https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c7JTD_73kpI Recorded: 1973 Reminiscent of Black Sabbath but no mere copy-cats, Pentagram created Doom Metal long before the phrase was coined and "Forever My Queen" was early 70's Heavy (very heavy) Metal at its most crushing. Laden with groove and with riffs to rival Tony Iommi's Sabbath compositions, Pentagram took Sabbath's Occult Blues blueprint and took it to the next level. "Forever My Queen" is built around a hypnotically repetitive, grinding riff, heavy enough to suffocate a walrus. Sabbath, as heavy as they were, recognised the merits of harmony but Pentagram trod a more sinister path. Revelling in a filthy, dirty Blues-Doom atmosphere, the fusion of styles produced something unique and utterly enthralling. With a singer whose pipes were far more accomplished than Ozzy's, Pentagram should have had a career to rival Sabbath and had the potential to climb the 70's Metal hierarchy but they sadly languished in relative obscurity for over 25 years. Why Pentagram arent idealised is a cautionary tale; frontman Bobby Liebling's gargantuan drug taking (substance abuse which made the Sabbs look like tea-totallers) fouling any chance they had for success but their influence remains extraordinary. Fast forward to the present day and Pentagram are finally receiving the recognition they deserve. Still active, Bobby Liebling, besides his best efforts to do otherwise, is still breathing and still singing and the band released a new album in 2011. Pentagram remain one of the great "lost' bands and are well worth discovering and "Forever My Queen", one of the great Proto-Metal tracks, is a perfect place to start.
I love Heavy Metal, and generally anything that involves a guitar and loud noises, so I figured it was about time I put all the useless information in my head to good use and start writing a few things. Most of the time I'll be writing nonsense but occasionally I may surprise myself and appear half-way knowledgable.....but you can be the judge of that. Thanks for your fleeting attention!