Inspired by occult subject matter and everything evil in death metal/black metal (i.e. Venom, Mercyful Fate, Hellhammer, et al.), Holland's Pentacle began taking shape as early as 1989, but it wasn't until several years and demos later that Wannes Gubbels (vocals/bass), Mike Verhoeven (guitar), and Marc Nelissen (drums) finally caught a break. Along with recent arrival Edwin Folsche (guitar), they signed to Displeased Records and released their 1996 debut album, Fifth Moon, and, after returning to the power trio format, 1998's Rides the Moonstorm. Neither of these helped further their cause, however, and when the opportunity arose for Gubbels to join former members of Asphyx in a new project called Soulburn, Pentacle was relegated to a secondary concern. And yet, the arrival of new drummer Robert Smissaert and addition of second guitarist Alex Verhoeven for the occasional single and EP release (2001 saw one named Ancient Death) would suggest Pentacle have not packed it in just yet. ~ Eduardo Rivadavia