If someone asks you “Do you know the band Pentagram?” you will answer yes, probably having in mind the American doomsters. But there is also the Turkish band called Pentagram (aka Mezarkabul) that has a 25 year long history and is one of the most well-known metal bands in our neighboring country.
 
In 1997 they released the album “Anatolia” which is the album that opened new horizons for the band. They changed from a thrash metal band to a more doom heavy metal band with lots of middle-eastern aesthetics. Then they released one double album in 2001 and 2002 and we haven’t heard anything new from then since. So after ten long years the Turkish pioneers are back with a new album and a new vocalist.
 
The new album is called “MMXII” (2012 in roman numerals) it is a pretty solid album which shows the lots of things that changed within the band over the last 10 years. First of all the new vocalist is really good. So we can’t say that the band was weakened with the change of the vocalist.   
 
Everything is pretty solid about this album except for one thing. There are really fewer middle-eastern references in this album than the previous two. “Now and Nevermore” is the one song that stands out just because it has lots of those middle eastern elements that made the band more recognizable. There are also some songs that are sung in Turkish and they also remind a bit of older Pentagram. Especially “Uzakta” and “Gecmisin Yuku” are really strong songs.
 
The rest of the songs are pretty basic riff and really well written songs. The balladesqe “It’s Dawn Again” showcases the great vocals of the new singer and the really good writing of the band.
 
The comeback for Pentagram is some steps lower than their previous releases but they seem to take a different approach in their music. Maybe by their next release they will figure out their new sound and amaze us once more.
 

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