Despite the band’s seventeen year existence, I’ve not had the pleasure of hearing any of Pentacle’s old-school styled Death Metal before now. Best described as Classic Death Metal in the vein of early Celtic Frost & Possessed, ‘Under The Black Cross’ is rough, raw & relentless.
A concept album based on a WWII Naval battle, what we have here is 9 songs worth of pummeling, authentic Metal. Everything from the instrument tones to the song arrangements literally scream “old school”, but most definitely not contrived. This is the real deal. Every song, including the Necrovore cover, is a ripper.
Pentacle is a band not interested in redefining the genre, but rather reminding us what real Death Metal sounds like. They do not waver, they do not falter, they do not fail. ‘Under The Black Cross’ should be on every Metal fan’s want list.
