Cirith Ungol (band)

Cirith Ungol
Origin Ventura, California, United States
Genres
Years active 1972–1992, 2016–present
Labels Metal Blade, Liquid Flames, Restless
Associated acts Titanic
Falcon
Angry Samoans
Website http://www.truemetal.org/cirithungol/
Members Tim Baker
Greg Lindstrom
Robert Garven
Jim Barraza
Past members Neal Beattie
Jerry Fogle
"Pterty Dactyl"
Michael Vujea
Bob Warrenburg
Vernon Green

Cirith Ungol is an American heavy metal band formed in late 1971 in Ventura, California.[1] The group is known for lyrics based on fantasy (particularly sword and sorcery) and is an early epic doom and power metal band.[2]

Their first studio album, Frost and Fire, contained elements of 1970s hard rock and metal [3] with songs written by bassist and guitarist Greg Lindstrom, but beginning with King of the Dead, they played a progressive rock influenced doom metal with lyrics primarily written by vocalist Tim Baker and drummer Robert Garven,[4] although all band members typically contributed to song composition.

History

Titanic

Greg Lindstrom, Robert Garven, Jerry Fogle and Pat Galligan (later a guitarist in Angry Samoans) played in Titanic, their first band in junior high school. With a desire to play heavier music similar to that of Mountain and Grand Funk Railroad, the rest of the band parted with Galligan and founded Cirith Ungol in late 1971.

Early history

After forming in late 1971, the band played their first gig on January 1, 1972 at an anti-Vietnam war peace rally.

In 1980, they were signed by Liquid Flames Records, and released their first album, Frost and Fire, with Tim Baker on vocals.[5]

Their second album, King of the Dead was released in on July 2, 1984, followed by One Foot in Hell on August 12, 1986, and Paradise Lost on August 23, 1991.

Disbandment

They played their last live show on December 13, 1991 and disbanded in 1992, following frustration with their record label.[6]

1992-2016

In 2001, Metal Blade Records released in Germany Servants of Chaos, a compilation album of unreleased demos and live songs.[7] With old tapes and assistance from Lindstrom and Garven, it was an attempt to give fans a wealth of archival and previously unheard material before the tapes deteriorated beyond retrieval. This double-CD was later re-released worldwide, with a rare 1984 live DVD recorded at the Wolf & Rissmiller's Country Club in California.[8]

Lindstrom now plays with Falcon, who perform some Cirith Ungol songs.[9]

Founding guitarist Jerry Fogle died from liver failure on August 20, 1998.[10]

Reunion

The band was reformed by members Tim Baker, Robert Garven, Jim Barraza, and Greg Lindstrom on October 8, 2016 at the 2nd annual Frost and Fire Festival in Ventura, California.[11] Throughout 2017, the band had set out to headline and co-headline several European and US festivals, including Keep It True (Germany), Up The Hammers (Greece), Defenders Of The Old (US), Chaos Descends (Germany), Psycho Las Vegas (US), Days Of Darkness (US) and Hammer of Doom (Germany).[12] In April 2018, Cirith Ungol performed at the Hell's Heroes Festival in Houston, Texas and at the NYDM Spring Bash in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. In August 2018, Cirith Ungol released the single "Witch's Game".

Name

The band took their name from the mountain pass Cirith Ungol in J. R. R. Tolkien's epic fantasy novel The Lord of the Rings.[13] The name is Elvish and means "Pass of the Spider." While the place in Tolkien's book is pronounced "kirith ungol," the band pronounced it "sirith ungol." The band said they had some problems with the name:

Everyone in the band was a big "Sword and Sorcery" literature fan, especially Greg [Lindstrom, guitars] and I. He would always turn us on to the great writers who gave us inspiration for our music. We read all the books... Conan, Bran Mak Morn, etcetera, but the books that stood out in my mind are Michael Moorcock's masterpieces: Elric, Hawkmoon, Corum among others. Greg Lindstrom and I met at an English Literature class where the teacher was reading Lord of the Rings... and Greg and I read it and it had an influence on our music and feelings. In retrospect I wish we had picked something easier to remember because a lot of our trouble has been over our name. People couldn't pronounce it or remember it, but we figured once they did they wouldn't forget it! We've humorously been called "Sarah's Uncle" and "Serious Uncool," for example! I know other bands are using the Tolkien angle. Led Zeppelin even made references to it in their earlier songs. I think he was an influence both then and now on many people.

