Ranking the Studio Albums: Cirith Ungol (w/Brian Slagel)
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- Опубліковано 24 лип 2020
- Join host Pete Pardo and special guest co-host Brian Slagel, founder of Metal Blade Records, as they rank the studio albums of cult heavy metal favorites Cirith Ungol. #cirithungol #metalbladerecords
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Brian Slagel's passion for Cirith Ungol is inspiring! When growing up in South Carolina in the early 80s I thought my brother and I were the only fans of the band in the state....maybe we were. Long live Ungol!!
For anyone who hasn't listened to Cirith Ungol; Their music is even more amazing than their album covers! CHECK THEM OUT!!
The best underground metal band ever, they never wimped out, stayed true to metal🤘🤘
I still remember middle school 1982 when I was introduced to Frost and Fire and Witchfinder General’s Death Penalty. Been a fan of both bands ever since. My CU album ranking:
1 King of the Dead
2 Frost and Fire
3 One Foot in Hell
4 Forever Black
5 Paradise Lost
He's the hero of the atom age... Born in a test tube RAISED IN A CAGE! BTW - how cool that Brian mentioned John Arch - the first Arch/Matheos record is one of the greatest CDs of the teens.
Don't forget about the Heaviest most disturbing lyrics ever written the Beast shall rule the hearts of man until mankind falls to Ape again, up from Slime it has seen man crawl ,and waits to see our final fall. Black idols hide beneath the sea, that (they?) Hold the secret of our destiny
They are the very definition of Heavy Metal IMO. Classic sound and heavy but not too fast. They fit right in with Sabbath and Dio...
The new stuff is great, glad their back but "King of the Dead" will always be my #1. Great shows back in the 80's. RIP Jerry Fogle, great guitarist.
This. I’m too young to have seen them back then but Jerry Fogle was a guitar master. Master of the Pit has some of the tastiest leads ever.
@@steelerfreak1977 Those were the days, used to stand in front about two feet away and just watch.
yeah love the interplay between Jerry (one of the greatest solo guitarist in metal ever imo) and Flint on that album. Of course the whole band is on fire though!
Thank you guys for ranking the studio albums of Cirith Ungol (W/Brian Slagel).🎤🎸🎵🥁
Holy shit, thanks for making me aware of these guys. Fantastic stuff!
Hi guys, Great episode which took me back almost 40 years in time. When I was 13 years old back in 1982 I was going through the metal import bin at my local record store here in Belgium. I was immediately intrigued when I stumbled upon the magnificent cover of Frost and Fire. I just had to get it, but it was an import so about 30% more expensive and it was such a short record to boot. But I did manage to get it and loved it from the first spin. On the back of the album I found an address and out of sheer enthusiasm I wrote the band a letter. Much to my surprise a few weeks later my mailman handed me a letter from America...a letter from Cirith Ungol. I loved the fact that most of it was handwritten and it included a bunch of stickers, mini posters etc...but what I’ll never forget was their sheer enthusiasm and surprise that someone from a far away place like Belgium has heard from them and bought their album. They asked me to spread the word, and over the course of the next year or so I got a bunch more letters, each were a delight to get and always included some swag as well, and in the last one they told me about their new album coming out called “King of the Dead”. I wrote to tons of bands as a young headbanger but none took as much time and effort in replying as Cirith Ungol did and they made me a fan for life. Too bad I can’t post any pics here as I still have 4 of the original letters, and most of the stickers and flyers they sent me almost 4 decades ago. Some of the enveloppes even have some drawings done by the band, alas not by Michael Whelan ;)
Pre-ordered the latest album and love it to bits and will try to get to Germany next year to see them perform live for the first time. If the band ever want copies to see what they wrote to one of their first European fans back in the day, I’ll be happy to supply them, but I’m keeping the originals :)
Hi Pete, hi Brian, hope you guys are doing great today! Here's my ranking
5-One Foot In Hell
4-Forever Black
3-Paradise Lost
2-Frost And Fire
1-King Of The Dead
This band had it all, unique metallic vocals, acrobatic and ridicolously dynamic guitar work, awesome groovy rhytms and musicianship! Wonder why they're not so famous. They have an awesome live album, too! Check it out.
When are you gonna do the doom rankings? (Candlemass, Pentagram, Manilla Road, etc.)
