They are one of the best, most obscure, heavy metal doom rock bands ever formed and are as unheard of as they are awesome.
A lot of that has to do with destructive front-man Bobby Liebling.
Between the drugs and general maniacal behavior, Pentagram seemed to blow every break they were given to ‘make it big’… and they had a few. (Including a less than stellar private showing in their basement for members of Kiss, and more recently, having Phil Anselmo (Pantera, Down, owner of Housecore Records) take an interest in the band, only to back away because of Liebling’s legal troubles and persistent drug issues).
The beautiful tragedy of a truly tortured soul suffering for his art, suffering for his life, is expertly captured and told in the documentary, “Last Days Here“. (watch the full length doc below).
It’s a crazy ride of a documentary, that follows not only the troubled musician, but those around him that love this man and his art, constantly doing whatever they can to keep him alive, clean, and focused on his career.
But aside from the human Russian Roulette that is the daily life of Bobby Liebling, the underscoring point is the music that comes out of this man’s vision for Pentagram.
Black Sabbath wears the deserved crown of birthing all things metal. But when one views Pentagram through the perspective of time, this band started in 1971 and came before most every band that would carry the torch of metal. And while they couldn’t get their career to catch, they continued to write and create some of the purest, heaviest, darkest heavy metal stoner doom rock to have ever been unleashed upon this world.
Seriously, watch the documentary.
And then realize… this guy is STILL alive!
And they have a new album coming out.
AND… the single is tight.
Fuzzed out stoner desert punk rock vibe.
Listen to the aptly titled, “Misunderstood”…
That’s from the the upcoming album, “Curious Volume“.
Buy the music because it rocks.
Go see the live show… it will either rock, or be a complete trainwreck.
Sincerely, I hope Bobby takes in the renewed interest in his band with proper perspective and focus, stays clean enough to release some music, and goes out and supports it, because there are a lot of people who want to support Pentagram.
That’s all Bobby Liebling has been desperately searching for his entire life.
***Update: Since the original publication of this article, Bobby Liebling has been arrested and sentenced to jail for 18 months by a Maryland court for Abuse/Neglect of a vulnerable adult.
It is believed the victim was Liebling’s mother.
Bassist Greg Turley released a statement:
“Dealing with Bobby and his reoccurring demons was bringing us all down. Same story from the past, I know. Honestly, I thought Bobby would end up dying before we played another show. Turns out, he didn’t die, just went off the rails and ended up assaulting his mom. Pretty much the worse thing someone could do in my opinion. He assaults the one and only person that has always taking up for him? Wow! Just horrible. “He’s now serving time in prison. Looks like he’ll be there for the next 18 months – that’s a lot of time to reflect on bad decisions and bad habits.”
So… yeah. Kinda takes the shine off the music. Being a rock and roll tragedy is cool and all… but this guy seems to steer hard into something much more deviant, and much more disturbing. I can’t tell if that makes me like the music MORE… because I am twisted in that way, or I want to maybe delete all the Pentagram stuff from my library.
I faced this dilemma once with Ted Nugent.
The difference being… I want to like Bobby Liebling. I really do. I am drawn to out-of-control-rock-n-roll-show type people. They make life more interesting. But they can also be a GIANT pain in the ass, especially when they are in your band (I speak from experience, believe me). So my sympathies go out to Pentagram who, once again… started to see some light shining on their career…
Until Bobby fucked it up again.
“Curious Volume” track listing:
01. Lay Down And Die
02. The Tempter Push
03. Dead Bury Dead
04. Earth Flight
05. Walk Alone
06. Curious Volume
07. Misunderstood
08. Close The Casket
09. Sufferin’
10. Devil’s Playground
11. Because I Made It
