Bedemon "Child of Darkness" 1973-79

Aah, the fabled Bedemon. This album, released by Black Widow Records of Italy with a massive booklet of great liner notes, is a compilation of recordings made in the 70's by the "band" Bedemon. Bedemon was not an actual gigging, playing band, but was the instrument used by Pentagram guitarista Randy Palmer to document some of his musical ideas. It's pretty amazing really that these private, self-made recordings firstly, have become the stuff of myth and legend that they are, and secondly, that they, in many ways, actually do live up to the hype.

The back story: Prior to joining the equally fabled Pentagram, Randy Palmer enlisted his friend and Pentagram drummer Geof O'Keefe, Pentagram vocalist Bobby Liebling, and high school friend Mike Matthews (bass) to help him record some of his musical ideas. These recordings were made using a Roberts 771X 1/4" reel-to-reel tape deck in Pentagram's rehearsal space and Randy's living room. The sonic quality is pretty rough and varies wildly, but considering they had 2 tracks to work with and were bouncing tracks(and therefore also mixing on the fly as they went) back and forth to add extra tracks Sgt Pepper style, it turned out fairly well. In fact, on some songs it enhances the grittiness and hardcore nature of the music.

Randy Palmer reconnected with Mike and Geof and in 2001 work was underway on new Bedemon material, but sadly, Randy Palmer was killed in 2002 from injuries sustained in a traffic accident.

The music:

It took me a few a listens to really start digging this album, but now I'm sold on it. For the most part, Bedemon is unapologetically heavy, dark and doomy, sounding like St Vitus or even the Blood Farmers at times, but with Bobby Liebling from Pentagram singing. I would say it's heavier and more modern metal than most of the Pentagram of the same time period. The guitar sounds are heavier (interestingly, an Electro Harmonix Mike Matthews Freedom Amp was used for the Bedemon recordings; don't know what was used for Pentagram) and the riffage/songs are heavier. Some of the contemporary Pentagram sounds stuck in the 60's at times as far as the songwriting goes. The Bedemon guitar solos, contributed by Randy Palmer, Geof O'Keefe and Mike Matthews are all very cool, and O'Keefe's drumming is slamming.
One of the only problems I have with this album is Bobby Liebling's performance. His delivery is pretty flat (I'm not referring to pitch, but energy). He kind of sounds like Iggy Pop (don't get me wrong, I love Iggy) combined with a heroin-infused Velvet Underground Lou Reed. He sounds much better on Pentagram's First Daze Here, so I'm not sure if he just didn't give it his all because it wasn't his project or what, but I think this is partly why it took me a while to get into the record. Get past the lackluster Liebling and you've got some of the heaviest rock of the early 70's.

The albums kicks you in the gut right from the start, the first three songs, Child of Darkness, Enslaver of Humanity, and Frozen Fear being devastating, plodding, doomy behemoths driven by mammoth Sabbathathian tritone blues riffs and sweet Iommi-esque soloing. Opener Child of Darkness takes us down creepy unmarked riff-roads later mapped out by the Blood Farmers and Electric Wizard, just not quite as psychedelic. I was initially not so into Frozen Fear because the vocal melody is lifted exactly from Black Sabbath (I can't for the life of me think of which song right now - help me out here...), but everything else about the song kills, so who cares. Besides, how many great blues songs utilize the same melody with different lyrics? A wicked howling banshee feedback guitar introduces Enslaver of Humanity which lumbers along big and heavy, Vitus style. One Way Road is a bit more uptempo, but only slightly, feeling a bit like a Buffalo jam. The ham-fisted riffing and bludgeoning guitar solos continue. Serpent Venom starts out promising, but then kind of lags a bit. The riffage here doesn't carry the same weight as the previous 4 tunes. Still not bad though. There is a cool Dave Chandler-ish guitar solo on this one - again with the St. Vitus comparisons.
Last Call, a melancholy ballad, is followed by Drive Me to the Grave, which sounds like a Sabbath Vol. 4 era song. Into the Grave is another minor ballad, but it's got a better groove than Last Call and some nice soloing. Unfortunately one track of lead guitar is buried in the mix. Skinned, which is introduced with a blood curdling scream, is an uptempo rocker which, at times, makes me think of early Fu Manchu.?. Hmm. Touch the Sky is another Vol. 4 trip.
Tracks 1-12 were all from '73-74, while the three songs that close the album are from '79, after Palmer's tenure with Pentagram and definitely have a different feel to them.
Time Bomb is a total Iggy and the Stooges Raw Power vibe. Nighttime Killers has a NWOBHM gallop to it with a proggy solo section. Axe to Grind is actually Geof O'Keefe's composition. It is a cool prog-metal instrumental that very much sounds like 1979 with twin harmony guitar melodies. Very different from the earlier Bedemon, but a rockin' jam nonetheless with some smokin' leads.

The album kind of falls into three sections. The first 1/3 is the heaviest and doomiest with the best riffage, and the most St Vitus-ish. The middle 1/3 kind of sags a little, but still has rockin' moments. The last 1/3 picks up the pace again, but in a less doomy, more late 70's metal kind of way. Like I said earlier, I dig it more than Pentagram First Daze Here, and again, if Liebling would've delivered more passionate performances, it would have sent this album into the territory of greatness.

My rating is:
Riff Density 9
Riff Caliber 9
Post Blues Factor 10
Groove Factor 8
Dig It 8