POSSESSED, PENTAGRAM, CRYPTOPSY, MANILLA ROAD, BELPHEGOR, ONSLAUGHT and AGALLOCH are the latest acts confirmed for SWR Barroselas Metalfest XVI which will take place April 24th – 27th in Barroselas, Portugal.
Legendary heavy metal pioneers and doom metal innovators PENTAGRAM are auditioning new guitar players. As previously announced, the revered guitarist Victor Griffin is performing his farewell shows during the Oct/Nov European Relentless Tour. He’ll be focusing on his solo career from this point on and the band and fans wish him all the best. Victor will forever be an important part of the “Ram Family.”
PENTAGRAM is now searching for the perfect player who can easily play the blazing, early blues-based, hard rock, proto-metal of the late Vincent McAllister as well as the doom metal mastery of the one and only Victor Griffin. Tone, chops, appearance, tour experience & availability (US and abroad so a passport is required), song writing skills, and sobriety are all important factors. The band will be writing/recording their follow up to the acclaimed Metal Blade release, Last Rites this coming December and January.
Someone who is close to the Washington, DC area is preferred but exceptions will be made for the perfect player.
Please submit a short bio, a photo, and audio or video of you playing. PENTAGRAM song covers are preferred and the following songs are suggested:
“Wolf’s Blood”
“All Your Sins”
“Treat Me Right”
“When the Screams Come”
“Forever My Queen”
“20 Buck Spin”
Please send submissions to: PentagramAuditions@gmail.com
In other news, PENTAGRAM is gearing up to tour Europe and the dates will commence with the band’s first ever UK tour. In a celebration of Victor Griffin’s time with the band, PENTAGRAM will be playing the Decibel Magazine Hall of Fame album, Relentless, in its entirety. After the doom pioneers first-ever UK show in London in 2011, Bobby Leibling and the boys return for four shows with Gentlemans Pistols as support, kicking off in Bristol at The Fleece.
PENTAGRAM Tour w/ Gentlemans Pistols
10/31 Bristol, UK The Fleece
11/01 London, UK Garage
11/02 Manchester, UK Academy 3
11/04 Glasgow, UK Ivory Black End Tour
11/06 Kopenhagen, DK Loppen
11/07 Gothenburg, SE Truckstop Alaska
11/08 Oslo, NO John Dee
11/09 Stockholm, SE Slakthuset
11/10 Würzburg, DE Hammer Of Doom Festival
Eduardo “Topo” Topelberg, former drummer of Chile’s death metal legends PENTAGRAM, is running for political office. The 45-year-old former musician is hoping to become elected one of ten councilors of Ñuñoa, a commune of Chile located in Santiago Province, on October 28.
Topelberg‘s campaign jingle, which can be seen below, has had more than twenty thousand views in less than two weeks.
Asked why he stopped drumming for PENTAGRAM, Topelberg told Paniko.cl, “I started to feel a pain in my right leg and I was diagnosed with neuropathy [nerve damage]. I had to stop playing and change some of my habits. I underwent gastric bypass surgery last year and lost 80 kilograms, Now I have two musical projects: OGRE, which performs covers of Camilo Sesto and other songs in Spanish, and my other band is ELECTROPÓNICO, a ‘tango trash’ project which I began before my trip to Buenos Aires and which I intend to finish mixing soon.”
PENTAGRAM earlier in the year announced the addition of drummer Juan Pablo Donoso (SADISM, THORNAFIRE) to the group’s ranks. The band’s guitarist/vocalist Anton Reisenegger explained at the time, “We all love Eduardo dearly and we wish him nothing but the best, but my impression is that playing drums is just not a priority for him anymore. I sincerely hope he proves me wrong in the future, as he will always be part of the PENTAGRAM family, but we needed a change if we wanted to move forward.”
Doom legends PENTAGRAM will be playing their classic debut Relentless (originally self-titled) in its entirety for the first time since the early 1980’s. According to a band update: “We will also be playing other beloved songs spanning the whole catalog including songs from our latest album, Last Rites.”
Dates:
October
31 – Britsol, UK – The Fleece
November
1 – London, UK – The Garage
2 – Manchester, UK – Academy 3
4 – Glasgow, UK – Ivory Black
6 – Kopenhagen, Denmark – Loppen
7 – Gothenburg, Sweden – Truckstop Alaska
8 – Oslo, Norway – John Dee
9 – Stockholm, Sweden – Debaser
10 – Würzburg, Germany – Posthalle (Hammer Of Doom)
PENTAGRAM have announced they will tour Europe in October and November.
