Pentagram - Lightning In A Bottle (Heavy Psych Sounds) [Rich Piva]
Bobby Liebling is the OG, real deal doom/metal/rocker who has led (and been the only recurring member of) the incredibly influential and flat-out awesome band Pentagram since, seemingly impossibly, before I was born.
Liebling has seen and done it all, and it is amazing that not only is he putting out killer music in 2025 (their first demo came out in 1973!) but that he has survived all of these years. Heavy Psych Sounds brings us not only the back catalogue of this great band (if you have not heard albums like Relentless and Be Forewarned at least, you now have zero excuse) but also a new record with an all-new band. Lightning In A Bottle, their 10th album, is Pentagram sounding new and fresh but still very much Liebling’s band through and through.
Tony Reed makes everything better, so having him now actually in Pentagram and doing all of the recording and producing, you know this record is going to sound amazing, and it does. The production is trademarked Reed, capturing the band and Liebling vocally as perfectly as you could for the 2025 version of Pentagram.
Tony Reed makes everything better, so having him now actually in Pentagram and doing all of the recording and producing, you know this record is going to sound amazing, and it does. The production is trademarked Reed, capturing the band and Liebling vocally as perfectly as you could for the 2025 version of Pentagram.
Reed’s guitar work throughout is some of his best yet, and that is saying a lot. The band is rounded out with drummer Henry Vasquez (Legions Of Doom, Saint Vitus, Blood Of The Sun) and bassist Scooter Haslip (Mos Generator, Saltine), so again, you have an idea right away this is going to rip, and right off the bat it does, with the classic sounding but with Reed magic attached opening track, Live Again. That riff and that guitar work just shows what a master Reed is.
Liebling sounds great, energized by the new band that is rocketing him into the middle 2020s, sounding nowhere near his 71 (many rough) years. In The Panic Room is more of the same goodness, with Reed’s riff leading the way over Liebling’s soulful rocker vocals. I Spoke To Death dooms it up even more, with Liebling giving his best vocal performance of the record while Vasquez and Haslip make this track go.
My two favourites on the record are the never subtle and I am glad it isn’t Lady Heroin and the title track. The former is autobiographical, outlining some of the struggles Bobby has endured and the demons that still call out to him today, and is one of the most real tracks I have heard in a while. The latter just rips it up, combining all of the excellent stuff mentioned already, but worth mentioning Reed’s guitar work again.
All 11 tracks (14 on the deluxe edition) are worth your time if you like the old school doom/proto stuff, or if you like Tony Reed’s work in Mos Generator, or if you just like killer heavy rock delivered by a legend who we all owe a debt of gratitude to for leading the way on the music we love. Pentagram are back, as strong as ever, with Liebling leading the way but now with the best band he has had behind him in a long time. Lightning In A Bottle indeed! 8/10
Great American Ghost – Tragedy Of The Commons (Sharptone Records) [Liam Williams]
The brand new 4th album, Tragedy Of The Commons, from American metalcore group Great American Ghost is here and it’s 11 tracks of pure heavy chaos . Although it’s metalcore at it’s roots, there are some elements of sludge and groove metal packed in too for a bit of variety and to help these guys stand out from other metalcore bands.
The album starts with Kerosene. There are some very ominous, machine-like guitars and drums building up to the first verse. It sets the tone really well for the rest of the album. There’s some great screaming and some slight electronic elements. Track 2 is Echoes Of War. The verses chug along nicely, it has some great choruses with a bridge section that leads into the outro instead of a final chorus. Next is Lost In The Outline which starts with a nice guitar intro. There’s some good clean vocals over some chuggy riffs in the first verse, with the second verse being a bit heavier. The second chorus leads into a breakdown, which I felt was a little bit lacklustre but still enjoyed.
Forsaken follows and this one pulls no punches. Nice fast, heavy and chaotic intro. I really like the verses. The first pre-chorus brings back in the chaotic intro riff while the second is more instrumental driven. The outro for this track is a really cool breakdown. Ghost In Flesh starts off ominously quiet for the first 10 seconds or so before punching you in the face with the band and vocals coming in from nowhere. I really like the choruses in this one.
All 11 tracks (14 on the deluxe edition) are worth your time if you like the old school doom/proto stuff, or if you like Tony Reed’s work in Mos Generator, or if you just like killer heavy rock delivered by a legend who we all owe a debt of gratitude to for leading the way on the music we love. Pentagram are back, as strong as ever, with Liebling leading the way but now with the best band he has had behind him in a long time. Lightning In A Bottle indeed! 8/10
Great American Ghost – Tragedy Of The Commons (Sharptone Records) [Liam Williams]
The brand new 4th album, Tragedy Of The Commons, from American metalcore group Great American Ghost is here and it’s 11 tracks of pure heavy chaos . Although it’s metalcore at it’s roots, there are some elements of sludge and groove metal packed in too for a bit of variety and to help these guys stand out from other metalcore bands.
