Cirith Parade

When Cirith Ungol reunited and released a one song single back in 2018, it took me by surprise. I never expected this obscure 80's metal band to get back together, let alone produce music that approached the quality of their classic albums... but with their first full length in almost 30 years, Forever Black in 2020 proved that they still could deliver.

I didn't even know that Cirith Ungol had a new album on the way until I was in the Metal Blade store picking up the new Cannibal Corpse back in September. Seeing Dark Parade listed for preorder, I immediately added it to the order. This album is just so solid. Traditional metal with a touch of doom. The band has remained relatively intact over the years, with the exception of adding Jarvis Leatherby from Night Demon on bass, but goddamn, they sound exactly like they did back in the 80's. How is it that the singer still sounds the same after all these years? Impressive. For some reason, I don't pull out the Cirith Ungol records very often, but I can tell that I'm going to enjoy listening to this one anytime that I do.

Nice looking "mineral marbled" colored vinyl.

Half Past Human

Cirith Ungol surprised me last year with their new album, Forever Black. That thing came out of nowhere, and can easily go toe to toe against what is considered their classic output from the 80's. Almost 30 years since their last album, it was amazing to hear the band deliver something that good. When it was announced that the band had a few more songs being released as an EP, I didn't hesitate to get in there for the preorders.

Half Past Human contains four songs from the band's demo days, dating back to the mid-70's. The songs contained here are kind of obscure, so they still feel like new songs to me. Even if they were written back in '76, they fit in with the Forever Black songs so perfectly that you'd have no idea the songs were that old. Pretty cool that they have had Michael Whelan doing the cover art for them for every record since their first album, Frost And Fire, back in 1981. Consistency is key.

500 pressed on a dark red marbled vinyl.

One Foot In American Heavy Metal

AFter watching a youtube video about early 80's American heavy metal at the start of 2021, I got it into my head that I wanted to chase some of those bands and improve my record collection for those bands. I haven't been as productive as I would have liked over the first half of the year, but I was still feeling good about the Lizzy Borden, Manowar and Omen records I'd picked up. Still, three records still felt short of where I wanted this mission to be, so I started looking around to see what other damage I could do.

One of the bands that was brought up on that youtube video was Cirith Ungol. My man, Doug, picked up their early albums a few years ago, and I was instantly jealous that he was getting the jump on collecting this band before me. Those album covers are epic, and the music that was pressed on the wax is some straight up traditional metal that still manages to sound unique. Love 'em or hate 'em, but no one sounds like Cirith Ungol. I've got a long way to go to catch up to Doug, but I'm very excited to grab my favorite out of the first three Cirith albums, One Foot In Hell.

When I found a seller on Discogs that listed One Foot In Hell in such amazing condition, I couldn't resist and had to take the opportunity to buy it. This thing looks beautiful.

You know I'm a sucker for records that come with the original merch insert.

Legions Arise

Cirith Ungol were a metal band out of California in the 80's. They truly had a unique sound, and one that I didn't full appreciate when I picked up their One Foot In Hell cassette back in '86/'87. I liked it well enough at the time, but it definitely takes some time to get used to the singer's voice. I love the band these days, and I keep telling myself that I've got to get to work on collecting their 80's output, but the job just keeps getting pushed out. While I am procrastinating on those original Metal Blade pressings, I didn't hesitate to jump and order the new Cirith Ungol album when preorders opened up earlier this year.

Cirith Ungol released their last album back in 1991, so the band has been out of the game for nearly three decades. We got a teaser of things to come back in 2018, when the band released the Witch's Game single. Man, that one song was brilliant, and it left me wanting more. Thankfully the band deliver a full length album in 2020, and it does not disappoint.

Forever Black nails that doomy traditional metal sound. I am loving this record right now, so it will be interesting to see how it stacks up with some of the other heavy hitters for my Top 10 list at the end of the year.

Limited to 500 for this grey/black marbled colored vinyl pressing.

Witch's Game

Band reunions aren't a surprise anymore. Seems like all the old school bands are getting together to either play at some big festival or to try and ignite the spark again with some new songs. Sometimes it works out, and other times it falls flat.

Cirith Ungol were a metal band out of California in the 80's, and they had their own distinct kind of sound that people seem to either love or hate. I wasn't too familiar with them back in the day, but over the past couple of years, I've really come to appreciate them. So when I heard that the band was back after a 27 year absence, and planning to release a one song 12 inch this year, I was definitely in to check it out.

As soon as I checked out the band's new song, Witch's Game, I was immediately hooked. Holy shit. I honestly have no idea where the band is going with this. I don't know if this is a prelude of what is to come, or if it was a burst of brilliance and they were done. Whatever the case may be, this song absolutely rules. If this was a full album, and it captured this level of doom perfection for the entire thing, this would be near my top records for 2018.

100 pressed on this nice looking clear dark brown marbled vinyl, and only available from the band.