Pentagram official site | Pentagram on Facebook

Pentagram was initially formed in 1971 by Bobby Liebling (vocals) and Geof O’Keefe (drums) with Vincent McAllister on guitar and Greg Mayne on bass. After recording several demos throughout the mid-70’s, this line-up lasted until 1976. Much of the material that would be released decades later as “First Daze Here” was recorded by this original incarnation of the band.

Pentagram would then lay dormant until Liebling connected with Joe Hasselvander in 1978. Hasselvander was playing in a singer-less group consisting of himself (drums), Richard Kueht (guitar), Paul Trowbridge (guitar), and Marty Swaney (bass). Liebling soon joined and the group took on the Pentagram moniker as they began performing Liebling’s material from the previous Pentagram line-up. After playing several shows and releasing a 7″ single in 1979, personal differences consumed this line-up by the end of that same year.

In 1980, guitarist Victor Griffin and bassist Lee Abney had formed a band called Death Row in Morristown, TN. Griffin then met Hasselvander and relocated Death Row to the northern Virginia area and began playing together. After the trio began rehearsals without a singer, Hasselvander introduced Griffin to Liebling. After only one jam session together, Liebling joined as vocalist for Death Row. Former Pentagram member Martin Swaney soon replaced Lee Abney on bass and the classic Death Row line up was forged. Following demos recorded in 1982 and 1983, Hasselvander left the band, Stuart Rose was chosen as his replacement, and the band changed their name to Pentagram. Subsequently, the 82/83 Death Row demos, which had been packaged together under the title “All Your Sins,” was then released as the first official Pentagram album in 1985… The debut was simply titled “Pentagram.”

After recording their second album, “Day Of Reckoning” in 1987, the band folded yet again in 1988 when Griffin left for other opportunities on the west coast. In 1989, Greg Mayne (bass) returned and Randy Palmer (guitar) joined Liebling with the addition of Ted Feldman on guitar and Jon Cook on drums. The band was working towards recording a third album, but shortly after their first live performance, they imploded yet again.

In 1993, the “Death Row” line-up of Bobby, Victor, Joe, and Marty reformed when Peaceville Records reissued the first two albums. With additional Peaceville support, they went on to release their third full-length album, “Be Forewarned” in 1994. Later that same year, Joe and Marty departed once again and in stepped Greg Turley on bass guitar and Gary Isom on drums. This line-up lasted until early ’97 when internal pressures and differences arose and the band went their separate ways.

1999 saw Pentagram re-emerge once again in name only as a duo consisting of Liebling and Hasselvander. The pair recorded both 1999’s “Review Your Choices” and 2001’s “Sub-Basement” on Black Widow Records, but a live version of the band never solidified and, once again, Pentagram’s future was in question.

In 2004, Liebling recruited guitarist Kelly Carmichael, bassist Adam Heinzmann, and drummer Mike Smail, all members of Frederick, Maryland based doom act Internal Void. The new lineup recorded the “Show em How” album but, as history recounts, this line-up couldn’t survive the ongoing turmoil within Liebling’s life and split soon after the release of the new album.

In August of 2008, a new Pentagram lineup was announced which featured Liebling being joined by Russ Strahan on guitar, Gary Isom, who had played with the band in the mid-90s, returning on drums, and Mark Ammen on bass. After a relatively successful string of shows over the next year and a half, Russ Strahan abruptly left the band in March of 2010.

Just prior to the start of a tour in May of 2010, Pentagram unexpectedly announced the return of guitarist Victor Griffin and bassist Greg Turley as touring members while Griffin’s Place of Skulls project was on hiatus. After an overwhelmingly positive reaction by fans and several successful appearances, Griffin and Turley rejoined as permanent members of Pentagram and, in November, signed a three album deal with legendary Los Angeles label Metal Blade Records. With drummer Gary Isom unavailable to attend recording sessions, the band enlisted Place of Skulls drummer Tim Tomaselli and began work on the first Pentagram album in seven years, Last Rites. Shortly after the release of the album, Metal Blade followed up by offering “When the Screams Come,” a live DVD documenting the band’s 2010 Maryland Deathfest appearance and featuring the Liebling, Griffin, Turley, and Isom line-up.

With the April 2011 release of Last Rites, the band showcased the new album as well as their classic tracks at the South by Southwest festival (SXSW), followed by a European tour which kicked off with a long awaited appearance at the venerable Roadburn festival in the Netherlands. Pentagram continued touring in Europe and the US throughout the remainder of 2011, including the band’s first-ever appearances in the UK in its 40 year history.

With Last Rites studio and tour drummer Tomaselli involved in other commitments, coupled with the band’s desire to continue touring into 2012, Pentagram began the search for a permanent drummer and brought in longtime Pentagram fan Sean Saley, best known for a stint with legendary DC punk band Government Issue. The band continued to tour in the US, UK, and Europe over the remainder of 2012, playing bigger shows and several major festivals, including Hellfest and Sweden Rock. Around the same time, a documentary film on Bobby Liebling’s life and the history of Pentagram, titled “Last Days Here,” was released in theaters, on DVD, and eventually through Showtime and Netflix, gaining Pentagram legions of new fans and bringing the band around the world, giving the chance to many longtime fans to see the band in person for the first time.

By late in 2012, and with Place of Skulls idle, Victor Griffin had written and recorded several songs for a new project called In-Graved. He announced he would leave Pentagram at the end of the year in order to finish the In-Graved album and tour behind it. The split was amicable and Griffin and the band agreed that they would likely work together again. Pentagram hired Matt Goldsborough to play guitar in Victor’s absence and continued touring throughout 2013. Matt’s playing style and tone recalled that of early Pentagram guitarist Vincent McAllister and, as a nod to that era of Pentagram, the band added a few of the 70s-era songs it had not performed live in decades, including the first-ever live performances of the song “Be Forewarned” in the band’s history.

