First Daze Here Too

Pentagram released this second collection of demos two years after Show Em How, which in itself was also pretty much a collection of finished 70s songs. While most of the hits were on the first edition, that doesn't mean First Daze Here Too lacks merit. Despite being less essential than its predecessor, it does contain the best 70s version (perhaps even the greatest version in general) of When the Screams Come, as well as a heaping helping of tracks that would emerge fully fledged on their third album, Be Forewarned.

It's surprising how few tweaks tracks like Ask No More and Frustration needed to become the juggernauts they are in their finished forms. These two doomy/brooding delights, along with that killer When the Screams Come rendition show ['em] how ahead of their time the band was. Nightmare Gown was never my favorite, but it too is very similar to (and possibly better than) its final version. This version of Be Forewarned, however, is totally different from its 90s incarnation (not in a bad way) and is also distinct from the first edition's Be Forewarned. Maybe it's unnecessary to include this song again, but having two versions from the same era to compare is pretty cool. Although I slightly prefer the 90s version, the band deems the 70s arrangement as superior; after all, that's the way it's played live.

I'd wager that what a lot of people don't like about this collection is that it's simply less strong overall. Wheel of Fortune and those highlights mentioned before are awesome, same with Catwalk and Target, but what they contend with are likely not what people would point to as essential Pentagram. Teaser and Smokescreen are very of their time, sounding like a totally different 70s band: a good enough band, but not quite Pentagram-tier. Speaking of good bands that are not quite Pentagram, they cover The Rolling Stones with Under My Thumb and The Yardbirds with Little Games; cool covers, yet they too are not quite essential to doom historians.

On a whole, side A is weaker than side B. The second half is where most of the Be Forewarned demos and a few never revisited songs such as Virgin Death and Target (which especially deserved a finished version) make their home. Stronger on a whole yes, but even so, I can't imagine someone reaching for Yes I Do, Die in Your Sleep, or Man in a world where they can hear Madman, Review Your Choices, and Forever My Queen just as easily. Songs like those three aren't very compelling, despite sounding more like Pentagram than Teaser and Smokescreen. The production gets pretty crispy, especially towards the end, but Show Em How is a great closer, exemplifying both rock Pentagram and doom Pentagram within the same song.

If you love Pentagram, you should listen to this at least once. I would say more than half of it is great, and even though the rest isn't terrible, (or even really bad at all), these songs may likely fall into the "take it or leave it" category after you've heard them once. Some of them really sound unfinished, and despite having 3 extra tracks and 5 more minutes of material, First Daze Here Too doesn't have nearly as much juice as First Daze Here. However, the juice it does have is absolutely killer, such as the Be Forewarned demos, When The Screams Come, Catwalk (especially its sizzling solo), and the epic 8-minute titan known as Target.