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Pentacle: ...Rides the moonstorm
11/01/10 || Habakuk
Normally, when I read “re-release digipack” somewhere, I make sure
to avoid the thing as much as humanly possible. However, this album here
is probably close to impossible to find if you’re not wanting to spend
the rest of your days in used CD stores and metal markets. Both are
admittedly not the worst places to be, but I still have other things to
do in my life, like terraforming remote planets, stuff like that.
Anyway, after a long time during which I only had “…Rides the moonstorm”
in digital – stolen! – form and never seeing the album anywhere,
uttering a powerless sigh I finally bought the digi version. Opening the
parcel I encountered a more than pleasant surprise. No shitty thin
cardboard thingie without booklet, but a nice cross-shaped fold-out disc
casing (still cardboard though, oh well) with notes about the album
recording from all three band members and pictures, plus a 16-page
booklet, again with a few lines about each track, lyrics, thank you’s,
prints of old reviews and whatnot. Certainly gives the impression that
the band was closely involved in the making of this version, which I
appreciate. Massive kudos for a package like that. This is how you
re-release stuff, yes, I’m looking at you, Metal Mind.
It gets even better since the audio content holds up to these standards. What we get here is basically a modernized and heavinized™ version of proto-extreme bands like old Celtic Frost. Whoa whoa whoa, did that just read “modernized”? Chill out, studded leather glove-wearing old schooler. These guys knew exactly how to keep the spirit, and what’s modern is not the production per se. It sure sounds a lot better, but see, everything except the solos and vocals has been recorded live together, just like in the good ol’ days. Consequently, everything retains a nice, raw feel. Neither is the songwriting exactly new-fashioned – the basic formula comes down to what the ‘Frost used to do best – but the heavy parts are heavier, the fast parts are faster, the harsh vocals (Wannes Gubbels, Martin van Drunen aficionado of Asphyx fame) are harsher and drumming has noticeably evolved since ’86 or whatever. We get lots and lots simplistic killer riffs supported by steadily pounding drums, and from time to time the thrashing d-beat frenzy drops to double-bass powered half-time awesomeness of the kind that would make Tom G. Warrior look back, with tears in his eyes. Unh!
Speaking of which, the intro to the first song is nothing else but a recording of our beloved Tom G. bellowing out a couple of “unh!“s in front of a crowd in Montreal, 1985. How cool is that? Riiigsh!
This whole retro idea probably doesn’t sit too well with a lot of people after ten thousand D.R.I. meets Slayer clone bands, but this album here is different. First of all, it was released in 1998, and the people involved can basically be considered old schoolers themselves. Also, it comes across as a genuinely inspired glance into the past instead of just a rehashed rip-off to please the kids. These guys don’t need to please no-one. The (very plausible) thank you-list includes only a select few acts such as Celtic Frost, Hellhammer, Possessed, Pentagram, Venom, Necrovore, Mantas/Death (how good is that? Mantas/Death), Destruction or Kreator. Imagine these bands would have actually recorded a decent-sounding album during their early days, production-wise that is. The result would probably not be too far off from “…Rides the moonstorm”. Shit, listen to Pentagram’s “Spell of the Pentagram”, and then check out Pentacle’s cover – say what you will about cover songs, but this is nothing like all these badly done “let’s re-record old stuff” songs. The band manages to take the song to a completely new level of chaotic death-/thrash awesomeness without taking away the grit that makes old stuff so awesome. Ugh!
“…Rides the moonstorm” is awesome from start to finish. Almost. The
last track is a bit bland basically a pretty forgettable outro, but
that’s fine with me when the same album packs moments like the title
track with a massive “Morbid Tales”-like mid-tempo section morphing
seamlessly into a full-speed assault called “Veil of Sulphur”, a 90
seconds drop-it-like-it’s-motherfucken-hot half time break during
“Deepness of the depths” (what a song title…) or a song about Global
Domination’s favorite body part, “(Yielding to) the scepter of flesh”.
If you can halfheartedly agree with the statement from the booklet which
reads “Don’t forget the ancient feeling… it still rules!!!”, do
yourself a favor, give this album a listen and watch it inevitably
propel its scepter of flesh into the deepness of your depths. Uäh!
- Information
- Released: 1998/2008
- Label: Kneel Before The Master’s Throne
- Website: www.pentacle.nl
- Band
- Wannes Gubbels: vocals, bass
- Mike Verhoeven: guitars
- Marc Nelissen: drums
- Tracklist
- 01. …Rides the moonstorm
- 02. Veil of sulphur
- 03. (Yielding to) the scepter of flesh
- 04. For I am Chaos!
- 05. Raised by night’s Chaos
- 06. Baptism in a fiery void
- 07. Spell of the pentagram
- 08. Deepness of the depths
- 09. Scythes
