Artist: Pentagoatcross
Country: USA
Label: Malevolent Sounds
Formats: Digital
Year: 2025
Life can be a difficult thing to deal with, but sometimes it is surprisingly simple. Like with this digitally released debut album, give me a band name like Pentagoatcross and I am instantly interested. Add the diabolical artwork and I’m sold. Well, almost sold then. Let’s give this Black/Thrash Metal band from San Diego a shot for a final verdict. But, I am already excited.
Pentagoatcross are three guys who have been in a good number of bands, including Black Spells and Cuernos Del Chivo in which they also play together. But it is especially drummer Jared Maron with his 50+ active bands who takes the absolute win here, always wonder whether that sort of people ever sleep. With so many present and past bands and projects it is not a surprise that we’ve covered a few of them before and I personally liked the now defunct Herculean Death the most.
Yet, it is quite clear from the start that Pentagoatcross has not much to do with Herculean Death. This is by far more primitive and takes an instant deep dive into the realm of unpolished and unrefined Extreme Metal. Without sounding like an exact copy of anything specifically, ‘Open Your Mouth Bitch’ is very much a Latin American-sounding affair in which all styles of Extreme Metal seem to have been blended in almost equal portions. But, it is mainly leans on the cornerstones of very old school Black/Thrash Metal, the rough way, reminding mostly of bands like Vulcano. Sextrash and Mutilator. Yet, the fun part is that, while it sounds primitive and clunky throughout, there’s actually quite a bit of interesting leads and riffs being cranked out here. That reveals a bit of the involved musician’s skill, but it remains only marginally so the music is still as rough and boisterous as needed. The question, however, is it good? Well, no, not really. Is it fun then? Yes, quite a bit! Was my initial enthusiasm justified? Hell yeah! This is the stuff that you can play just on a hellish volume without feeling the need of finding the deeper meaning of life, because that’s too damn difficult most of the time anyway.
