ANTI-GOTH 748

• 100 copies on opaque yellow vinyl
• 180 gram heavy vinyl
• High quality gatefold jacket printed on uncoated stock 
• Thick zine style booklet full of archival photos, flyers, bio and lyrics
• Tracks 1-3: "Demo #1"
• Tracks 4-6: "Demo #2"
• Tracks 7-10: Rehearsal 1985
• Tracks 11-13: Live 1987

(Bio by C. Conrad)

Few bands in the history of underground metal have had as profound an influence on the genre with as limited a discography as Pentagram of Chile. Not to be confused with the U.S. doom band of the same name, whose origin predated its South American death metal counterpart by just over a decade, the Chilean entity officially recorded a grand total of two demos and an EP during the two-plus years of its original existence. The context of the band's formation and short-lived existence in a geographically and politically isolated and repressed country lent increased improbability to its eventual attainment of cult-like status. Its scarce output and insularity notwithstanding, Pentagram has been deservedly cited as a major influence on more prolific outfits such as Napalm Death, Entombed, At the Gates, Dismember, and many more. Pentagram originated in 1985 as the creation of founding members Anton Reisenegger (vocals/guitars) and Juan Pablo Uribe (bass/guitars), who were around the ages of fifteen or sixteen at the time. Prior to the band's inception, Reisenegger and Uribe had become friends as a primary result of their shared musical interest in bands such as Slayer, Possessed, Dark Angel, Celtic Frost, Kreator and Destruction. They had produced a fanzine together, and Reisenegger had taught Uribe the basics of playing guitar before Juan Pablo later progressed to more formal instruction. Although he was not considered an official member of the band until a year or more later, they were joined by session drummer Eduardo Topelberg. At the time, participation in the metal scene in their hometown of Santiago, as in Chile at large, was a subversive and somewhat dangerous activity. Chile was ruled by the authoritarian hand of Augusto Pinochet, and the state police proactively took charge to shut down concerts of such an unseemly type. Of course, it didn't help that those in the scene were easily identified by their long hair, torn jeans, and black shirts adorned with satanic imagery, as they gathered outside the "Rock Shop" to trade tapes, fanzines, vinyl, patches, and hand-painted shirts. The gigs that took place were often infiltrated by the police, where they were known to form "human tunnels" that the audience would be forced to pass through as they exited, while being beaten by the police with batons. Reisenegger himself has recounted one incident at a show involving Pentagram where the band hid behind a curtain and watched as the police lined the audience up against a wall, as the latter discarded bags of marijuana from their pockets to avoid the unenviable fate of being caught by the authorities with such contraband. Pentagram's first gig took place on December 28, 1985, at what Reisenegger considers the very first, proper extreme metal show in Chile. The venue was a taxi cab drivers' union hall, which was very primitive and lent itself to poor sound. Nonetheless, Pentagram was joined by the likes of Massacre, Crypt, Rust, Belial, and Nimrod, and the performance was a success in the sense that it represented the first of its type in Chile that was dominated by original music, as opposed to the traditional heavy metal cover bands that had previously typified these events. The band's first, unofficially-distributed recording was a rehearsal from 1985 that took place in preparation for this inaugural concert. The recording included a simpler and more primitive version of "Demoniac Possession," a more developed arrangement and performance of which was later released on the first official demo. The two additional songs on the rehearsal, "Evil Incarnate" and "Summoned from the Grave" (commonly mistitled as "Summoned to the Grave), did not appear on later Pentagram recordings, but Reisenegger instead repurposed elements from both for inclusion in another composition entitled "Evil Incarnate," which was a product of one of his much more recent projects. Although the band never intended for this rehearsal to be distributed, a friend of the band who designed its logo and was also responsible for a fanzine named "Insanity" sent it out on his own in trade for other items. It was in 1987 that Pentagram would record the material by which the band later attained its cult status. In January of that year, "Demo #1" was recorded by Topelberg (drums), Uribe (guitars), and Reisenegger (vocals/bass/guitars). The three included tracks, "Fatal Prediction," "Demoniac Possession," and "Spell of the Pentagram," defined the band's high-tempo and aggressive brand of death metal. This first demo served to raise Pentagram's profile, both in Chile and internationally, as U.S. publications such as Total Thrash and Violent Noize took notice and announced the band's promising future. In February of that same year, Reisenegger traveled to Brazil with a friend and stayed for some time in Belo Horizonte with Max and Igor Cavalera of Sepultura. Reisenegger had originally established contact with the Cavaleras as the first fan of theirs from outside of Brazil to write them a letter, and he later interviewed them for his fanzine. Reisenegger brought copies of the recently-recorded demo to share with the Cavaleras and to shop around for potential record deals. During his travels in Brazil, Reisenegger stopped in at the Point Rock record