Year : 2024
Style : Epic Heavy Metal , Doom Metal
Country : United States
Audio : 320 kbps + all scans
Size : 107 mb
Bio:
The band's name, Cirith Ungol, is taken from J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings and means "Pass of the Spider". It was a high pass in the land of Mordor where the monster known as Shelob lurked.Formed in California in 1972 and taking their name from Tolkien’s ‘Lord Of The Rings’, obscure avant-garde Metallers Cirith (pronounced Cee-rath) Ungol are a band for whom the word cult was practically invented. I remember being given some advice many moons ago by the staff of London’s legendary record emporium Shades that, if heeded, might tragically have left this band overlooked. The tip-off concerned the first of Brian Slagel’s ‘Metal Massacre’ compilation series and the assertion that Metallica were the only thing on there worth hearing. How fortuitous, then, that I chose to ignore their advice completely. For nestling within its coarsely hewn groove was nothing less than Ungol’s ‘Death Of The Sun’ - the soundtrack to hell itself! But just what in the world, I hear you cry, does Hell sound like? Well, try early Rush meets early Celtic Frost for starters. Favouring complex, some would say cumbersome arrangements, their music is oblique, challenging and at times a truly agonising howl. Bizarre and otherworldly, their short three-album career forms a triangle in terms of creativity as well as in number. Their ’81 debut is a delightfully off the wall affair in which the band lurch from dungeon dirge to Seventies monster Rock-out with nary a flicker. Once slated as ‘the worst Heavy Metal album of all time’ it laid the ground rules for their brand of Fantasy Metal which quickly came to fruition. ‘King Of The Dead’ (’84) really is the ultimate Cirith Ungol album, a masterpiece of originality which virtually defies description. Hear the very Earth crack beneath your feet; feel the frozen claws of the Northwinds tear at your skin as Pterodactyls soar against a crimson sun. In other words - prepare to shit yourself. Come their ‘One Foot In Hell’ swansong they were already making the fatal error of paying too much attention to what was going on around them musically, which in ’86 was Metallica, Slayer and Anthrax. What in Hades could these bands, though each outstanding in their own way, teach Cirith Ungol? From Middle Earth to the middle way in the course of one album and yet still the stuff of nightmares.‘Chaos Descends’ in particular was a distinct nod to earlier works and the title track features one of their most leaden, crushing riffs ever. If you like Fantasy and Metal and like bands that like Fantasy and Metal, exhume these relics now and let chaos descend!
Album:
Coming off the encapsulated songwriting on 2020’s Forever Black and the trip down memory lane with 2021’s Half Past Human EP, Cirith Ungol takes a true step forward with Dark Parade. Despite “Velocity (S.E.P.)” kicking things off like a modern answer to “100mph,” this album just might be the band’s slowest to date with some of their heaviest riffs and most contemplative rhythms. It’s the sort of album set to remind one that their legacy is just as entwined with doom as it is epic metal.Fortunately, the songs convey enough variety and an oddly uplifting spirit at times to keep from feeling one-dimensional. “Relentless” keeps the momentum going from that fast opener with a hefty mid-tempo chug and hearty chorus that are echoed on “Looking Glass” and the title track. “Sailor on the Seas of Fate” and “Sacrifice” tap into the epic aspirations that were attempted on Paradise Lost, the latter’s western vibe is especially interesting, and there’s a somber overcast to “Distant Shadows” and the closing “Down Below.”The musicianship also sees the band in a pretty solid place, no doubt wizened by their experience but with enough mustered up energy to still feel impactful. With how desensitized we’ve all likely become to the oddball hollering at this point, the guitar work ends up being the most striking asset between the thicker tone and eastern-tinged leads. The echo on the drums is also a nice touch, giving them some extra old school oomph.While Dark Parade doesn’t quite have the same immediacy as Forever Black, it does similarly well in proving the long term viability of Cirith Ungol’s weirdo metal. Nothing could ever take away the band’s core traits and it’s certainly cool to see them applied to slower tempos and an almost nautical atmosphere. It may be unfortunate to see them start winding down in light of their recent announcements, but we were quite frankly lucky to ever have them back at all.
Line-Up:
Tim Baker - Vocals, Whistle
Greg Lindstrom - Vocals, Keyboards, Guitars, E-bow, Bass - See also: Falcon, ex-Titanic
Jimmy Barraza - Guitars, Vocals (backing)
Jarvis Leatherby - Bass - See also: Night Demon, ex-Jaguar (live), ex-Satan (live), ex-Black Opal, ex-Jeff Hershey and the Heartbeats, ex-No Motiv
Robert Garven Drums, Percussion, Vocals (backing) - See also: ex-Titanic
Tracklist:
01. Velocity (S.E.P.) 04:44
02. Relentless 04:28
03. Sailor on the Seas of Fate 08:10
04. Sacrifice 04:58
05. Looking Glass 04:25
06. Dark Parade 05:51
07. Distant Shadows 06:08
08. Down Below 05:21
Download links for all albums only on our blog here: http://goodmetalandhar.do.am/
