Gorgoroth - Pentagram (1994) Reviews
Thoroughly entertaining black metal album that's just a bit on the short side for true greatness.
Gorgoroth have created a lot of controversy over the years through inappropriate visual imagery and nudity at their concerts, their (now former) vocalist Gaahl being jailed for imprisoning and torturing a man, not to mention that said vocalist happens to be homosexual (not really a common past-time for purveyors of black metal). It's easy to forget that Gorgoroth were once a very different band to all of this, containing an almost entirely different line-up and producing some excellent, evil drenched black metal albums throughout the 90s. Pentagram is their debut release and certainly a favourite for many fans of the band.
Gorgoroth's sound was very much influenced by several other black metal bands. It's easy to hear the influences of Mayhem and Darkthrone, but there are also smatterings of Burzum and even Impaled Nazarene to be found. That last name may sound a little strange when compared to the rest, but there's a slightly punky feeling pervading some of this music and both the riffs and relentless drumming very much remind me of the crazy Finns at times (check out Katharinas Bortgang if you don't believe me) without sinking to the sheer stupidity that Impaled Nazarene seem forever destined for.
But that's not to say that Gorgoroth don't have anything to offer of their own. For starters, vocalist Hat has one of the more bizarre styles in black metal, being extremely high pitched and almost cartoonish. I know a lot of reviewers below have stated that his vocals ruin the album for them, but I think they're rather good and still manage to sound quite powerful despite the initial silliness aspect. The atmosphere of the album is high, and the occasional little touches of bells and other sounds add to it nicely. But most of all, Pentagram is a cult classic album due to Infernus' magnificent riffs. They have the majestic quality of Burzum with the cold, darkness of Mayhem and manage to be extremely memorable at the same time.
All up I think Pentagram is an entertaining album, if not a particularly important one. I'm quite happy to give it four and a half stars as every track is enjoyable, with Crushing the Scepter and Måneskyggens Slave being the pick of the bunch. But I can't justify giving it full marks as it's a bit on the short side at 29 minutes and doesn't really add anything particularly original to the already burgeoning black metal scene of the time.
I'm gonna tell ya a story about a young ZeroSymbolic. I was born into a farming family, my father ran the cattle operation, and my Uncle ran the pig operation. Now for the hog operation there was a shed up on a hill where the hogs were kept, and they basically do two things-eat and shit. Now all that shit runs down a sewage tube that empties out into a field, and over time it creates a big shit pond. That tube is the source of this variety of black metal. Some people love rolling in the shit, and I would never spoil their good time, but it's not a good time for me. Killing people and nailing naked women to crosses for shock value doesn't make in any better. Maybe if the music was good we wouldn't need such theatrics to bring attention to it?
Old School With A Budget
Gorgoroth is one of those groups that I've purposefully not checked out due to a strange feeling that they wouldn't click with me, and I was certainly correct. This ruthless but short debut is the exact style of Black Metal that I struggle the most with and Pentagram isn't an exception to that. I can completely understand the appeal since the Black Metal riffs and overall evil and crushing style of the album is top-notch, but something about Pentagram leaves me walking away feeling disinterested and bored. The sticking point for me is the vocals, which even on repeated listens I just can't seem to get past. The vocal melodies are extremely uninteresting to me and they detract from the more impressive Black Metal riffing more often than not.
Even then, Gorgoroth don't exactly do anything new for me. What I got from this album is more of a proof of concept, if anything. Pentagram shows what more modern Black Metal can be with shiny production bells and whistles and a recording studio that's higher quality than the basement of some random shack in the woods. It's very faithful to its influences, so a straight up and old school satanic Black Metal album with a few decent ideas at the end of the album is what the product ends up being. "The Pagan Megalith" and "Maaneskyggens Slave" saves this album for me since it dusts off the heavy Black Metal chug melodies that I'm very much a fan of. While this is an important classic for some, I don't think it will be for me.
Essential for black metal fans and a great introductory experience for those newer to the genre as well
Penultimate track "(Under) The Pagan Megalith" is a neck-snapping banger of a black metal song and closer "Maaneskyggens Slave" contains one of my favorite passages in the entire history of music... Pitch-black and cathartic.
Yep, the last two songs are the clear standouts. Gorgoroth crafted the rare album where each and every song is better than the one before it, culminating with a grand finale of epic proportions. It's a short album with not a wasted moment, which means the momentum builds very quickly, creating a perfectly-executed upward climb or crescendo to those final two tracks. Very much recommended.