PENTAGRAM (Death/Thrash Metal – Chile) – Share “The Portal” ( Lyric Video) via Listenable Records #pentagram #heavymetal
Pre-Order Link: https://shop-listenable.net/en/1144_pentagram-chile
Digital: https://bfan.link/the-portal-1
SINGLES/ VIDEOS:
The Portal (Lyric Video) watch HERE
Iconic death-thrash metal outfit Pentagram (Chile) unleash their new album, Eternal Life of Madness. Comprised of guitarist/vocalist Anton Reisenegger, guitarist Juan Pablo Uribe, drummer Juan Pablo Donoso, and bassist Juan Francisco Cueto, Pentagram (Chile) march forward from their debut, The Malefice (2013) while preserving the savage DNA that informed Darkthrone, At the Gates, Dismember, Napalm Death, and many others. Indeed, Eternal Life of Madness, featuring the crushing heft of “Possessor,” “El Imbunche,” “The Portal,” and “Deus Est Machina,” is a far-off salute to the group’s classic “Spell of the Pentagram” from their 1987 Demo #1. Pentagram (Chile) don’t exist merely for nostalgia reasons—though supporting Slayer in Santiago in 2019 was a highlight of past accomplishments. Their timely resurrection is unadulterated metallic passion.
“When the pandemic hit, and I was in lockdown at home in Spain, I started writing riffs for a new Lock Up album,” says Reisenegger, who plays guitar in grind legends Brujeria and Chilean groove-thrash masters Criminal. “I realized some of the stuff I wrote had the original Pentagram (Chile) feeling, so I put those ideas aside. They started piling up, so when the Lock Up record was done, I began arranging them and working remotely with our drummer, Juan Pablo Donoso. I didn’t even realize I had all that material in me, but it was somehow untapped. We had a ‘false start’ a few years before when original guitarist JP Uribe, JP Donoso, and I got together and started jamming on some new riffs. ‘The Portal’ came out of those sessions.”
Pentagram (Chile) was formed in Santiago, Chile in 1985. At the time, the country was roiling from political upheaval, but that didn’t stop Reisenegger, Uribe, and (former drummer) Eduardo Topelberg from ingesting and eventually emulating the brutalist, evilest forms of metal from around the world. Even though the then-military government targeted the group for merely existing, they persisted, issuing a litany of influential demos from 1985 (Rehearsal Tape) through 1987 (Demo #1 and Demo #2). Fast forward to 2024. With a lifetime of experience, the Chileans have not only managed to revive their teenage labor of love but also crafted their penultimate statement in Eternal Life of Madness.
“[Writing Eternal Life of Madness] was a way to escape the anxiety and uncertainty of the pandemic,” Reisenegger says. “Maybe those primal feelings of fear helped trigger the flow of these ideas and riffs that are also very primitive and basic. With the first album, The Malefice, we were mandated to follow the legacy and recreate the feeling of the early demos. With this new album, we kinda thought about what should come after. But the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree, so our early influences are all there in full force: Possessed, Slayer, Celtic Frost, Death. It’s all processed through the prism of the Pentagram (Chile) way of writing, the signature rhythms, and scales that still make us unique today.”
Though never explicitly political lyrically, Pentagram (Chile) have issued angst-ridden proclamations throughout their 39-year existence. The relics of the waning (and most repressive) years of [Augusto] Pinochet’s reign have long memories, manifesting via supernatural and horrific lyrics. Previous songs, such as “The Apparition,” “Sacrophobia,” and “Prophetic Tremors” (all from The Malefice), have dealt with superstition, mental disorder, and cataclysm. The Eternal Life of Madness is no different. Reisenegger brings to bear his favorite themes, imbuing them with the world’s weight. From the folkloric “El Imbunche” and the god-challenge of “Omniscient Tyrant” to the horror-themed “Possessor” and the apocalyptic visions of “No One Shall Survive,” these are some of Pentagram (Chile) ‘s most intense lyrics to date.
