Pointless Noise - "Pentagram" Review (0%)
Pentagram by Gorgoroth is a perfect example of how metal should not sound.
The songwriting is as bad as the performance, and though I usually don't find bad production problematic, everything on Pentagram sounds like it was recorded in a garage with a phonautograph from the 19th century. And in addition to the bad production, the guitar tone is simply horrible. It sounds both very rubbery and sour, and the guitars themselves seem quite out of tune.
Pentagram manages to be actually worse than Antekhrist or early Mayhem demos, and that's saying something.
The production does actually fit with the riffs, as the riffs are just as bad as the production if not even worse.
The riffs are just so forgettable and everything sounds so similar that I genuinely can't tell the "different" songs apart, insofar as they are in fact different songs and not the same riffs repeated with different lyrics - usually some Hail Satan 666 Darkness bullshit - and slight variations in drum patterns.
It's just a few couple of power chords played in a basic and predictable progression. On one track, then the next, then the next, all the way through the album.
The drums are quite obnoxious. The drumming itself is mostly quite basic, with a few blast beats here and there. The snare drum, however, sounds quite flat, yet is so loud it creates a sort of bulging echo in the mix that makes it hard to hear anything else going on.
Pointless Noise
I won't go into the drama surrounding the release of this album, you can read more about that here and here. Suffice to say that when Infernus wasn't recording Pentagram, he was busy giving interviews to various media outlets in which he talked about forming a "satanic nazi underground [sic]" in order to "bring down the Norwegian government".
He also said he "cried" at Varg Vikernes' trial, before turning on a dime and embracing Euronymous as the "true King of black metal".
My criticism of Gorgoroth, in this review, isn't directed at Infernus' poser antics but towards the "music" played on this album.
The biggest issue I have with Pentagram is the complete lack of artistic vision, talent or even purpose.
What is the point of such an album?
The guitars are absolutely terrible.
The drums sound like cardboard here. There aren't any technical drum lines, in fact, most of the time, they just follow the same pattern through each song.
The shrieks sound unrehearsed and weak, and the vocalist is too close to the microphone. It sounds more like Hat is talking while trying to simulate a Disney cartoon villain. You can also hear what the lyrics quite easily, which I assure is not a good thing. The lyrics consist of edgy "satanic" bullshit, the type you can easily find and mock on any Dimmu Borgir record.
'Pentagram, whilst not as bad as their follow-up eventual follow-up Incipit Satan, is a terrible release, and I'd never thought I'd say this about a black metal album, but I will... it's just a bunch of noise.
Pentagram is pointless noise with no originality.
Pentagram score: 0/100.
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