CoC : Desire - Pentacrow : Review

Desire - _Pentacrow_
(Skyfall, 1998)
by: Pedro Azevedo (7 out of 10)

Not quite an MCD, but not really a full-length album either and almost as expensive as a normal full-length, _Pentacrow_ has one new song (over 18 minutes long), a track taken from their 1993 demo, a Candlemass cover and "A Ride in a Dream Crow", taken from their debut _Infinity_. The new song presented here should not disappoint those who liked _Infinity_, while it also shows that the band's style hasn't changed much (fortunately, in my opinion). Divided in three tracks, it's more of Desire's very slow and sorrowful music, still with the very good and varied vocals (especially the extremely low, slow, tortured death grunts and the backing female chants). This is thus more of their symphonic doom/death, showing slight improvements in tightness. Slow music isn't necessarily easy to play, and a certain lack of that tightness was my only reason for lowering _Infinity_'s deserved 8 to a 7 back in CoC #17 (which I shouldn't have, as it did deserve a strong 8 despite that fault). This new song, "When Sorrow Embraces my Heart", is therefore the highlight of this CD and keeps up with the quality found in _Infinity_. So, what about the rest? Well, the first track, "A Ride in a Dream Crow", is very good and one of the best songs on _Infinity_, but rather useless for those who already own their debut album. The Candlemass cover "Solitude", however, is a rare example of a worthy cover, thanks to the enhancements made in the vocals together with a quality instrumental side. "Death Blessed by a God", the demo tape song, is again questionable. After listening to it for a short while, I found myself reaching for the booklet to see if this wouldn't happen to have been taken from a demo; and it was. That said, it's a good song for a demo tape, but far from the quality of the other tracks found here. For those who are into doom but have never listened to Desire, I strongly advise you to get _Infinity_. Desire fans who already own their debut should consider buying this one as well, even though it should have been financially more rewarding (i.e., sold at MCD price without "A Ride in a Dream Crow" and "Death Blessed by a God", rather than including these and being sold almost at full-length price).

(article published 13/4/1998)

ALBUMS
9/1/2002	P Azevedo	8	Desire - Locus Horrendus
2/4/1997	P Azevedo	7	Desire - Infinity... A Timeless Journey Through the Emotional Dream