PENTAGRAM — First Daze Here: The Vintage Collection (review)

PENTAGRAM — First Daze Here: The Vintage Collection album cover Boxset / Compilation · 2002 · Doom Metal Buy this album from MMA partners
3/5 ·
Warthur
Unlike many of the bands that spearheaded the development of doom metal in the 1980s, Pentagram had a key advantage in recapturing the spirit of the 1970s - they'd actually been there. The proof is on this nicely selected compilation from the very first phase of their career. Aside from Starlady, which dates from 1976, all the material here comes from demo and rehearsal tapes recorded between 1972 and 1974, but despite these humble origins the sound quality is quite acceptable.

Musically speaking, Pentagram hadn't yet hit on the Sabbath-worshipping doom metal sound of the 1980s. In all honesty, the material here isn't necessarily all that original, with a lot of it being blues-influenced proto-metal - resembling Led Zeppelin playing Sabbath riffs. The sludgy, fuzzy guitar sound spices things up, and Bobby Liebling does a reasonable Robert Plant impersonation on vocals.

Ultimately, the material here doesn't represent a great lost chapter in metal music so much as it demonstrates how rough around the edges Pentagram were for the first decade of their existence - between unstable lineups and riotous living they simply weren't together enough to put out a proper studio release until the 1980s.

Indeed, many songs first developed here would later get a doom metal workout on Pentagram's proper studio albums, and I can't put my hand on my heart and say I don't prefer them in that context, but for those who are already Pentagram fans this collection is a great way to explore the origins of the band.
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