Bedemon
Child of Darkness
[Doom]
Though this 'album' was released in 1999, it is really just a collection of
demo tracks and rehearsal tapes from 1971 to 1974 from the band Bedemon,
which was the first 'band' of Pentagram vocalist Bobby "Plugie" Liebling.
He and bandmates Geoff O'Keefe (drums), Mike Matthews (bass), and Randy
"Bellman" Palmer (guitar) recorded these tapes at the ripe young ages of
16-18, but it's surprisingly well-written and performed (especially
considering that most of these are simply rehearsals). Basically, Bedemon
was a 'Pentagram Mk 1', in that it was Plugie's first attempt to create a
band that emulated the sound of his heroes Blue Cheer - and also much like
Pentagram the actual band's sound ended up a lot closer to Black Sabbath
than Blue Cheer. The riff style, the drum and bass support of the guitar
riffs, the occasional double-tracked solos... there's quite a lot here that
recalls the stylings of Sabbath, but the feel isn't quite so doomy (though
it's more doomy than Pentagram's first couple of albums). It's rather
interesting to hear the beginning's of Plugie's 'lazy' vocal style on these
tracks - he sings without a lot of power, but he focuses on weaving a good
melody into the songs (and you can tell he's still learning - the
occasional bum note pops up here and there). The lead-off track "Touch the
Sky" is one of the highlights of the album, and the instrumentals "Time
Bomb" and "God's Song" really show off the instrumental skills of the rest
of the band and the compositional skills of Randy Palmer. Very
sophisticated stuff for a bunch of teenagers, and even more so considering
that the only 'metal' around at the time was Sabbath and the slew of 70's
hard rock bands riding the edge (Blue Cheer, Deep Purple, etc.)
However, the real reason I'm writing this review is this: caveat emptor.
This 'CD' is actually a CD-R, and only available from 'Doom Records', and
only at the 'bargain' price of $30. Which isn't that bad in itself - but
the website does not clearly state that the album is a CD-R (and to be
perfectly clear, I don't have anything against CD-Rs in themselves; my
issue is the truth in advertising - don't say 'CD=$30.00' when you're
selling CD-Rs), and it also doesn't explicitly state that it's a
demo/rehearsal compilation, a fact which the mastering makes painfully
clear - the levels change radically from song to song, going from fairly
decent to almost silent, then back (something the compiler could EASILY fix
since this IS a CD-R...). Is it worth it? If you're a fan of old vintage
metal, Sabbath, and/or Pentagram then yes, but just be aware of exactly
what you're paying for. (or e-mail me...)
© 1999 lord vic