The album starts with Kerosene. There are some very ominous, machine-like guitars and drums building up to the first verse. It sets the tone really well for the rest of the album. There’s some great screaming and some slight electronic elements. Track 2 is Echoes Of War. The verses chug along nicely, it has some great choruses with a bridge section that leads into the outro instead of a final chorus. Next is Lost In The Outline which starts with a nice guitar intro. There’s some good clean vocals over some chuggy riffs in the first verse, with the second verse being a bit heavier. The second chorus leads into a breakdown, which I felt was a little bit lacklustre but still enjoyed.
Forsaken follows and this one pulls no punches. Nice fast, heavy and chaotic intro. I really like the verses. The first pre-chorus brings back in the chaotic intro riff while the second is more instrumental driven. The outro for this track is a really cool breakdown. Ghost In Flesh starts off ominously quiet for the first 10 seconds or so before punching you in the face with the band and vocals coming in from nowhere. I really like the choruses in this one.
There’s some nice drumming in the section leading into the second verse. Great dissonant guitars in the breakdown followed by a chuggy instrumental break leading into the second bridge which is then followed by the final chorus. The outro has a bit of isolated clean guitar which is joined with some quiet clean vocals. Track 6 is Writhe and this one starts with a mean sounding long scream followed by a good little instrumental bit leading into the first verse. I really like the mix of clean and harsh vocals in the chorus for this one. There’s another great little bit of clean singing before the final chorus comes in.
Genocide is a really cool track. It has a pulsing guitar/synth intro. This track sounds like an old machine chugging along, barely keeping itself together. Next comes Hymn Of Decay. This one has a bit more groove to it than other tracks on the album. It’s chuggy, heavy, has some brutal screams and some really good drumming, especially with the addition of some blastbeats in one of the instrumental sections leading into the second verse.
Genocide is a really cool track. It has a pulsing guitar/synth intro. This track sounds like an old machine chugging along, barely keeping itself together. Next comes Hymn Of Decay. This one has a bit more groove to it than other tracks on the album. It’s chuggy, heavy, has some brutal screams and some really good drumming, especially with the addition of some blastbeats in one of the instrumental sections leading into the second verse.
Chapel Paralysis has a short tremolo picked guitar and drum intro before the first verse comes in. There’s a section with drums and spoken word which leads into screams which then leads into another breakdown. I really liked the final chorus. The outro has a single clean guitar playing until the song fades out. Reality//Relapse is my personal favourite. It has some great guitar playing and drumming. great chorus and great breakdown which comes back in for the outro of the track. The album ends with God Is A Loaded Gun. Another great track. It’s got a cool, glitchy, distorted drums and guitar intro. The outro has a semi-guitar solo with some screams before ending with some ominous ambient noise.
This is a brilliant album. However, as much as I do like the vocals, they can get a little grating when listening to the album from start to finish. I listened to the whole album all the way through twice, but I found myself liking the vocals more when listening to just 1 or 2 tracks at a time. Everything else sounds awesome. Good mix, good playing. No other complaints. They’ve done a fine job! 9/10
Thorbjørn Risager & The Black Tornado - House Of Sticks (Provogue Records) [Matt Bladen]
'Roots Rock' it's a term that's used a lot these days, usually describe acts who draw from the early music of the USA, be it the blues, country, gospel, folk, any band under the roots rock banner will incorporate all of these things.
As you can see from name Thorbjørn Risager is not American, he and his band The Black Tornado are a Scandinavian acts who sit in the belly of American blues music but flesh it out with some acoustic Americana, a few torchlight ballads and full on funker called Inner Light which seems the octet going wild with hip shaking rhythms, brass parps and slap bass.
These Danes then are very American but there homage to the Southern states has won them awards and seen them tour all over the globe, a band that boasts guitars, drums, keys and a horn section, their live show would definitely be something to behold, a spectacle in the E-Street Band, Tedeschi Trucks Band style.
House Of Sticks is their ninth studio album so they are well worn and rooted into their sound by now, something that can also be said about Risager's deep resonant voice. He carries weight with every lyric and vocal phrasing, the emotional strength of an old soul. He also adds electric and acoustic guitars with co-producer Søren Bøjgaard playing bass/guitar/synths/piano, kicking out the SRV blues rock on Out Of The Rain.