Catch the Doom pioneers here: PENTAGRAM
31/10/12 – UK – Bristol – The Fleece
01/11/12 – UK – London – The Garage
02/11/12 – UK – Manchester – Academy 3
04/11/12 – UK – Glasgow – Ivory Black
06/11/12 – DK – Copenhagen – Loppen
07/11/12 – SE – Gothenburg – Truckstop Alaska
08/11/12 – NO – Oslo – John Dee
09/11/12 – SE – Stockholm – Debaser
10/11/12 – DE – Würzburg – Hammer Of Doom
Check out live footage from PENTAGRAM‘s first ever London show last year at http://www.invade.tv
The PENTAGRAM documentary film Last Days Here is currently streaming in its entirety on German station ZDF. Watch it here: http://www.zdf.de
Directed by Don Argott and Demian Fenton (Rock School 2005) the 90-minute no holds barred tumultuous history of Bobby Liebling and this influential and self-destructive outfit is Time Out Critics choice. See Tom Huddleston’s review here: http://www.timeout.com
After weeks of extensive auditions, occult rock legends PENTAGRAM have found a full-time drummer in Virginia Native Sean Saley. Sean’s debut with the band begins during this summer’s European Festival Circuit, which starts with Sweden Rock in Sölvesborg, Sweden.
Sean stated before flying to his debut at Sweden Rock, “I’m more than excited, honored and ready to rock as part of the essential heavy metal institution that is Pentagram. They’re local favorites and idols to me.”
PENTAGRAM will be playing alongside rock and metal bands such as Blue Öyster Cult, Motörhead, Twister Sister, and The Darkness to name a few. For more info, go to http://www.swedenrock.com/. From there the band will continue to tour Europe before heading back home to the states.
PENTAGRAM 06/12 Cologne, Germany Gebaude 9
06/14 Vitoria, Spain Askena Open Air
06/15 Cesena, Italy Go Down Festival Big Barre
06/17 Clisson, France Hellfest
Influenced by the likes of Bill Ward, Ian Paice, and Les Binks, drummer Sean Saley grew up on hard rock and heavy metal before taking a turn as drummer for DC underground punk legends GOVERNMENT ISSUE in the 80s. Anyone familiar with the Maryland metal scene may also remember Sean from 90s-era technical/doom/thrash wizards ANGSTROM, which also featured blind guitarist Torey Ferguson. Sean had been a longtime PENTAGRAM fan before joining the band in 2012.
In other PENTAGRAM news:
Sundance Selects / 9.14 Pictures, in conjunction with MPI Home Video will release the award-winning documentary, “Last Days Here” on DVD format in the US & Canada on July 31st. “Last Days Here” is based on the life and struggles of vocalist / founder Bobby Liebling and metal pioneers PENTAGRAM. The film most recently won the Jury Award for “Best Documentary” at the Calgary Underground Film Festival.
