• O C T. XIX. • Pentagram — “The Ghoul”

From the 1985 album Pentagram

If you happened to tune in to DJ D's show last night, you already know this song, as in a quirk of synchronicity, he played it with a shout-out to me, not knowing that I had already selected it for today's track days in advance! I've got my tinfoil hat on now, so hopefully my mind is safe from any further psychic intrusions...

Anyway, of all the Black Sabbath influenced bands playing the less flashy, and more slow-to-mid-paced and downtuned music that later was to be commonly known as "doom metal" (a sub-genre that I have a profound love and obsession for), Pentagram have been around the longest. Formed as Pentagram in 1971, they released their first single ("Be Forewarned" / "Lazy Lady") in 1972 under the name Macabre. Despite being active and recording of multiple demos, it took until 1985 for them to finally put out another official release, but it was well worth the wait. The 1985 self-titled album (later to be renamed Relentless and given a different track order for reasons that are beyond me when it was re-issued by Peaceville records in 1993) is an absolute landmark of doom metal, and has influenced countless bands since.

Despite enough drug use to kill an entire Roman legion, nearly 40 years later, Pentagram still tour, and are currently on break while working on a new album, as well as a documentary DVD to be released sometime next year.