If you’re wondering what happened after Black Sabbath released their first couple of records, we’ll here’s your answer. PENTAGRAM! As a personal opinion I quite like the band, and they did influence a lot of the doom bands that followed but never made a huge impact on Heavy Metal until their (quite harrowing) documentary launched the modern version of the band into the limelight.
Pentagram formed in 1972 only a couple of years behind Sabbath. Formed by main creative force Bobby Liebling and Geof O’Keefe. Due to Liebling’s absolutely crippling substance abuse problems the band never achieved even a fraction of the potential they did have. They recorded what I’d call “Demo” recordings which obviously got around in some limited degree and managed to play a few shows but really this is one of heavy metals saddest stories of missed potential. The band released an official album in 1985 oddly enough called “Pentagram” which was really just re-released demos. Some degree of acclaim was gathered but again it was Lieblings personal issues that stunted the bands progress. Various members would come and go and long story short, nobody could handle Liebling.
One thing you have to keep in mind is that with Pentagram coming onto the scene second only to Black Sabbath they had a huge advantage over other bands. If you bought a Sabbath record in the early 70s and then wanted to buy another other bands music in a similar vein, there was nothing. I have absolutely no doubt in my mind of the band could have gotten even half-way organised they would have been huge just by virtue of being early onto the scene. The songs they wrote were definitely good enough to have projected them into cult status. The imagery was there. They basically had everything going for them but couldn’t keep on the path.”
Liebling took another shot at the title recording a second album which didn’t get released in the later 80’s, and of course the band again split. Another reformation later and a third album was recorded and Peaceville records (primarily an underground black / death metal label) released both the second and third records in 1993.
More lineup hassles and issues followed the band around, but they did manage to release Review your Choices (1999) and Sub-basement (2000) as well as some semi-official recordings before this through various labels.
2001 saw a huge opportunity for the band when Relapse records put out First Daze here a compilation of their early material. But again, you guessed it. Addiction problems got in the way. Show em How was re-relased in 2004 and a compilation of early re-recordings and a couple of new songs were packed for First Daze Here Too. Some actual touring action followed this with some pretty reasonable shows which were filmed for use in the Last Daze Here doco which came out around 2009.
The doco which is what really propelled Pentagram into the limelight and gave the Liebling a chance to live off his music. The doco shows the harrowing effects of his drug usage and highlights how much of a miracle it is to still have Liebling with us to this day. One suspects this documentary could have been the thing to give him the firm kick in the ass he needed to take himself and his career seriously.
To this day Pentagram are still touring with Liebling at the helm, though the lineup still changes around a bit, it’s just great to see them still at it.
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