Pre-orders are available from Amazon.com, iTunes, Best Buy, and other online and physical retailers. “Last Days Here” will also be available for viewing via Netflix and is currently available OnDemand on your cable system under ‘IFC’. http://www.ifcfilms.com/films/last-days-here
“A Masterpiece” – Vice Magazine
“An Intense documentary, it blew us all away!” – Eddie Trunk “That Metal Show” VH-1
“A heavy metal ‘Grey Gardens’, hilarious and tragic.” – The Wall Street Journal
“Engrossing, Affectionate… Completely Unpredictable.” – The Village Voice
“It’s horrifying, and you can’t look away.” – The New York Post
“…surprising sweetness.” -The New York Times
“Engrossing! – Editor’s Pick – New York Magazine
“I will just advise you to see it. And hear it. It soars.” – Trust Movies
“Never a dull moment…has more bizarre twists than any fiction.” – The Boston Phoenix
“Painful, traumatic, albeit deeply inspiring.” – Time Out London
“Ingenious and suspenseful…to call ‘Last Days Here’ a mere music documentary is like saying Led Zeppelin’s ‘Stairway to Heaven’ is a pretty tune.” – Filmmaker Magazine
AWARDS:
Best Music Documentary / International Documentary Film Festival – Amsterdam
Grand Jury Prize – Best Documentary / Independent Film Fest Boston
Audience Award – Best Film / San Francisco Indie Fest
Best Film / Sydney Underground Film Festival
Best International Music Documentary / In Edit Fest – Barcelona
Official Selection – SXSW Film Festival 2011
Official Selection – BAM Cinemafest
Official Selection – BFI London Film Festival
Bronze Audience Award – Best Documentary – Fantasia International Film Fest
Artist: Evil Masquerade
Album: Pentagram
Label: Dark Minstrel Music
Date of Release: 21st May 2012
1. Pentagram
2. A Silhouette
3. Perfect Disgrace
4. The Spirits of the Dead
5. Moonlight Fantasy
6. Unholy Water
7. Pray For Mercy On Our Souls
8. Soul Taker
9. On a Bed of Thorns
10. Strangers Might Fool Ya’
11. When the Fire Dies
12. The Golden Ratio
How do you define what you hear when everything is beyond reality and acceptance itself? I’d suppose Evil Masquerade has found a way of explaining such things with their music. As you delve into the realms of the music and the particulars in which you are hearing it, you not only listen, but you almost become a part of it itself. This is not far from the truth with any hypnotising music, and Evil Masquerade have surely pulled this one out of the bag with their beautifully creative masterpiece of shear musical madness.
Entering the album you are shown what has made this band simply excellent, with brilliant executions of riffs and melodies, combined with the keyboards carrying along the rhythms and the vocals are something beyond all reckoning. ‘Pentagram‘ really lines you up for what is beyond an exceptional album.
Song to song you are taken on a journey of musical excellence, with the most extraordinary effect driven madness and pure heavy passages before obscurities take place like that of ‘On a Bed of Thorns‘ which is just astonishing. Before long you are thrown into the musical genius that is ‘Strangers Might Fool Ya” and the renaissance characteristic overlays of the beautiful synths. Being a fan of well used synths is a quality many bands fail to master, but this has certainly achieved it.
The album itself is worth not only a listen, but much more than that. This has to be experienced.
10/10
Lineup
APOLLO PAPATHANASIO – Vocals HENRIK FLYMAN – Guitar DENNIS BUHL – Drums THOR JEPPESEN – Bass ARTUR MEINILD – Keyboard
Recorded by Henrik Flyman and Tommy Hansen.
Mixed by Tommy Hansen (Jorn, Helloween, Beyond Twilight).
Produced by Henrik Flyman.
Composed, written and arranged by Henrik Flyman.
EAGLE BOOKING LIVE PROMOTION, GO DOWN RECORDS, HARD STAFF, HEAVHELLINN, SM_BOOKING proudly present:
Friday, June 15th is a date to pin up on the calendar, it marks the return to Italian soil of one of the bands that have changed the course of heavy metal world, the legendary PENTAGRAM. The band, led by Bobby Liebling, will be the protagonist in one-off show at BIG BARRE’ in Pievesistina (Cesena). The task of opening act will be up to RAIN from Bologna; historical heavy metal band on tour to celebrate their 30th anniversary, on stage will be seen also SHININ SHADE and AVANT-GARDENER from Parma and SLOW ORDER from Bologna.
Friday 15 june 2012 at 7 pm
at BIG BARRE’
Via Fossalta n. 2621
Pievesistina, Cesena Italy
“A Silhouette”, the new video from the Denmark-based symphonic metal band EVIL MASQUERADE, can be seen below. The song comes off the group’s fifth album, “Pentagram”, which was released on May 21 via Dark Minstrel Music. The CD was once again produced by guitarist Henrik Flyman and mixed by Tommy Hansen (JORN, HELLOWEEN) at Jailhouse Studios in Denmark.
The track listing for the CD is as follows:
01. Pentagram
02. A Silhouette
03. Perfect Disgrace
04. The Spirits of the Dead
05. Moonlight Fantasy
06. Unholy Water
07. Pray For Mercy On Our Souls
08. Soul Taker
09. On a Bed of Thorns
10. Strangers Might Fool Ya
11. When the Fire Dies
12. The Golden Ratio
A video teaser for “Pentagram” can be seen below. Also available is the final CD artwork.
