From what island of dragons, demons and devil's did this strange bunch emerge from ? Cirith Ungol immediately draw your average metalhead in with the fantasy of the album covers. 'King Of The Dead' has Tolkien written all over it, and the music is as pure as it gets. Vocally, it's Rob Halford from Judas Priest but nowhere near as annoying, and it's far superior even to the foggy, majestic realms of Dio, in that it thrives on metal fantasy, breathing fire from its extraordinary basslines and doomy riffs, 'Master Of The Piyt' is such a dark trudge through lands unknown, you can just see the fires of lost cities, and the shimmering mirror of black lakes whilst the title cut stomps like some huge golem through the vast forests. The album has such a great way of building into its imagery and atmosphere, never becoming a self-indulgent prog-rock exercise, but always retaining an obscure feel, although some may be put off by Baker's vocal shriek's, but if you like the days when Sabbath brought the grey clouds, Cirith Ungol will do the same, but also through you into a time warp where you'll awake in some dragon's cave and hear the triumphant chants of armoured warriors.
7.5/10
No comments:
Post a Comment