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Review: Having recently struck internet-age meme-gold thanks to iconic frontman (and sole original member) Bobby Liebling's iconic, seemingly "drugged out" gaze whilst performing live on stage, there really could be no more ample time for doom metal pioneers Pentagram to be releasing a new album. Returning a full decade on from 2015's Curious Volume, the band's ninth full-length Lightning In A Bottle offers up yet another entirely new revitalised lineup featuring guitarist/producer Tony Reed (Mos Generator, Big Scenic Nowhere), drummer Henry Vasquez (Legions of Doom, Saint Vitus, Blood of the Sun) and bassist Scooter Haslip (Mos Generator, Saltine), while the decades of performing, touring and admitted drug addiction have done little to dilute Liebling's looming presence and powerful vocal cadence. Unmistakeably still Pentagram, complete with heaving grooves and occult charisma, the material doesn't simply rethread past glories, but makes a vital case for the band's inarguable place in the doom metal cosmos, with Liebling balancing his aura with sobering introspection of his own years of opioid abuse on standout cuts such as 'Dull Pain' or the haunting 'Lady Heroin', where he ponders - "Lady Heroin, have I seen the last of you?" We hope so, Bobby, but we hope to see plenty more of you eyeballing fans in the front row whilst getting your macabre groove on.

Review: Considered to be one of "the big four of doom metal" along with Candlemass, Saint Vitus, and Trouble; Alexandria, Virginia's Pentagram are metallic royalty who helped to pioneer the sound laid out in a blueprint by Black Sabbath across the 70s. While active in the underground scene during this decade and taking influences and turning them into experiments in real time, when their first official albums would eventually release in the 80s, the band had already become the project of sole original member Bobby Liebling, who has since been accompanied by a varying array of musicians throughout their decades-spanning tenure. 2004's Show 'Em How is a late-stage example of this formula with Liebling backed by members of Maryland stoner-doom outfit Eternal Void who helped to re-instil some of the menacing malevolence somewhat absent from their 21st century output up to this point. As usual with Pentagram releases, there's a unique spine description, which reads "Further infections to feed your disease." Nice.