Pentagram’s Bobby Liebling Reacts to Becoming a Viral Hit Online: “It Was Wild, Man. It Still Is.”
For half a century, Pentagram and its frontman Bobby Liebling have been doing their thing. As doom metal pioneers, they’ve garnered nice success, gaining fans over the years, and creating controversies along the way.
Yet earlier this year, a clip of Liebling looking zonked out as all hell during a show (he wasn’t) made the rounds on social media. Overnight, people were wondering who Liebling was and Pentagram gained international attention for nothing more than their vocalist looking weird during a show. Five decades making music and this is what catches the mainstream audience’s attention.
During a recent interview with Altars of Metal (as transcribed by Ultimate Guitar), Liebling explained how that sudden notoriety was a new and exciting reality. Suddenly, the band was more than just some doom metal outfit and they were suddenly getting recognized on the street.
“The whole thing flipped me out at first. It was pretty weird. I always had this dream of maybe someday I can have a post on Instagram or Facebook, and it will be viral. And it was like… Jesus, wow…Careful what you wish for, because it kind of blew up more quickly than I expected it to for damn sure. But it was pretty cool, you know? And it’s really fun, though, playing music for over half a century and then becoming famous for being a joke.
“The band’s profile went through the roof immediately, which is pretty obvious that it would. And we got stopped in airports by TSA people, and we’ve gotten stopped on planes by pilots coming out of the cockpit to say hello, and soccer moms in the airport and groups of little kids and stuff like that. It’s pretty wild, man. I really didn’t know how to react, and I still kind of don’t because everywhere we go, it’s someone [saying], ‘Aren’t you that guy?’”
In the weeks after the clip went viral, Liebling’s been seen on all kinds of videos. Often used as a joke about being spaced out or amazed at something, I know I’ve seen the clip used in an advertisement on TV, which is fucking wild to say the least.
But did this all mean more money for the band? So far, Liebling said that hasn’t really panned out, though they were already doing alright with their tour. Still, he said it’s been a crazy thing to experience.
“When it happened, we were actually on tour already, and so the sales didn’t really increase or anything because the places were sold out, actually, when we were doing the West Coast tour, which is when it came about. And then the South American tour, which was mostly sellouts too.
“So I don’t know how it really bolstered the situation of the attendance, but I do know the ‘seeming popularity’ – and Lord knows why – but it went through the roof. It was a trip. People are clawing, trying to get through crowds. And you got police escorts surrounding you to get to a van when you leave a gig. It was wild, man. It still is.”
Pentagram have a run of shows in the U.S. starting over the weekend. If you’d like to catch ’em live, you can check out the list of dates below and get your tickets today.
