Cirith Ungol’s debut is 35 years old now but it’s new to me. After just a couple of listens, though, I can safely say… it sounds a bit like Rush. Mainly due to the piercing vocals of Tim Baker but the music reminds me of Fly By Night/Caress of Steel era Rush in feel, if not in compositional or instrumental niftiness. It rocks more straightforwardly, more garage-y like an American entry in the NWOBHM canon. With the exception of Jerry Fogle’s handy guitar soloing, it’s all pretty meat and potatoes but I find the simplicity inspiring. As I listen I’ve instantly got an idea what they’re doing. If I ended up in the rehearsal room I reckon I’d have a good crack at joining in. It makes me want to play and I can’t give it much more praise than that. Time has proven that the albums that give me the guitar-playing itch tend to be keepers. Oh… and how awesome is that cover?
[Cirith Ungol – I’m Alive]
This is the core of the so called epic metal.
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It’s definitely that! I’ve got a few more of their albums here too so I’m looking forward to getting stuck into those as well.
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Never heard of this lot (not too surprising, right?), but there’s something I quite like there. Might be that NWOBHM-ish vibe.
… or it might just be cause the cover’s awesome!
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Gotta love a band named from Lord of the Rings, especially with a 100% Fantasy cover!
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If I’m honest I always thought it was a bit odd that they were named after LoTR but had Moorcock covers. A minor quibble though as Elric is completely and utterly metal.
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Too true. And Cirith Ungol are huge in Melnibone, or so I’m told.
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I went to highschool with a dude who was into these guys big time and that falls right into the timeline of about 35 years ago! HAHA….
Crazee that these bands are still going as Exciter is even back together! ….
My brother bought me a ticket so we’re off to see Voi Vod here in Tbay in June!
Should be crazy to,see….
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It’s pretty amazing how many of these old bands are still going or have got back together. Voivod eh? Should be very crazy! Didn’t know you were into them!
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Funny, I always thought these guys were more of that cookie monster sludge death stuff. The name would suit it! Ah well, I like the idea of it, and this nails it:
“It makes me want to play and I can’t give it much more praise than that.”
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Nope, no cookie monster sludge death here. Or anywhere in my collection, for that matter!
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Also, that’s great cover art. He’s very… horny…
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Yes! I really wanted to put in a horn joke for that picture.
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And you didn’t??? That’s either amazing restraint, or a missed opportunity!
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Haha I know. I’d been to the gym so I’ll put it down to depleted energy… or something…
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Ah yes, but bench pressing the corpses of your enemies ought to have invigorated you and made you horny too! … Or maybe it was leg day. Never skip leg day…
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Yep… Leg day. Bench pressing corpses is guaranteed hotness!
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Oh man, leg day is the hardest. It hurts and it sucks when you do it, and every time you regret it, but then the next day you feel great. And then you start dreading the next leg day hahahaa
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If only there was a way to incorporate your enemies’ corpses into leg day…
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I wonder how much cardio benefit there is to the Raised Leg Corpse Stomp…
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Must be some… and it would have the all-important feelgood factor too.
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Absolutely, the real benefit of exercise is good health and a general good feeling. Adding some sets of straight up Extended Leg Corpse Kick would only add to that!
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Reckon you should do a workout video of these.
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Oh for sure. It could be a whole series. Upper body (the Neck Twister, the Chest Press Up Onto A Pike, etc), lower body (as mentioned), core (never skip core), cardio, etc… The soundtrack would be easy. And all of it so simple to do at home, no gym membership needed.
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And corpses not included.
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Well certainly. We don’t all have the same enemies! Get your own! Haha
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Well… obviously there is! Just not a big fan of that term. It’s up there with hair metal for me!
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That’s a fine picture of Elric that have on their album cover.
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They had such good covers… it’s a shame I’ve only got CDs. These are definitely the kind of albums you want on vinyl.
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The last time some friends and I had a drink-assisted imaginary band naming session – the best one for our imaginary thrash metal band was The Thong of Galadriel. I’d just like to leave you with that one.
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This was just last week wasn’t it?
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(Mumbles) the week before, sorry.
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