Pentagram

Pentagram (Mezarkabul outside Turkey) is a Turkish heavy metal/power metal band composed of Murat Ilkan (vocals), Hakan Utangac, Metin Turkcan, Tarkan Gözübüyük, and Cenk Unnu. Pentagram is noted to include Oriental elements into their music.

History

Pentagram

Pentagram was formed in Istanbul in 1986 by guitarist Hakan Utangaç and drummer Cenk Ünnü. By 1987, bassist Tarkan Gözübüyük had joined and they started doing live shows. Their first release came in 1990, with their self-titled Pentagram album. By 1992, a second guitarist Demir Demirkan and vocalist Ogün Sanlısoy were added to the line-up. They released their second album Trail Blazer in the same year and enjoyed a rapidly-growing fanbase - both in Turkey and worldwide.

For the next three years, the band toured in their homeland and over the world. In 1995, vocalist Murat İlkan replaced Ogün, and they started working on their next album, Anatolia. Anatolia was released in Turkey in 1997, and several weeks after the release, Century Media approached Pentagram for a worldwide release.

They released a live album in 1998 called Popçular Dışarı (literally "Pop musicians out"). Guitarist Demir Demirkan departed, and was temporarily replaced with Onur "Mr. Cat" Pamukçu.

The band started recording their next album in 2000 in their own studio in Istanbul. Guitarist Metin Türkcan officially joined the band during the recording session. They composed 17 songs, and decided to split it up into two different CDs. In 2001, Unspoken was released worldwide. In 2002, Bir ("One") was exclusively released in Turkey.

For their releases in Turkey, they use the name Pentagram. However, due to an American doom metal band called Pentagram, they go by the name Mezarkabul (literally "Acceptance To Grave") for international releases.

Influence on Turkish Music

Pentagram is often considered to be the pioneers of heavy metal in Turkey. Their work has inspired all forms of rock music, and helped it to gain popularity in Turkey. They were known to collaborate with the late vocalist of Vitamin, Gökhan Semiz, and Vitamin itself. Also, Tarkan Gözübüyük has worked with numerous artists and bands, producing, arranging and sometimes performing. For example, Mor ve Ötesi's (literally "Purple and Beyond" or "ultraviolet") groundbreaking album Dünya Yalan Söylüyor (literally "The World is Lying") had Gözübüyük as its producer.Other than contributions to rock music, Pentagram members continued to contribute to popular music as well. Demir Demirkan, as he pursued his solo career, wrote the lyrics and produced the first Turkish song ever to win the Eurovision song contest. Tuna Kiremitçi, award-winning writer who currently works for the Vatan Newspaper, wrote an article about the band, praising their contributions.