“Much of the new lyrics deal with modern-day problems and conflicts,” says Reisenegger. “They’re in an almost Biblical language. It is as if we were warning people from around the time Jesus lived about the problems of the future. ‘Possessor’ is pretty much an old-school horror story. ‘Icons of Decay’ deals with current problems, but I’d like for fans to create their own meaning. I always leave the lyrics for last when the music is already written. JP Uribe usually has great suggestions about stories and subjects that work as lyrical ideas, too.”
While most of Eternal Life of Madness was penned during the pandemic, the album’s final form took place after, with Reisenegger finally able to meet with his fellow bandmates in Santiago. The back-and-forth demo sessions of “The Portal,” “Devourer of Life,” and the title track were particularly spirited. When the group had finalized the album’s 11 songs, they holed up in JP Donoso’s Sade Estudio (Sadism, Execrator) and with Sebastián Puente at AudioCustom Studio (Lock Up, Nuclear) between November 2021 and May 2023. JP Donoso helmed the engineering, producing, and mixing, while up-and-coming ace Cristian Mardones handled the mastering at AMS Studio. Eternal Life of Madness is aggressive, massive, and crushingly heavy.
“The process itself was pretty easy,” Reisenegger says. “I made demos of the songs, and then JP Donoso would record a demo at home. We then discussed any changes and soon had the final versions. He recorded the definitive drums to those basic tracks, and later, I laid down rhythm guitars and vocals, and JF Cueto recorded the bass. Then, when it came to recording guitars and bass, it was all very focused. We knew what we were going for, so there wasn’t much to debate. We just went in and did it. For the vocal production, I went to a different studio to work with a friend of mine [Puente at AudioCustom Studio], who already recorded the last Criminal album and in whom I have a lot of confidence and trust. I believe he helped me get a unique performance.”
Pentagram (Chile)’s Eternal Life of Madness features artwork by Argentinian surrealist Santiago Caruso (Nailed to Obscurity, Wode) and a guest solo by longtime friend and Sadism axeman Gabriel Hidalgo. While the compilation album Past, Present, and Future (2019) filled the gap after The Malefice, Eternal Life of Madness aims to posit the Chileans right where they belong, on the throne of death-thrash greatness. Expect European, Chilean, and South American tours in 2024 and a prestigious slot at In Flammen Open Air (Germany). In 2024, Pentagram (Chile) will rise…
“We have stayed true to the original spirit of Pentagram without giving a damn about what is trendy or fashionable nowadays,” says Reisenegger. “Eternal Life of Madness is a timeless album. It awakes the same rage I felt as a teenager listening to Possessed, Dark Angel, or Sacrifice. I would lie if I said I have high hopes for Pentagram (Chile). Getting some recognition as the co-initiator of this underground metal movement would be nice. At the same time, giving our longtime followers something new to enjoy is a great satisfaction. We have a good time writing, recording, and playing this stuff—no other motivations behind it exist.”
“Eternal Life Of Madness” Tracklisting
1 El Imbunche 05:07
2. Possessor 04:55
3. Omniscient Tyrant 05:07
4. The Portal 04:16
5. Eternal Life Of Madness 06:24
6. Icons Of Decay 03:35
7. Devourer Of Life 04:13
8. State Of Grace 05:05
9. The Seeds Of The Deed 06:35
10. Deus Est Machina 04:16
11. No One Shall Survive 05:21
Recorded ar JP Donoso’s Sade Estudio (Sadism, Execrator) and with Sebastián Puente at AudioCustom Studio (Lock Up, Nuclear)
between November 2021 and May 2023
Text written by Chris Dick
Cover art by Santiago Caruso
Photos by Claudio Poblete
Band line up:
Anton Reisenegger (Guitars/vocals)
Juan Pablo Uribe (Guitars)
Juan Pablo Donoso (Drums)
Juan Francisco Cueto (Bass)
Band Links:
LINK TREE
FACEBOOK
INSTAGRAM
SPOTIFY
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