In January 2014, Pentagram again surprised fans by simultaneously announcing the return of Victor Griffin to the band for a year of touring and writing material for a new album. ​In early 2015, Pete Campbell replaced Sean Saley on drums and Pentagram began work on the its eighth studio release. “Curious Volume” is all things Pentagram past and present. The album was released on Aug. 21, 2015 and plans are currently in the works for 2015/2016 world tours.

Brant Bjork official site | Brant Bjork on Facebook | Brant Bjork on Twitter

Brant Bjork didn’t invent it, but he epitomizes Desert Rock and his work has become so synonymous with it. Whether one is considering his pioneering work in Kyuss and Fu Manchu, the stylistic exploration undertaken with Ché or his 17-year solo career, which has undoubtedly become his greatest contribution at this point, in songwriting, style and persona, Bjork is a singular icon.

Royal Thunder on Facebook | Royal Thunder on Bandcamp | Royal Thunder on Instagram

ROYAL THUNDER are a four-piece rock band based out of Atlanta, Georgia that seamlessly blend the elements of heavy classic rock, 90’s grunge, and forward-thinking progressive rock. Propelled by the powerfully emotional voice of frontwoman Mlny Parsonz, the guitar heroics of Josh Weaver, and the dynamic drums of Evan Diprima, ROYAL THUNDER have been described by NPR as “a revved-up Southern hard-rock that howls like Led Zeppelin astride a psychedelic unicorn” and as “magnificently compelling rock music” by Decibel Magazine. Formed in 2004 by Weaver, his brother, and his best friend, the band went through several lineup changes over the years before settling on their current lineup, which also incorporated second guitarist Will Fiore as of 2015.

In 2007, ROYAL THUNDER self-released their debut EP and started touring with Jesse Stuber on drums. By 2010, Relapse Records took notice and signed the band, beginning with an official re-release of their self-titled EP then later releasing their 2012 full-length debut, CVI. Stuber left the band after CVI was complete, replaced by drummer Lee Smith. The band toured with Lee Smith and Josh Coleman (who also joined during the making of CVI on second guitar) for a few US tours. CVI was widely praised by critics, including Rolling Stone’s David Fricke, who said that Weaver’s playing has “the meaty, base elements of early-Seventies British blues” and Metal Hammer Magazine, who stated, “through the powerhouse vocals of Mlny Parsonz and a refusal to keep their sound boxed, Royal Thunder look set to be the underground’s next big breakout stars”. Other publications such as SPIN called the album “stunning” while Revolver Magazine described it as “essential” and The Guardian called the band “elegantly powerful,” and compared them to prime Led Zeppelin.

Since current drummer Diprima joined in October 2012, the band have been heavily touring the world, including full North American and European Tours with Baroness as well as prominent US tours alongside Monster Magnet, The Dillinger Escape Plan, Pallbearer, Enslaved, Corrosion of Conformity, O’Brother and many more. The group have also played high-profile festivals including SXSW, Bonnaroo, Scion Rock Fest, Bragg Jam, Roadburn, and numerous others. In a gap in their heavy touring schedule in 2013, the band recorded CVI: A, a set of acoustic renditions of three songs from CVI. ROYAL THUNDER then entered the studio once more in January of 2014 to begin their sophomore LP, Crooked Doors which was once again recorded, produced, and engineered by Joey Jones of Aria Recording Studio, with whom the band has a long standing working and personal relationship. Crooked Doors was released worldwide in April of 2015 via Relapse Records and has been praised by dozens of high-profile publications including Stereogum, The Guardian, and NPR, the latter of which called the Atlanta band “a modern master of hard-rock.” Though they’ve been around for ten years, ROYAL THUNDER seem to have only just hit their stride – the future stands to be even more uproarious than the band’s exciting early development.

Black Wizard official site | Black Wizard on Facebook | Black Wizard on Twitter | Black Wizard on Bandcamp | Black Wizard on Instagram

Black Wizard is a Heavy Metal and Stoner Rock band from Vancouver, BC, formed in 2009 between four high school friends.

Founding members Adam Grand and Eugene Parkomenko, still in the original line-up, were both working a shitty construction job at the time, cranking the likes of Thin Lizzy, Deep Purple, Witch, Electric Wizard as loud as possible to get through the day on site.

Heavily motivated by Vancouver’s thick, heavy scene with bands like Bison and 3 Inches of Blood ruling at the time, “The Wiz” was born. Having always followed a single independently and sold over five thousand copies worldwide.

In the last few years the band has been busy touring Canada, The United States and most recently spent this past fall on a month-long tour in Europe. Having shared the stage with the like of Sleep, Uncle Acide, C.O.C., the Shrine, Atomic Bitchwax, Mos Generator, Kylesa, Weedeater, Witch, Black Mountain, Zeke, Cauldron, Pierced Arrows, Saviours, Joy, their best buddies in Anciients along with many more, there show no signs of them stopping in the new future.

Black Wizard is now releasing their brand new record ‘New Waste’ and will be touring the US and Europe again in the next six months. The current line-up consists of Adam Grant (Vocals/Guitar), Eugene Parkomenko (Drums), Evan Joel (Bass) and Danny Stokes (Guitar).

“The only band in town that will add inches to your dick!!” – Gord (BeatRoute Magazine