12 years ago I was reading an article in a magazine about the, allegedly, “8 Worst Records of All Time”. The albums listed were:
“Having Fun with Elvis on Stage” by Elvis Presley
“Metal Machine Music” by Lou Reed
“Queen of the Night” by Florence Foster Jenkins
“The Wedding Album” by John Lennon and Yoko Ono
“Philosophy of the World” by The Shaggs
“Paralyzed” by the Legendary Stardust Cowboy
“The Transformed Man” by William Shatner
“King of the Dead” by Cirith Ungol
I already knew what “Metal Machine Music” and “The Wedding Album” were about, and I had no interest in hearing garage flower power pop, opera, Elvis Presley telling jokes or William Shatner "crooning", so the only thing left to check was Cirith Ungol. The name of the band sounded cool and the artwork of the album was amazing. I went to UA-cam and randomly choose “Finger of Scorn” to hear. I couldn’t believe my ears.
The peculiar vocals of Tim Baker, the unconventional song structures, lots of strange, progressive constructions, the effects used on the guitars and bass, the drumming style. Everything sounded weird. The band had a very 70s vibe, yet they were living in 1984. Somehow, someway, it worked for me. I didn’t find their music ultramega spectacular but it was far, far from being “worst ever” material. They are a kind of an acquired taste for some. I went after the rest of their discography and it was worth it. Very enjoyable songs. The oddness of Cirith Ungol became their charm to me.
5. Paradise Lost
4. Frost and Fire
3. Forever Black
2. King of the Dead
1. One Foot in Hell
Frost and Fire is one of my favorite old-school metal albums... It's kind of odd and brilliant at the same time, has everything a classic metal albums needs but isn't trying too hard to be like any other band... I'd love to see a show on Manilla Road, folks who are getting into more obscure metal like this is are in for a real treat!
By far Cirith Ungol's most interesting material for me is on their first two albums. It was quirky and creative and so different from other bands, in part because of those bizarre high pitched vocals (which I liked but many people didn't). Their later albums lost some of that personality. But I heard songs from their new album and I was impressed.
I'm 47, Played all Metallica-Maiden riffs on my guitar in the 90s. Loved Heavy Metal and had never heard this. I bought a bunch of Metal vinyls last month. About 70. Megadeth, Anthrax etc etc. Many many unknown albums and bands for me. King of the Dead has been my favorite so far. I'm amazed at how the music is fun to listen to and very surprised it wasn't more recognized. Thanks!
I went nuts and got most of the vinyl and the special edition CD's. Excellent band.
I've never even heard of this band. Cool find. Thanks guys!
Listen my friend so unique
1) King of the Dead
2) One Foot in Hell
3) Forever Black
4) Frost and Fire
5) Paradise Lost
6) The Orange Album
I discover this band with this channel, and i love it. Thanks Pete.
Watched the review of the new album, checked them out, awesome stuff! Thanks again Pete!
Great Heavy/Doom Metal band, My ranking:
1- Frost and Fire (This album has that early Maiden vibe, killer release from '81)
2- King Of The Dead (Another killer release and a big influence on the Doom Metal scene)
3- Forever Black (Their brand new album, Before Tomorrow is one of the Best songs they have ever recorded)
4- Paradise Lost (from' 91 - has more of a thrash vibe imho, title track is cool)
5- One Foot In Hell (never really got into this one)
Description of the vocals: Geddy Lee on 78. Fantastic band.
Never heard of them in my life. Checked some tracks on youtube. Awesome stuff! Thanks a lot for this hint.
I love Cathedral's cover of Arthur Brown's Fire. I'll have to check this version out.
Outstanding podcast here! Thanks gents!
Next ranking the albums: Manilla road
Here’s my top 5 favorite albums:
5. King of the Dead
4. Forever Black
3. One Foot in Hell
2. Paradise Lost
1. Frost and Fire (Truly a classic gem! The bass playing on there is incredible!)
Oh man...that Special Forces shtrt is awesome. Absolute favorite Alice album. Met him in 2001 and told him that. He called me "a menace to society" I was quite proud.
The album covers are book covers from Michael Moorcock's Elric series. They weren't painted specifically for the band.