Already Gone is a fuzzy The Black Keys-like stomp where Martin Seidelin's drums shift it along. It's Emil Balsgaard and Joachim Svensmark that play most of the instruments on House Of Sticks, Emil takes piano/organ/wurlitzer/mellotron/clavinet, basically if it's got keys he plays it as Joachim adds guitar, keys, viola, mellotron and drum programming and is a regular man of many talents. Both of these men the major contributors to Long Time Ago and Said I Was Hurt, two of the more atmospheric songs on this brilliant record.
Kasper Wagner's Alto/Baritone sax and flute, Hans Nybo's Tenor sax and Peter W Kehl's trumpet/flugelhorn/sousaphone/trombone make up that brass section that bring the fun to Inner Light and rumble in the background of Climbed A Mountain. Blues rock, roots rock, whatever you want to call it, House Of Sticks is of the highest class. 8/10
This is a brilliant album. However, as much as I do like the vocals, they can get a little grating when listening to the album from start to finish. I listened to the whole album all the way through twice, but I found myself liking the vocals more when listening to just 1 or 2 tracks at a time. Everything else sounds awesome. Good mix, good playing. No other complaints. They’ve done a fine job! 9/10
Thorbjørn Risager & The Black Tornado - House Of Sticks (Provogue Records) [Matt Bladen]
'Roots Rock' it's a term that's used a lot these days, usually describe acts who draw from the early music of the USA, be it the blues, country, gospel, folk, any band under the roots rock banner will incorporate all of these things.
As you can see from name Thorbjørn Risager is not American, he and his band The Black Tornado are a Scandinavian acts who sit in the belly of American blues music but flesh it out with some acoustic Americana, a few torchlight ballads and full on funker called Inner Light which seems the octet going wild with hip shaking rhythms, brass parps and slap bass.
These Danes then are very American but there homage to the Southern states has won them awards and seen them tour all over the globe, a band that boasts guitars, drums, keys and a horn section, their live show would definitely be something to behold, a spectacle in the E-Street Band, Tedeschi Trucks Band style.
House Of Sticks is their ninth studio album so they are well worn and rooted into their sound by now, something that can also be said about Risager's deep resonant voice. He carries weight with every lyric and vocal phrasing, the emotional strength of an old soul. He also adds electric and acoustic guitars with co-producer Søren Bøjgaard playing bass/guitar/synths/piano, kicking out the SRV blues rock on Out Of The Rain.
Already Gone is a fuzzy The Black Keys-like stomp where Martin Seidelin's drums shift it along. It's Emil Balsgaard and Joachim Svensmark that play most of the instruments on House Of Sticks, Emil takes piano/organ/wurlitzer/mellotron/clavinet, basically if it's got keys he plays it as Joachim adds guitar, keys, viola, mellotron and drum programming and is a regular man of many talents. Both of these men the major contributors to Long Time Ago and Said I Was Hurt, two of the more atmospheric songs on this brilliant record.
Kasper Wagner's Alto/Baritone sax and flute, Hans Nybo's Tenor sax and Peter W Kehl's trumpet/flugelhorn/sousaphone/trombone make up that brass section that bring the fun to Inner Light and rumble in the background of Climbed A Mountain. Blues rock, roots rock, whatever you want to call it, House Of Sticks is of the highest class. 8/10
Kilmara - Journey To The Sun (ROAR RPM) [Chris Tsintziras]
Spanish power metallers Kilmara, have made a pivot move in their sound on their previous release Across The Realm Of Time. This time, they present us their new album Journey To The Sun which keeps that going. From the very beginning, the power metal rhythms are obvious. The drums are solid gallops, blasting away, while the vocals do what a power metal band requires with powerful singing.
Spanish power metallers Kilmara, have made a pivot move in their sound on their previous release Across The Realm Of Time. This time, they present us their new album Journey To The Sun which keeps that going. From the very beginning, the power metal rhythms are obvious. The drums are solid gallops, blasting away, while the vocals do what a power metal band requires with powerful singing.
Journey to The Sun is an immersive sonic experience in which the band goes travelling taking us on a journey to the golden era of power metal. I don’t hesitate to say that they could be the modern Stratovarius at some points of the album, using synthesisers well. I really enjoyed all of the album but my favourite moment is Alliance Of The Free which is a great musical journey.
I strongly believe that the band has a lot to show us after that pivotal move in their sound in the last two albums. 8/10
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