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Wannes Gubbels (vocals/bass) of PENTACLE has released this statement about the band's upcoming release on Ibex Moon Records:

"As was the case with its predecessor “Ancient Death”, our new album “Under the Black Cross” is again a very honest and raw sounding Death Metal offering. Don’t expect something fancy. Being inspired by classic acts as Venom, Celtic Frost, Possessed, Mantas/Death and Pentagram (Chile), this is pure obscure extreme underground Metal the Pentacle style. Recorded in the studio where we laid all our other previous albums on tape (Harrow Productions), “Under the Black Cross” features a heavy production with its raw edges, as it is meant to be.

The US-version of “Under the Black Cross” contains some extras the Euro-release didn’t feature. For the first time on CD, one will be able to read the whole lyrical output dealing with the concept of “Under the Black Cross”, being Operation Chariot. This was a daring British Commando Raid that took place at Saint Nazaire, France, 1942. Now you can experience all the facts about wartime horror, honour, glory and most of all…death.

Except for our eight original compositions, we’ve included our personal interpretation of Necrovore’s “Divus de Mortuus”. Being a major influence for Pentacle we are truly honoured to present you this track. Mind you, you can never replace the original, but we’re damn proud of our own version!

Being around in this scene with Pentacle for almost 18 years now, we can say we’ve achieved another personal high-light. It literally took blood, sweat and tears to get this record done, but we made it happen. We hope all you Death Metal heads will share our feelings about this album and that you’ll enjoy it as much as we do. Remember…Death Metal came with the Wind.

We want to thank John McEntee and Ibex Moon Productions for giving this album an US-release. This is very much appreciated!

DON’T FORGET THE ANCIENT FEELING…IT STILL RULES!!!"

http://www.pentacle.nl/

PENTACLE’s journey began nearly a decade before they strummed a note. A musical identity which was chained within the mythical realms of primeval black/death metal so graciously evoked in the early 80’s by hallowed cults such as; Venom, Possessed and Bathory to name a few. Yet in the cold winter cessation of 1989, Mike Verhoeven (guitar), Wannes Gubbels (bass/vocals) and Marc Nelissen (drums) joined forces as PENTACLE and summoned an unforgotten legacy concluding the decade in a sepulchral tribute to their forefathers.

Entangled in the growing urge to inspire their own roaring metal quest, PENTACLE developed a highly ambitious conspiracy of forging twisting death metal rhythms and haunting doom chords in the archaic traditions of the two crafts. 1992 spewed forth their first official tape, "Caressed by Both Sides"; a primal anthology of pounding horror, containing four of their own compositions and a gloomy interpretation of Hellhammer's "The Reaper". Shortly thereafter PENTACLE’s contribution to the scene gained them; stage experience supporting bands such as Asphyx and Gorefest, the release of a praised studio demo entitled “Winds of the Fall” and yet more stage time with the likes of Occult, Anathema, Sentenced, Samael and many others.

Several years and releases later PENTACLE’s ranks of the depraved were joined and unfortunately short-lived, by axe wielder Edwin, to breed an even heavier and deadlier storm of slashing metal scythes, as "The Fifth Moon", demonstrated. Yet upon an abrupt departure of Edwin and a rebirth of the original line-up in 1997, PENTACLE forged ahead as a three-piece continuing to share the stage with an abundance of metal icons like Obituary, Immortal, Cannibal Corpse and Emperor. In 2004 preceding much hard work, many opuses and considerable accolades, PENTACLE, sustained an even deeper blow. Mike Verhoeven had unfortunately suffered an injury in his right under arm, which forced him to lay down his guitar immediately following the release of “Archaic Undead Fury.”

To this day and after so many years of active service, the musical concept of PENTACLE is still firmly rooted in the golden ‘80’s, though remains far from being a mere copy-cat of their precursors. With Mike still contributing to the band’s marrow they have stayed true to performing, writing and living their own honest, raw style of music which they started to create back while only selective (and loyal) audiences were interested. Together with an obscure, yet individual lyrical approach, the band always worked hard to create a personal style, based on ancient metal values. So don’t file PENTACLE under the current retro-trend of metal. Merely join the truest of fans to honor the leaders in the fight that has become a movement newer bands have attempted to grasp. And remember this when listening to PENTACLE’s releases; DON'T FORGET THE ANCIENT FEELING...IT STILL RULES!