This has been my #1 band since I was 11 (30 now). Still the one band that I “fanboy” over and collect memorabilia from like an addict. My brother got me into Mercyful Fate and King Diamond as a kid and I discovered Cirith Ungol by searching “similar artists” at a Circuit City music terminal. I remember hearing them for the first time with those headphones on (the song “one foot in hell”): the crunching riffs, leading to a dual harmony swell, the crash of the drum that lead into that incredible voice that hit the highest most shrill scream and in a moment followed with a guttural bellow. I was mesmerized I’ve been hooked since. Their displaced sound that never seemed to fit with the rest of the bands around, resonated with me beyond all else. Much like the antihero of all their album covers, Michael Moorcock’s Elric of Melnibone, they harbor the same aspects of power and mystery with hints of melancholy and dread. I can’t underscore how important and integral getting into CU has been to my life- almost every turn and aspect has in part been influenced by them!
Heard the new album when it came out and now I'm really into their music. There are so many bands that are amazingly good that it's impossible not to wonder how come they are not bigger and more famous, but then again, for some bands I also wonder if actually NOT making it as big is actually what kept fueling their creativeness. Kind of when Pete talks about Aerosmith and how much he loves their 70's records but not so much the ones where they became a big hit machine. Or Maiden, as big as they are, there is an argument to be made that if they had started to get played in radio stations perhaps we would have lost their greatness such as it is. Some food for thought...
Amazing band. King of the Dead might be one of my 50 favorite albums ever. Almost certainly actually. Master of the Pit is absolutely mind-blowing. The last two leads by Jerry Fogle on that song just are sublime ear candy.
1 - King Of The Dead
2 - Frost And Fire
3 - Forever Black
4 - One Foot In Hell
5 - Paradise Lost
Wow. I need to check them out!
Them & Manilla Road. Absolutely their own.
Yeah, both great.
Here I am three yrs later, jamming "I'm Alive," having just finished "Paradise Lost" and waiting for my preorder of "Dark Parade" to arrive. Damn, I love these guys. If you saw my earlier post about skipping over the band in the 80s, I think it was a good idea. I was very narrow focused on the vocals back then and probably wouldn't have liked them. I love them now. they are absolutely perfect.
This ranking could change at any time:
1. King of the Dead
2. Paradise Lost
3. One Foot in Hell
4. Frost and Fire
5. Forever Black
Hey Pete! Fun fact: Jarvis Leatherby from Night Demon is the current manager and bass player for Cirith Ungol and who also hosts the Frost and Fire Metal Fest.
if you bought frost and fire in 1981 like i did you would understand why it's the #1. literally because of what you said over and over, THERE WAS NOTHING ELSE LIKE IT!!!
1 Forever Black
2 King of the Dead
3 Paradise Lost
4 One Foot in Hell
5 Frost and Fire
(the orange album is interesting too)
(Half Past Human doesn't quite do it for me but it's good)
Just heard this band on Ozzies boneyard on SiriusXM and they are awesome
Amazing Traditional Metal band. I learn of them with their new cd Forever Black.
Got to see these guys recently at Days of darkness in Baltimore. Stupendous! They are supposed to be coming to Doom fest in October, we'll see. Thanks for this show on a great band
I have been a fan since day1 when i bought frost and fire . back then i received an autographed picture stickers and personal lettets from them. I have all of it and all there albums on vynl from that time and im working on geting the new albums! I just found out there back and about the new album from a friend and thay are prioritysn for me! Thanks for the review and ungle fan for life!!
I've known about this band forever but never bothered to dig into their catalog, just spun the new album and yeah that voice is oddly unique but after the initial jarring shock I kinda started to come around rather quickly, some killer riffs and melodies here ... think I am a fan!
King of the Dead
One Foot in Hell
Forever Black
Frost and Fire
Paradise Lost
This is subject to change once I've had more time with Forever Black. I almost put it at No. 2, but One Foot in Hell has had much more time to drill into my brain.
Cirith Ungol always has great album art, I need to listen to them more before i can rank them
Never heard of them. Just checked out a few tunes. Sounds awesome !
King of the Dead, great bass sound on this album, Paradise lost, the final trilogy is amazing, Forever black really honors their history, One foot in hell probably my favorite by them, first album classic artwork and some great songs. Love them all!
Nice shirt Pete. One of my favorite Whelan covers.
Never heard of them, will check them out.
1. Frost And Fire
2. One Foot In Hell
3. King Of The Dead
4. Forever Black
5. Paradise Lost
Great show, great band, nice people! I played with the in Athens where they recorded the live album - the show was overly great and made me a fan immediately.
