Review 2573 : Pentagram – Lightning In A Bottle – English

Pentagram seems immortal.

Formed in 1971 in Washington D.C., and despite many tumults in its career, the band led by Bobby Liebling (vocals), accompanied today by Scooter Haslip (bass, Mos Generator), Henry Vasquez (drums, Legions of Doom, Saint Vitus) and Tony Reed (guitar, HeavyPink, Woodrot) unveils in 2025 Lightning In A Bottle, its tenth album, in collaboration with Heavy Psych Sounds.

The album gets off to a flying start with Live Again, featuring the kind of pure riffs the band has been making since the beginning, with the iconic voice of Bobby, who is certainly no longer young (71 a few weeks old at the time of writing). The rhythm is groovy, solid and heady, but the final is more ominous, while the energetic approach immediately returns with In The Panic Room, which uses jerky riffs to capture our attention. The mysterious break brings a little diversity to the composition, which finally segues into I Spoke To Death, where the frontman’s vocal effects and occult speech return, while the harmonics develop naturally. Dull Pain quickly takes over with a calmer and more soothing touch, where Doom and Stoner dance together to join Lady Heroin, where Sabbathian influences are more than evident, a sort of reminder of the band’s origins, sometimes even in a very airy gentleness. I’ll Certainly See You In Hell picks up the pace and lets us enjoy its apparent joie de vivre, before quickly giving way to the lively Thundercrest and its rawer riffs that are sure to have fans shaking their heads like it’s the 80s. Solve The Puzzle sticks to these catchy patterns, but still allows itself some more ominous passages or a hellish solo, before returning to the heavy sound of Spread Your Wings, which alternates between thick choruses and more soaring passages. The Fuzz/Blues-oriented injections are of the finest effect, as are the few moments of clean sound that reinforce the saturation of Lightning In A Bottle, a rhythmic eponymous track that doesn’t hesitate to ignite when necessary, whether vocally or instrumentally, before letting Walk The Sociopath close the album with some of the most massive riffs on this new opus – sometimes even flirting with Sludge – and which stay perfectly in the head.

Lucky owners of the deluxe edition will also be able to revel in other compositions, starting with Start The End, where we find those bewitching Stoner tinges, but also the unifying Hard Rock of Might Just Wanna Be Your Fool. Although rather short, the composition awakens the spirits and lets us enjoy the warm sound before an alternative, one-minute shorter version of Lady Heroin, which retains the obvious duality between the two complementary worlds of the track.

Although more discreet than some of the bands that have contributed to the popularity of Doom Metal, Pentagram still masters it with the same touch. Line-up changes have undoubtedly contributed to its diversity, but Lightning In A Bottle in no way translates its principles.

90/100

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