Cirith Ungol - 'King of the Dead' (Live at the Roxy)

Thunder howls The King will rise again
The time has come to pay for all your sins
Silence shattered by his gasping cries
His savage touch will end your world of lies

Crown upon his head
King of all the dead

Who has dared to desecrate his crypt
Shall soon be hanging lifeless in his grip
Who has dared to stalk him in the gloom
For he has freshly risen from the tomb

Crown upon his head
King of all the dead

The sword descends the blood shall fall like rain
Its rising tide will cleanse your world of pain
His grip will rob the living of their breath
For as he ruled in life he rules in death

Crown upon his head
King of all the dead
It’s the king!
No fear!
Oh...

Το δεύτερο live album της καριέρας τους κυκλοφορούν φέτος οι Cirith Ungol. Τιτλοφορείται "Live at the Roxy" και βρίσκεται ήδη εκεί έξω σε διπλό cd, διπλό βινύλιο και σε ψηφιακή μορφή (συν κάποιες ειδικές εκδόσεις που θα περιλαμβάνουν και dvd) μέσω της δισκογραφικής εταιρείας Metal Blade Records.

Για τους Cirith Ungol νομίζω πως οι συστάσεις είναι περιττές (τουλάχιστον στους "σταθερούς" αναγνώστες της ιστοσελίδας μας). Heavy Metal μυσταγωγία, μυστικιστικό ατσάλι και σκοτεινό έπος. J.R.R. Tolkien, Michael Moorcock και Michael Whelan. Έξι full length albums, δύο demos, δύο singles, ένα ep, δύο live albums, μία συλλογή και ένα box set η (άκρως ιδιαίτερη και -κατ' εμέ τουλάχιστον- ενδιαφέρουσα) δισκογραφική τους παρακαταθήκη...

Δελτίο τύπου: «One of the world’s most iconic music venues - the Sunset Strip’s Roxy Theatre - hosted a legendary 2024 gig by one of the world’s most iconic metal bands - Cirith Ungol.

The one night only performance was an album release show for the band’s 2023 Dark Parade LP. It captured the lineup at the height of its considerable powers, performing Dark Parade in its entirely, along with a set of classic songs including “Join the Legion,” “Frost and Fire,” “Black Machine” and “Atom Smasher.”

The end result is a stellar live album and DVD, band co-founder and drummer Rob Garven saying, “I think we are playing better now than we did back in the day, circa King of the Dead. Onstage I wear in-ear monitors and have felt tears in my eyes when the music sounds so accurate to what we recorded so many years ago!”

Cirith Ungol played the Roxy previously, on another landmark occasion: “On January 19, 1983, with Bitch, Malice and Pandemonium,” recalls Garven. “Metal Blade founder Brian Slagel may have had something to do with the show, as it was four bands from Metal Massacre 1, which was released the previous year”.»

Παρακολουθούμε το βίντεο με την "ζωντανή" απόδοση του τραγουδιού "King of the Dead", για το οποίο ο (drummer) Robert Garven μας λέει:

«This song strung together by the haunting acoustic guitar is a gift to all of you on this Doomed Planet! It was, and is, the culmination of all the pain and suffering absorbed into our being from the pandemic, the lost lives, cancelled shows, isolation, and stimuli deprivation.

It features some of my best drumming and one of [guitarist] Jimmy [Barraza]’s best solos. As the song rises to the ultimate crescendo, all this pent-up emotion is unleashed on the listener with our final gasping breath. Truly a churning maelstrom of metal chaos descending!»

Band: Cirith Ungol
Country of origin: United States
Location: Ventura, California
Formed in: 1972
Genre: Heavy/Doom Metal
Lyrical themes: Fantasy, Science fiction
Years active: 1972-1992, 2015-present

Video: "King of the Dead"
Album: "Live at the Roxy"
Type: Full length
Release date: April 25th, 2025
Label: Metal Blade Records

Track listing:
01. Velocity (S.E.P.)
02. Relentless
03. Sailor on The Seas Of Fate
04. Sacrifice
05. Looking Glass
06. Dark Parade
07. Distant Shadows
08. Down Below
09. Atom Smasher
10. I'm Alive
11. Frost and Fire
12. Black Machine
13. Blood and Iron
14. Chaos Descends
15. The Frost Monstreme
16. Fire
17. Death of the Sun
18. Master of the Pit
19. King of the Dead
20. Join the Legion

Line-up:
Tim Baker – vocals
Greg Lindstrom - guitar
Robert Garven - drummer
Armand John Anthony - guitar
Jarvis Leatherby - bass