Great unique band
1. Frost and Fire
2. Paradise Lost
3. Forever Black
4. King of the Dead
5. One Foot in Hell
King of the Dead
Forever Black
Paradise Lost
One Foot In Hell
Frost and Fire
Love the version of toccata in D minor
always enjoyed the tune Better Off Dead since I got the album back in the day
Just found paradise lost, king of the dead, and one foot in the grave for $20 on Ebay. What a steal
Κing of the Dead 100/100
Paradise lost 95/100
Frost and Fire 90/100
One Foot in Hell 85/100
Forever Black 80/100
Servants of Chaos 80/100
\m/ from Ventura CA!
Atom Smasher!!!!!!!!!!!
The Heaviest Traditional Heavy Metal songs
Angel Witch - Baphamet
Taipan - the Cellar
Manilla Road - Veils of Negative Existence
Anvil - Mothra
Manowar - Mountains
Cirith Ungol - King of the Dead
Stormwitch - When the Bat Bites
Tyrant USA California - Verdalack
Ostrogoth - Paris By Night
Rainbow - Kill the King
Virgin Steele - Burn the Sun
Twisted Sister - Destroyer
Saxon - 20,000 Feet
Warrior UK - Warrior
KISS - She
WASP - Tormentor
Dark Wizard - Devil's Victim
Fates Warning - Giant's Lore ( Heart of Winter)
Accept - Feelings
Omen - Bounty Hunter
Attacker - Battle At Helms Deep
Trauma - Warlock
Griffin - Creeper
Thrust - Soldier of Fortune
Killer - Chains
Demon Eyes - Tale of Two Cities
Bladerunner - Eye of the Beholder
Handicapped Wildcat - No
Samson - Take Me To Your Leader
Tygers of Pantang - Running Out of Time - Tiger Bay
Iron Maiden - 22 Acacia Avenue
Seduce - Been So Long
Chateaux - Young Blood
Mercyful Fate - At the Sound of the Demon Bell
Crystal Pride - Jean d Arc
Savatage - 24 Hours Ago
Nasty Savage - Fear Beyond the Vision
Crossfire - Master of Evil
More - Soldier
Black Sabbath - Sign of the Southern Cross
Xaaron - Straight Out of Hell
Motorhead - Metropolis
Witchfynde - Stagefright
I haven't listened to this band
until today. I like the songs Legions Arise, Atom Smasher, so I could listen to their albums. I just can't rank them yet. Good video guys.🤟
Band that doesn't quite fit but finds an audience years later...sounds familiar ;)
I remember hearing whispers about Cirith Ungol back when "King of the Dead" came out. It's funny that Pete remembers buying "One Foot in Hell" and being blown away by the album cover. I remember it being released and had the complete opposite reaction. It seemed like everybody and their mother had an album with Satan or hell or something similar in the name or album title and I was kinda over it already. Then the album cover also made no sense to me. I didn't get the connection between it and the name, and that was enough for me to find something else that day, limited funds being what they were at the time.
Things weren't helped either when KOTD was only given a 5 by Martin Popoff in his 1997 book "The Collector's Guide To Heavy Metal". My interest in CU was piqued again though , when Popoff revisited KOTD with a new rating of 8 as well as giving an 8 to "Frost and Fire" in his 2005 tome "The Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal - Volume 2: The Eighties".
And there they've sat, on my need-to-buy list ever since, yet never actually getting around to doing it. Looks like I've finally run out of excuses.
1. King of the Dead (one of the best albums ever made)
2. Frost and Fire (a more direct album but very close to the atmosphere of King of the Dead)
3. One Foot in Hell (some great songs, great guitar work of Jerry Fogle but that sinister weird feeling has been lost a bit)
4. Paradise Lost (a bit uneven, some lackluster songs in there, but the best tracks (the final trilogy) are better than everything of the previous album)
5. Forever Black (amazing that they could put out such a good album after all these years, especially love the songs that gives a nod to the debut)
Obviously they are all fantastic albums. Places 3-5 are basically interchangeable.
My favorite album is 100% Paradise Lost. The opener and the earlier songs are far better than later ones on there. Everything before Heaven Hell Us is amazing imo. Join the Legion is one of my favorites of their discography.
I like all of these quite a lot.
5) Paradise Lost (Easily my least favorite. Just feels... flat.)
4) Forever Black (The fact that this great record is my number four says a lot about their discography.)
3) King of the Dead
2) Frost and Fire (Almost a speed metal album.)
1) One Foot in Hell (This album is great except for the terrible production. J/K, Slagel - it sounds great!)
Thanks, guys. Love that great Alice Cooper shirt!