— Robert Garven[14]

I remember some other possible band names we were considering: Minas Tirith, Khazad Dum, and Uruk Hai, all names from "The Lord Of The Rings". Rob and I both liked J.R.R. Tolkien and Enzo Ferrari, so we knew our songs would cover both those subjects!

— Greg Lindstrom[15]

Album cover art

Each studio album's cover art is taken from the cover of a DAW Books edition of a book in Michael Moorcock's Elric of Melnibone saga; the art is by Michael Whelan.[16]

Band members

  • Neal Beattie - lead vocals (1972–1975)[17]
  • "Pterty Dactyl" - lead vocals (1975?–1976)[18]
  • Tim Baker - lead vocals (1976–1992, 2016–present)
  • Greg Lindstrom - bass and guitars (1972–1982, 2016–present)
  • Jerry Fogle - guitars (1972–1987; died 1998)
  • Jim "Jimmy" Barraza - guitars (1988–1992, 2016–present)
  • Michael "Flint" Vujea - bass guitar (1981–1987)
  • Bob Warrensburg - bass guitar (1987–1991)[19]
  • Vernon Green - bass guitar (1991–1992)
  • Robert Garven - drums (1972–1992, 2016–present)
  • Jarvis Leatherby - bass guitar (2016–present)

Timeline for Cirith Ungol

Discography

Albums

Studio Albums
Year Album Album details
1981 Frost and Fire
  • Released: January 1981
  • Label: Liquid Flames Records (self-released)
1984 King of the Dead
  • Released: July 2, 1984
  • Label: Enigma
1986 One Foot in Hell
1991 Paradise Lost
  • Released: August 23, 1991 (US • Canada • Greece) • October 7, 2016 (Europe)
  • Label: Restless (US • Canada • Greece) • Metal Blade (Europe)
Compilation Albums
1995 Frost And Fire / King Of The Dead
  • Released: January 31, 1995
  • Label: One Way (Canada)
1991 Servants of Chaos
  • Released: September 5, 2001
  • Label: Metal Blade (US • Germany)
Box Sets
2017 The Legacy

Demos

  • The Orange Album (Self released; 1978)
  • Cirith Ungol (Self released; 1979)

Singles

  • Live (1996)

Other appearances

  • Metal Massacre (compilation appearance, 1982)
  • The Metal Machine (compilation appearance, 1984)
  • Best of Metal Blade, Vol. 2 (compilation appearance, 1988)
  • Double Whammy (compilation appearance, 1999)
  • Metal Blade 20th Anniversary (compilation appearance, 2002)

References

  1. ↑ Locey, Bill (September 24, 2018). "Ventura's Cirith Ungol plays for music fans who like their metal heavy". Ventura County Star. Archived from the original on 2018-09-26. Retrieved 28 September 2018.
  2. ↑ "Cirith Ungol". Metalunderground.com.
  3. ↑ "Frost and Fire". Sputnikmusic.com.
  4. ↑ "Cirith Ungol". Darklyrics.com.
  5. ↑ "Frost and Fire". Discogs.com.
  6. ↑ "Cirith Ungol Comeback". Truemetal.org.
  7. ↑ "Cirith Ungol". Metalhead.it.
  8. ↑ "Cirith Ungol". Truemetal.org.
  9. ↑ "Falcon Bio". Falconband.net. Retrieved 28 September 2018.
  10. ↑ "Jerry Fogle". Metal-archives.com.
  11. ↑
  12. ↑ "Cirith Ungol". Facebook.com. Retrieved 28 September 2018.
  13. ↑ Locey, Bill (October 7, 2016). "Cirith Ungol grows fan base without really trying". Ventura County Star. Retrieved 7 October 2018.
  14. ↑ "Cirith Ungol Interview 2000". Metal Nightmare Webzine. Archived from the original on February 23, 2005. Retrieved 2012-11-04.
  15. ↑ Harris, Jym (2006). "Hard Announcements: Cirith Ungol". BallBusterHardMusic.com. Archived from the original on 2012-07-10. Retrieved 2012-11-04.
  16. ↑ "Cirith Ungol". Metal-archives.com.
  17. ↑ "Cirith Ungol - Encyclopaedia Metallum". The Metal Archives. Retrieved 2014-07-30.
  18. ↑ "1976 Concert Advertisement" (JPG). 4.bp.blogspot.com.
  19. ↑ "2017 Interview". Nocleansinging.com.
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