Pentagram Chile finally unveils its second album.
Known as Pentagram in Chile since 1985, the outfit released a few demos, but never really settled down. In 2012, the band made up of founders Anton Reisenegger (guitar/vocals, Brujeria, Criminal, Lock Up) and Juan Pablo Uribe (guitar) along with Juan Francisco Cueto (bass, ex-Criminal) and Juan Pablo Donoso (drums, Sadism) incorporated their country’s name for obvious reasons, and released their debut album the following year. We’ll have to wait eleven more years to hear Eternal Life of Madness, released by Listenable Records.
The album opens with the ominous introduction of El Imbunche, followed by vindictive catchy Death/Thrash riffs. Abrasive dissonant leads take advantage of the changes of pace to complement the raw vocal parts, then the sound becomes heavier with Possessor, which uses its jerky approach to reveal its effectiveness, never hesitating to accelerate. Omniscient Tyrant‘s frantic riffs feature more carefully crafted harmonics, with an emphasis on Old School roots, letting these impressive passages crush us before a livelier final, in contrast to The Portal, which immediately builds up a fast-paced rhythm. Each instrument follows as the vocalist rants and raves, leading us into Eternal Life of Madness, the eponymous track, where the musicians attempt to recreate an anguished atmosphere before hitting us with its steady riffs and effective blast. The album continues with Icons of Decay, which quickly turns wild while playing on an oppressive atmosphere, with dark guitars that are also found on Devourer of Life, before the band gives in to violence thanks to a high tempo. Harmonics return to the fore before the final chorus, which leads into State of Grace and its heady patterns that will undoubtedly make you shake your head on first listen, and which takes advantage of the slightest acceleration. The pace slows down for The Seeds of the Deed as it gets heavier, but the length of the composition allows it to flare up from time to time, before joining Deus Est Machina, which starts off at full speed, only to slow down again and then riff again. The opposite approach is taken with No One Shall Survive, which gets off to a fairly moderate start, but then welcomes a more lively break, thus closing the album.
Although rather subdued, Pentagram Chile have some interesting riffs that will energize Eternal Life of Madness, their long second album. Let’s hope the band picks up speed with this new release!
70/100