Sports in empty stadiums? Why not? Don Kershner did it with rock concerts in the 1970's. The problem is: sports is not music. The music will stand a lifetime. Sports? There will always be another game tomorrow. Thanks for the ranking show. I'll have to keep them in mind.
King of the Dead might be the Heaviest Traditional Heavy Metal album in the history of music
I've only heard Paradise Lost on cassette
Brilliant band so popular in Germany 🇩🇪
Hail the TEUTONIC STEEL FORCES !!!
That is an awesome Alice Cooper Special Forces shirt Brian has gotta wonder where he got that.
Pete! Please rank Virgin Steele! My favorite band!
With the captions on the bands name came up as "Sierra Thunder". 😂
Absolutely not a weak album. I don't have the new one. My least favorite is probably the debut. I have the repress cd with King Fowley from Deceased writing the liner notes.
nice!
Pete, how about doing a ranking of the studio albums by SHADOW GALLERY and all things by Anthony Lucasson/Ayreon?
Great band and way too underrated.
Was it Brian Slagel who inspired Tom G. Warrior to contact Cirith Ungol or did it happen on earlier stage? I mean they were on same label.
1. King Of The Dead
2. Frost And Fire
3. Forever Black
4. One Foot In Hell
5. Paradise Lost
Pete, I was wondering, you haven't made videos about Type O Negative or Danzig, I assume that both bands are down your alley, the bluesy, doomy, kick in the teeth metal.
Interesting
There is no debate. King of the Dead is easily their best.
1:46 According to the band, their earliest incarnation dates back to 1971
King of the Dead.
Frost and Fire.
One Foot in Hell.
Forever Black.
Paradise Lost.
Do you think that album covers still matter? Thinking back to Maiden and Dio those cover grabbed you when in the record store
We need a Black Dahlia Murder ranking the albums. They’re a current metal blade record band and Brian would be great for it
1977?They were formed in 1971,not in 1977.Anyway,King Of The Dead is their best album
Ever thought about ranking Black Label Society's albums?
How are you going to rank them when every one of them sounds like the other one?
@@independenceltd. Are you five years old? The later albums definitely have a heavier and faster feel while their most recent album is the most Sabbath/classic rock sounding. Each album had something different and Zakk experimented with each one differently.
@@jamer625 lol...dude, please. I've seen BLS in '01, '11 and '18. You can't tell one song from the next. Generic singing backed by pinch harmonics for the dumbed-down.
Glad you brought an obscure band to light - I remember seeing all those ads in Metal Mania for the metal blade stuff and Noise int’l...
But, um, it’s actually pronounced “Kirith”....
To Tolkein/LotR it might be the hard K sound, but for the band, it is an S sound. Similar to people in the states saying Celtic Frost with an S sound because of the basketball team, the Celtics... *rolls eyes*
C. U is like TROUBLE. Something odd about them 😛
It's one of those bands I could never get into because of the vocals.
They're very inaccessible on some level... Somewhat interesting, but surely not an easy listening.
Are you crazy
@@nonrevnosnibormetalbeerrev6251 No. I like the music. I hate the vocals. Sorry.
Nonrev Nosnibor Personal taste man
@@djentyman4002 Absolutely.
One of my favorite bands from the 80's and the only band I ever wrote to. Still have the flyer and note they sent me. I think all of their material is fantastic so ranking them is difficult for me but I'll try.
5. Paradise Lost
4. Frost and Fire
3. Forever Black
2. King Of The Dead
1. One Foot In Hell.
Cirith Ungol is the only American NWOBHM band.
There is not a such thing.
@@user-zx4mp8jj6d Yes, that's why I said it. The sound is NWOBHM.
@@nerzenjaeger NWOBHM wasn't a style but a movement.
Sure, but it's also a sound. If it wasn't, people wouldn't try associate with it.@@user-zx4mp8jj6d
My bad opinion:
5. Forever Black
4. Frost and Fire
3. One Foot in Hell
2. Paradise Lost
1. King of the Dead
They would have been better off without using the Elric covers. The drawings were amazing, but it locked them into a dated formula ... albums looked like they were from the 70's.
Everybody has there taste in music the same with politics NBA MLB NFL SUPPORT LEFTIST BOYCOTT PRO SPORTS 🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸
I call them the Best ‘amateur’ metal or even the most ‘amateurish’ metal band . ‘Frost & Fire’ was truly dreadful .. bought it on import in 1981, last album of theirs I ever bought!
By far not one of their best. I’d suggest listening to subsequent albums.