Pentagram

Last Rites is a rumbling mass of laidback power, a somewhat surprising pleasure considering Pentagram's four-decade-long rollercoaster ride of a career: much delayed signing, respect without success, revolving line-up, drug addiction and near-death experiences. Rough roads aside, the hype around their latest release is well-earned. Bluesy, gritty hard rock and resonant leads bleed into steamroller heaviness and graveyard imagery throughout Last Rites, the vocals of founding member Bobby Liebling merging seamlessly with the instrumental substrate in a near-continual flow that soothes the soul. The band's 1970s origins loom like a monument to history and nostalgia, but as the record unfolds, Last Rites exudes a timeless aura, so the date of individual compositions is indeterminate and irrelevant (though the recordings are new, some of the material is apparently vintage). Hearing Pentagram's slow, gloomy melodies propelled by the thick, buzz-y weight of classic doom riffs, it's not hard to imagine how they influenced virtually an entire genre. But that's the past, and according to their three-album signing with Metal Blade, there's still more to come.