store in Rio de Janeiro, whose owner also ran an independent record label. The owner was impressed with the recording and offered to sign Pentagram to his label on the spot. He professed his credibility by pointing out how his label had released a vinyl edition of Dark Angel's first album, "We Have Arrived," and by highlighting a punk band named Descension that he had worked with. Although Reisenegger was hopeful of gauging the potential interest of larger labels like Cogumelo during his stay in Brazil, the Point Rock owner characterized his deal as a take-it-or-leave-it affair, and so Reisenegger accepted. Upon his return to Chile, Reisenegger corresponded with Point Rock regarding specifics on a recording budget and how it would be funded, but this discussion led nowhere, and thus the deal between Pentagram and Point Rock was never realized. The failed agreement with Point Rock notwithstanding, Pentagram ended up having two tracks from "Demo #1" released by the Swiss label Chainsaw Murder, which is best known for its release of Messiah's (CHE) first two albums, "Hymn to Abramelin" and "Extreme Cold Weather." This "Fatal Prediction / Demoniac Possession" seven-inch single was adorned with an iconic winged witch artwork and was released in May 1987, just a few months after the original demo recording. Reisenegger's recollection was that there were likely 500 copies officially pressed, but the band lost all contact with the label after receipt of the copies that were sent to them under the agreement. Prior to the band's recording of "Demo #2" in September 1987, Alfredo Peña joined the band on bass, which afforded them a more robust lineup of four musicians, including Reisenegger, Uribe, and Topelberg. This addition allowed for a more stable dynamic among members, since Reisenegger would no longer be required to record bass tracks, and Uribe would no longer need to switch from guitar to bass in a live format. The results are readily apparent on the three songs included on "Demo #2," which is characterized by a more robust sound and better musicianship in comparison to the first demo. With two successful demos and a seven-inch vinyl release to their credit, it would seem that Pentagram was on the precipice of gaining huge traction internationally. Indeed, these releases gained them significant exposure through the popular practice of international tape trading at the time. Additionally, Pentagram had gotten several favorable reviews in publications such as the aforementioned Total Thrash and Violent Noize, as well as others like Black Thorn (Denmark) and FETU (Japan). In fact, members of Rotting Christ (Sakis), Samael, Dismember, Entombed, At the Gates, and Napalm Death came to know and admire the band while it was still in existence as a result of these underground activities. Unfortunately, success in the traditional sense was not in the cards for Pentagram, as the band dissolved not long after the release of the second demo. Several factors combined to lead to this outcome. Perhaps foremost, there was a growing frustration among bandmates in response to the lack of progress being made on the recording contract that they had signed with Point Rock. Meanwhile, they witnessed other lesser bands getting signed to successful contracts as the metal world seemed to explode before their eyes. On top of this, an odd custom had gained popularity in the Chilean scene, whereby fans would spit on bands during gigs in an apparent sign of appreciation. The band understandably grew tired of this practice and thus began losing motivation to play live. Finally, the band members' musical tastes had begun to evolve, as some were becoming increasingly drawn to more mainstream metal. Following Pentagram's break-up in 1988, Topelberg and Peña went on to play in other Chilean metal bands, and the latter succumbed to suicide under obscure circumstances in 1990. Uribe became the least active ex-member, musically speaking, and played in some rock bands before relocating to Barcelona, Spain. Reisenegger first formed Fallout, a more thrash-oriented band in Santiago, which also recorded two demos in a single year before its demise in 1989. He has enjoyed much greater success as a member of Criminal, a death/thrash band that is still active as of the writing of this biography and has recorded nine full-length albums since its founding in 1991. Pentagram reformed briefly to play a single concert in 2001 at the Teatro Providencia in Santiago, with Reisenegger's Criminal bandmate, Juan Franciso Cueto, standing in on bass for the deceased Peña. It once again reunited in 2009 for a Chilean tour and several European dates, including performances in London, Oslo, and at the famous Wacken Open Air festival in Germany. More recently, the band resumed recording under the name Pentagram Chile, to date having released two full-length albums, "The Malefice" (2013) and "Eternal Life of Madness" (2024), along with a number of splits and singles. As for its reserved place in the annals of death metal history, Pentagram is likely to remain most remembered for its earliest work. Although those two original demo recordings consisted of only three tracks each, their impact on a worldwide scale includes an immeasurable influence on a countless number of bands that have emerged and themselves dissolved over the course of nearly four decades. As with many other legendary metal bands, Pentagram has again proven that success is not always best measured by tangible productivity, but instead by longevity in the collective memory and admiration of one's peers and culture.