Review: Pentagram ‘Lightning In A Bottle’

Heavy Psych Sounds will be releasing the new album from the proto-doom practitioners known as Pentagram on January 30th, 2025! Though there have been many incarnations of this band, the current version of Pentagram is founding member Bobby Liebling (vocals), Henry Vasquez (drums), Tony Reed (guitar) and Scooter Haslip (bass)

Pentagram 'Lightning In A Bottle' Artwork
Pentagram ‘Lightning In A Bottle’ Artwork

The entity known as Pentagram has been around for over fifty years, with the roster of players having changed many times over the years, but the music these guys have put together for Lightning In A Bottle, the band’s tenth studio release, is absolutely fantastic, showing a reverence for the band’s past, yet bringing it firmly into the 2020s.

The first thing that struck me about this opening track Live Again was the swagger filled groove of the main guitar riff, it’s just full of bounce and is insanely catchy. Bobby sounds fantastic, seemingly losing none of what has made him a legend in the scene, and when he sings ‘like a cat with Main Coon claws’, man, he just sounds so good.

On the con side, and while I do love this track, I am of the mind that the transition into the clean guitar at the end is more abrupt than it maybe should have been, but other than that, this is one badass track!

the fullness of this meaty riff will punch you in the face with authority…

The fifth track, Lady Heroin, with the line ‘Oooo, Lady Heroin I feel the rush, rushing through my brain, ooo Lady Heroin, you know I’ll never, never feel the same’, finds Bobby lamenting the use of that deadly drug, and although I have never used it, I find that I can relate to the lyrics based on my own experiences with other substances. Lyrical relatability is very important in my opinion, as it helps people connect with the song on a deeper level. I commend the band for writing these words about addiction, as it’s not a topic that’s easily talked about.

This track is very well put together musically as well, opening with a killer drum part before the rest of the band comes in with a riff that fits those drums perfectly!!!! There’s nothing about the rest of the song that feels weak or forced, making for one of the top songs on this record.

The opening guitar part of the seventh track Thundercrest is superb, and when the full band joins in, the fullness of this meaty riff will punch you in the face with authority. If I’m being totally honest, this is probably the best, and ‘heaviest’ track on the entire album. It’s just full of power and comes across with a sense of conviction that I find very appealing.

Other standouts are I Spoke To Death, which is a classic sounding Pentagram tune, the title track Lightning In A Bottle and Dull Pain and if you are a fan of Pentagram in any of its eras, then you definitely need to check this record out when it’s released this Friday. Get on it, and enjoy!

Label: Heavy Psych Sounds
Band Links: Official | Facebook | Spotify | Instagram

Scribed by: Tom Hanno