst Pentagram fans and offer recordings of the many early lineups the group went through in the early 70's. When American Mailing moved locations, Pentagram eventually moved to rehearse at Greg and Vincent’s house, which they were renting from an old friend named Knox.
[edit] Early Releases
Pentagram’s first 7 inch was released under the name Macabre, entitled Be Forewarned. The record was released on Intermedia (TBSM 003). This recording ended up being one of the band's only proper releases, although a promotional 7 inch of the song Hurricane (Boffo Socko R13859) was released. A large number of demo and rehearsal recordings, as well as 22 unreleased studio recordings exist from this time period. Despite the handful of recorded material, Pentagram’s repertoire reportedly consisted of nearly 80 original songs, written or co-written by Bobby Liebling, as well as covers such as Under My Thumb by the Rolling Stones and The Yardbirds’ version of Little Games.
Demos that they recorded include:
- A 3-track demo recorded at Columbia Studios on 20 September 1975 (featuring "Run My Course", "When The Screams Come" and "Wheel Of Fortune")
- A 12-track demo recorded at the American Mailing Warehouse, Alexandria, VA, in December 1972 and on 2 February 1973 (featuring "Virgin Death", "Yes I Do", "Ask No More", "Man", "Be Forewarned", "Catwalk", "Die In Your Sleep", "Forever My Queen", "Review Your Choices", "Walk In The Blue Light" and "Downhill Slope").
- A 5-track demo recorded at Underground Sound, Largo, MD, on 4th, 12th and 23 September 1976 (featuring "Smokescreen", "Teaser", "Much Too Young To Know", "Little Games" and "Starlady").
In 2001, Relapse Records issued an authorized compilation of twelve early tracks, three of which were live rehearsal recordings. The release was entitled First Daze Here: The Vintage Collection. Following the compilation's success, Relapse released First Daze Here Too in 2006, a 2-disc, 22-track compilation of unreleased material. The band members are wore the same clothes on the covers of both records.
[edit] Kueht-Trowbridge Lineup
After O'Keefe, McAllister, and Mayne split from Liebling, a new lineup consisting of Liebling (vocals), Randy Palmer (guitar), John Ossea (drums), and an unknown lead guitarist began rehearsing in the basement of a dentist's office. However, this lineup folded after only a couple of months and Liebling was once again bandless.
On Halloween 1978, Liebling bumped into his friend Joe Hasselvander at Louie's Rock City while seeing a band featuring both ex-members of both Pentagram and The Boyz (Hasselvander's previous band). Hasselvander was playing in a singer-less group consisting of himself (drums), Richard Kueht (guitar), Paul Trowbridge (guitar), and Marty Swaney (bass). Liebling soon joined the group, and in less than a week they would take on the Pentagram moniker and begin performing Liebling's material from the previous Pentagram line-up. This configuration played several shows and released a 7" single in 1979, but personal problems caused this line-up to dissolve later that year.
[edit] Death Row
In 1980, bassist Lee Abney and guitarist Victor Griffin formed a northern Virginia doom metal band named Death Row. Shortly thereafter, drummer Joe Hasselvander joined, and the group recruited Bobby Liebling on vocals. Following two demos in 1982 and 1983, respectively, pressure from friends and fans ended up in Liebling dubbing the band Pentagram and continuing on with the new lineup.
[edit] Pentagram Reformed
In 1985, the band released the first full-length studio album under the Pentagram moniker. Initially self titled, the album is often referred to as Relentless, due to it being given the name as a reissue on Peaceville Records. With the album, the band began a tradition of rerecording one classic Pentagram song per album, "20 Buck Spin" being the first to receive this treatment.
After recording their sophomore effort, Day Of Reckoning, the band folded yet again. They reformed in 1993, and in 1994 released Be Forwarned. In 1998, a number of early tracks with the classic lineup was released as Human Hurricane.
Liebling and Hasselvander recorded the two following albums as a duo. 1999's Review Your Choices and 2001's Sub-Basement have both been noted as fan favorites. Hasselvander would later split with Leibling, who soon recruited guitarist Kelly Carmichael, bassist Adam Heinzmann, and drummer Mike Smail, all members of Frederick, Maryland based doom act Internal Void. The new lineup recorded Show 'Em How in 2004. The band has been somewhat in limbo since due to Liebling's unstable behavior, including missing an important show at the 9:30 Club, forcing the band to recruit Hassalvander to perform in his stead.
Most recently, Hank Williams III has included a rendition of the classic versions of Pentagram's "Be Forwarned" and "Forever My Queen" in his live set. During his set at Washington D.C.'s Black Cat club, Liebling joined Williams onstage and performed the songs himself. Liebling also joined Witchcraft onstage at their DC show to sing Pentagram covers "When the Screams Come" and "Yes I Do".
Former members Griffin and Abney formed Place of Skulls following their departure from Pentagram. The band's music is akin to Pentagram's more recent sound. The band briefly featured doom metal legend Scott "Wino" Weinrich on their With Vision album, though he has since left to concentrate on The Hidden Hand.
Randy Palmer died in 2002 in a car crash, while Vincent McAllister died in 2006 from cancer.
[edit] Discography
[edit] Albums
- Pentagram (1985)
- Day of Reckoning (1987)
- Be Forewarned (1994)
- Review Your Choices (1999)
- Sub-Basement (2001)
- Show 'em How (2004)
[edit] Official Singles
- Be Forewarned / Lazy Lady (1972)
- Hurricane / Earth Flight (1973)
- Under My Thumb / When the Screams Come (1973)
- Livin' in a Ram's Head / When the Screams Come (1979)
- Relentless / Day of Reckoning (1993)
[edit] Live albums
- A Keg Full of Dynamite (live '78) (2003)
[edit] Compilations
- 1972-1979 (1993)
- Human Hurricane (1998)
- First Daze Here (2001)
- 1972-1979 Vol. 2 (1999)
- Turn to Stone (2002)
- First Daze Here Too (2006)
[edit] Studios
The studios Pentagram used to record their studio recordings were:
- Bias Recording Studios, Falls Church, VA
- The Fireplace
- National Sound Warehouse, Springfield, VA
- Underground Sound, Largo, MD
- Columbia Studios
[edit] See also
- Mezarkabul — Turkish heavy-metal band called Pentagram.
- Doom Metal