The music on “Pentagram” is described as heavily influenced by such bands as DIO, BLACK SABBATH and RAINBOW. Source: Blabbermouth.net
Guitarist/vocalist Anton Reisenegger of Chile’s death metal legends PENTAGRAM has issued the following update:
“First of all, many of you have heard rumours about a significant lineup change in the band. Unfortunately, it’s true, as we have decided to part ways with our original drummer Eduardo Topelberg, a.k.a. ‘Eurynomos.’
“When we did the 2009 reunion tour, first in Chile and later in Europe, the chemistry within the band was great and we agreed to carry on and finally record our first studio album. Juan Pablo Uribe (guitar) and I got together months later to start writing, and the outcome was amazing. We wrote about 8 songs in the first weekend, which in our opinion totally live up to the standard set by the classic demo songs. We then set a date for January 2011 to track the drums in Chile, but when I arrived there, ready to record, I found out that Eduardo had experimented some very drastic changes in his life, which unfortunately affected his performance as a musician. We still went into the studio to give him a chance, but the result was just not good enough to end up on our long-awaited debut album.
“We all love Eduardo dearly and we wish him nothing but the best, but my impression is that playing drums is just not a priority for him anymore. I sincerely hope he proves me wrong in the future, as he will always be part of the PENTAGRAM family, but we needed a change if we wanted to move forward.
“Enter Juan Pablo Donoso, a legendary Chilean drummer who has been active in the scene for almost as long as we have, and whose drumming skills have been the foundation of bands such as SADISM and THORNAFIRE. He has also lent those skills to a number of bands as a session drummer, plus he has produced/engineered tons of Chilean metal albums in his own Sade Studios.
“Having witnessed those early PENTAGRAM shows in the Eighties as a teenager, he immediately understood what we were looking for in a drummer. Juan Pablo has now finished tracking the drums for the album, and we feel that he has really taken those songs in and interpreted them with the original PENTAGRAM style in mind. No lightning-fast, sampled, quantized drums, but pure feeling, the same primitive, brutal, frenzied feeling of our early material.
“Now we can finally move on and finish what we feel is a historic debt: The first-ever PENTAGRAM studio album.
“At this point, I want to thank our label Cyclone Empire for their patience, understanding and support. Their comment: ‘It has taken so long for you to record and album that a year more or less doesn’t really matter!’
“On a different subject, we have decided to officially change our name to PENTAGRAM CHILE, fundamentally out of respect to the ‘other’ PENTAGRAM (the original and true PENTAGRAM, if you will), led by Bobby Liebling. We actually met Bobby and the band at 2009′s Hell’s Pleasure festival (yes, two PENTAGRAMs on the same bill!), and they were really cool and laid back, and apparently didn’t have the slightest problem with us using the same name. However, I must admit that having the same name has caused some confusion here and there (like having a picture of the U.S. PENTAGRAM in the Wacken program brochure when it was us playing). We think and hope that this solution will be accepted by everybody. Our fans in Chile and elsewhere will probably still refer to us simply as PENTAGRAM, but we want to make sure there is no more mix-ups in the future, as we intend to tour extensively with the new album. We just thought that changing our name to something completely different would cause even more confusion rather than preventing it.
“Last but not least, although we had decided to give priority to finishing the album and not to play live until it was done, we recently recieved an offer we couldn’t refuse. We are now confirmed for the tenth edition of the Maryland Deathfest to be held at Sonar in Baltimore at the end of this month. We are scheduled to play on Sunday, May 27 at 18:25 on one of the outside stages, in between MORGOTH and SAINT VITUS. This is going to be our North American live debut and we just can’t wait! Afterwards we will resume work on the album, which we expect to have completed by the end of the summer.
“Thanks everybody for your patience and ongoing support. You won’t be disappointed!”
METAL BLADE has issued the following:
Friday, June 15th is a date to pin up on the calendar, it marks the return to Italian soil of one of the bands that have changed the course of heavy metal world, the legendary PENTAGRAM. The band, led by Bobby Liebling, will be the protagonist in one-off show at BIG BARRE’ in Pievesistina (Cesena). The task of opening act will be up to RAIN from Bologna; historical heavy metal band on tour to celebrate their 30th anniversary, on stage will be seen also SHININ SHADE and AVANT-GARDENER from Parma and SLOW ORDER from Bologna.
01. Pentagram
