‘Makina Elektrika’ is the first album of new material by Turkish heavy metal giants Pentagram in a decade. But the band hasn’t been sitting still in the intervening years. Most notably, they have reunited with former singers Murat İlkan and Ogün Sanlısoy, as well as guitarist Demir Demirkan, to form a line-up with three guitarists and four lead singers. It is with this expanded line-up that Pentagram recorded ‘Akustik’ in 2017, after which they worked on new material. Interestingly, ‘Makina Elektrika’ sounds like all the best elements of Pentagram’s ever-evolving sound combined into one fantastic album.

The first singles suggested ‘Makina Elektrika’ was going for the sound Pentagram had found with ‘Unspoken’ and further developed with ‘MMXII’: largely mid-tempo heavy metal with lots of room for captivating melodies that often have a uniquely Turkish flavor. However, the band’s thrash roots shine through more prominently than they have in a long time as well. The fast, intense ‘Revenant’ in particular is the hardest ripping thrasher Pentagram ever released, though it does still have a melodic, somewhat melancholic chorus. ‘Maymunlar Gezegeni’ and ‘Damn The War’ are not quite as aggressive, but their epic, vaguely Artillery-esque thrash approach would have fit the band’s 1992 ‘Trail Blazer’ album perfectly.

Possibly the best thing about ‘Makina Elektrika’ is how the band really makes the best out of having four lead singers, all with different characteristics. İlkan has frequently been described as the Turkish Bruce Dickinson and even after his MS diagnosis, he sounds soaring and powerful here. Sanlısoy and Gökalp Ergen both handle the characteristically Turkish vocal melodies exceptionally well, but also have a gruffer side, with Sanlısoy’s punky shouts and Ergen’s mighty roar. Founding guitarist Hakan Utangaç takes on the deep, almost death metal-ish growl on the somewhat doomy ‘Sensiz’. But the real magic happens when they all sing together. As usual, the harmonies are incredible.

Much has been said about Pentagram’s characteristically Turkish melodies. However, talk about that tends to gloss over the rhythms, while those might actually be where the band’s roots are most prominently heard. The 9/8 rhythm of ‘Bu Düzen Yıkılsın’ and the powerful 5/4 beat of ‘Pride’ sound surprisingly natural. There is nothing contrived or proggy about them at all. Part of that is the fact that drummer Cenk Ünnü has a relatively laid-back playing style for a heavy metal drummer and doesn’t cram every bit of space full with notes. But it stands to reason that being exposed to non-4/4 rhythms from a young age makes it easier to implement them in such a fluent manner.

While the whole album can be described as Pentagram at its best, ‘Sur’ deserves special mention. Since it was released as a single early last year, it quickly became a top five Pentagram song for me. It’s simply everything that makes the band so great at once. The descending lead guitar melody is made all the stronger by the open rhythms and the melancholic chorus is extremely cathartic. İlkan, Ergen and Sanlısoy all bring their A-game vocally as well. The particularly Turkish-sounding ballad ‘Ödenmez’ is another highlight. It’s largely acoustic, but the subtle electric guitar flourishes make it uniquely atmospheric.

Having a line-up that features returning members from a classic era could easily have been a lazy marketing ploy. Instead, Pentagram’s eight-member line-up really opened up some interesting songwriting and arrangement opportunities and ‘Makina Elektrika’ seizes them all. I would probably recommend it as the first album to listen to if anyone doesn’t know Pentagram – or Mezarkabul, if you want to avoid confusion with the American doom pioneers – simply because it features the best elements from each era of the band. There will always be albums to go to if you want more of one thing, but ‘Makina Elektrika’ truly has everything that makes Pentagram one of the greatest heavy metal bands in the world.

Recommended tracks: ‘Sur’, ‘Revenant’, ‘Maymunlar Gezegeni’, ‘Ödenmez’