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