Review by Daniel for Pentagram (USA) - Day of Reckoning (1987)

I think it’s fair to say that I became a fan of Virginia-based doom metal legends Pentagram relatively early in their recording career, if not all that early in terms of their overall tenure as a band. The Pentagram story really began way back in 1971 but, given that their debut album didn’t see the light of day until 1985 & I became acquainted with them in early 1990’s, I’d suggest that I was earlier than most, especially when you consider that they’re still a functioning band today. The self-titled debut made a significant impact on me, perhaps more so than I knew at the time. Black Sabbath played a strong role in my formative years through a double compilation that included the best of the 1970’s Ozzy Osbourne releases & “Pentagram” did a fantastic job at tapping into the same areas with a sound that included a little more heavy metal than the band’s traditional doom metal peers. Pentagram weren’t afraid to up the tempo a little while always maintaining their knack for creating the crushingly heavy & guitarist Victor Griffin had clearly mastered the art of creating timeless riffs after a decade or so of studying the godfather of metal Tony Iommi. Despite my allegiances with the self-titled album, my obsession for the extreme metal scene would see me leaving Pentagram back in the early 90’s though & we wouldn’t cross paths again until I’d investigate the “First Daze Here: The Vintage Collection” compilation some time in the 2010’s. I quite liked that collection of Pentagram’s 1970’s hard rock material but it didn’t raise the same level of interest as the self-titled album (also known as “Restless”) did so I haven’t returned to it since. After exploring a slew of mid-80’s heavy metal albums during drive time with my kids of late though I’ve found myself craving something a little heavier which has led me to Pentagram’s 1987 sophomore album “Day of Reckoning” in the quest for the ultimate riff. Let’s find out how it’s faired, shall we?

“Day of Reckoning” is a well composed, executed & produced album that showcases a band that have clearly paid their dues & know their craft well. In fact, the tight instrumental performances & chunky production job for the time really represent a lot of the appeal for me personally as it’s not nearly as consistent a record as the debut was. Pentagram had dropped any semblance of the hard rock sound they’d maintained on the self-titled through tracks like “Run Your Course” & “20 Buck Spin” by this point but I’d suggest that there’s not as much of your pure doom metal sound either with only album highlight “Evil Seed” fully embracing the dark side. The classic heavy metal sound that had perpetuated some of “Pentagram” is toned back a touch here too with the majority of the tracklisting sitting in the murky mid-point that is the traditional doom metal sound. There’s a fair bit of groovier mid-tempo stuff going on here, often hinting at the stoner metal sound that Sabbath had created with their 1972 “Vol 4” album. The use of tightly harmonized guitar melodies pops up quite regularly too & neither of those techniques traditionally sit within my musical comfort zones.

There’s an inconsistency to the tracklisting on “Day of Reckoning” which is in direct contract to “Pentagram” which I found to be without blemish. The album begins very poorly with a couple of numbers that do very little for me in the title track & “Broken Vows”, both which seem to be quite popular but are stylistically at odds with my taste profile. I also struggle with the nine minute centrepiece that is “Burning Savior” with Bobby Liebling’s out of key vocals putting me off through the early stages & the eventual crescendo all coming a little too late. Thankfully though, the combination of the tight performances, solid production & Victor’s undeniable skills as a riff master see the remainder of the record doing enough to recover & leave me with a generally positive feeling by the end of closing track “Wartime”. There are nowhere near the quantity of highlight tracks as its older sibling sported but the wins outweigh the losses to an extent that makes “Day of Reckoning” worth a few listens but I just can’t see myself returning to it any time soon. In fact, I’d suggest that I’m probably more likely to return to the “First Daze Here” compilation than I am to “Day of Reckoning” & I haven’t felt like revisiting that particular release for a good decade or more.

At the end of the day, I think my inability to fully engage with “Day of Reckoning” comes down to personal taste more than anything else. Much like my younger brother & fellow Metal Academy administrator Ben, I’ve never been all that big on the more traditional doom sound as I greatly prefer a more pure, modern & oppressive brand of doom metal. I’ve never really connected with groovy mid-paced stoner riffs but I can appreciate when they’re done well like they are here so there’s enough of interest to keep me going. Fans of Black Sabbath, Saint Vitus & Witchfinder General will likely really dig "Day of Reckoning" but I’m not going to deny that I find it hard to understand the tendency for fans to rate Pentagram’s heavy metal-driven numbers more highly than their slowest, doomiest material which can be pretty amazing in my opinion. If only there was more of it here!