Reviews list for Pagan Altar - The Time Lord (2004)

Sometimes in metal you can uncover an artist that possessed enormous talent & vision but somehow managed to slip through the cracks & miss the boat completely. An artist that was perhaps so far ahead of their time that they simply drifted under the radar without ever drawing the level of attention that they so rightfully deserved. These occurrences seem to be a lot more common these days in an online market that’s completely flooded with bedroom wannabes but it’s much rarer for your more experienced old-school metal fanatic to identify a band from the first couple of decades of metal that is not only regarded as a tier one player in their field but who have also never crossed their radar in any capacity. But that was the scenario I was presented with when I returned to metal following a decade in the musical wilderness in 2009. It seemed quite strange to see an unfamiliar name that was apparently involved in the NWOBHM movement sitting right up near the top of the doom metal charts on several recognized (but inferior) online metal resources as I thought I knew everything there was to know about pre-1998 metal. I'd soon discover that the reason for my ignorance was largely because mysterious London doom metallers Pagan Altar’s legendary self-titled release was in fact recorded as a demo & only saw a proper release in 1998 i.e. the very year my interest in metal had begun to wane. Once I gave the self-titled Pagan Altar release a few listens, I came to the realization that whilst I found it to be a generally enjoyable listen, there were a few elements to it that saw me unable to rate it as highly as most doom fans seem to want to do. The vocals tended to grate on me over time with Terry Jones repeating the same phrasing over & over again. I also found it frustrating that there were portions of very high quality doom metal on display right across the tracklisting but there wasn’t really a song that didn’t see the band diluting it with more upbeat & less effective material at some point. And lastly, the DIY production was always going to be a limiting factor when rating a supposedly classic doom release.

So this brings me to “The Time Lord” EP; an archival release that covers Pagan Altar’s earliest previously unreleased recordings. The band were first formed in 1978 by father & son team Terry & Alan Jones which impressively makes them one of the earliest players in the NWOBHM story; a fact made even more impressive by the clear metal credentials of most of this material. Pagan Altar clearly didn’t waste any time & weren’t short of inspiration as all of the material included on “The Time Lord” comes from the 1978/79 period which pushes Pagan Altar into uncharted territory for the traditional doom metal subgenre which is generally regarded as having kicked off around 1982 through bands like Witchfinder General. I don’t think this can be understated because what we have here is five tracks that are already fully formed & developed rather than yet another 70’s proto-doom exponent whose doom credentials were tenuous at best. In historical context, this could indeed have made “The Time Lord” the first true doom metal record if a) it had seen an actual release & b) you discount Black Sabbath & Pentagram’s 70’s works (which I do). That’s really pretty surprising given that I’d never even heard of Pagan Altar up until 2009.

“The Time Lord” would eventually see the light of day through Swedish label I Hate Records in 2004. It was clearly a good move for I Hate as they hadn’t really released anything of significance up until that point & it would enable them to cash in on the underground buzz that had been steadily building around the reissues of Pagan Altar’s self-titled demo during the mid-to-late 1990’s. I have no idea how the label came across these recordings. Presumably through the band themselves you would think as they reformed the same year as this record came out after discovering that their self-titled release was selling for insane prices online. Nonetheless, the purpose of the original demos is unclear. Given their quality, I would have to guess that they weren’t given an appropriate level of marketing as I can’t understand how a legitimate record deal wouldn’t have eventuated from them to be honest. It’s one of metal’s greatest shames really as there was so much promise in this band right from the very beginning so it would have been interesting to have seen what they could have become had they managed to get their debut album onto the shelves during the height of the NWOBHM in 1980. Unfortunately, it was not to be & we’d be destined to ponder over what might have been for decades to come.

“The Time Lord” E.P. includes just five tracks but spans a full half hour in duration due to the lengthy run times of most of the songs. The first couple of tracks were recorded at a studio in New Cross, London while the other three were laid down at Pagan Altar’s own studio with the band presumably handling production themselves. Despite having been remastered in recent times, the sound quality is of demo tape quality & also gives the impression of having been recorded pretty much live. The self-titled release may well have been a demo recording too but it certainly had a heavier overall sound than what we get here. I would think that some of that can be put down to the time it was produced though as there were very different expectations when it came to recording heavy music in the 70’s with things changing pretty quickly during the early 80’s. Being a doom metal release, the rhythm guitar sound can definitely do with more weight as it comes across as pretty thin, even though it does possess a distinctively 70’s quality that adds to the mystique to a degree. That’s a characteristic that’s shared by the entire release really. There’s an authenticity to "The Time Lord"s sound that makes it a little more endearing than it might otherwise have been. It has depth, substance & meaning. You can really get involved with it on an emotional level. It’s not a quick fix & is not as obvious as what the majority of early 80’s metal would become & that’s an attractive prospect for me personally.

The original I Hate Records pressing of the E.P. came armed with a cover that showed a photograph of a stone bench that was draped in long grass, shrubbery & sunlight. To me this image doesn’t do the doomier side of Pagan Altar's sound justice as it doesn’t accurately reflect the darkness of some of the material, even though it does have an organic 70’s hippy vibe to it that isn’t necessarily without context within the band's noticeably psychedelic sound. The subsequent reissues however, come with the noticeably darker & more mysterious image of a foggy cemetery in front of a spooky stone building with the face of a bearded man (presumably the Time Lord himself) looking down on the scene. It’s a much more suitable accompaniment for the music contained within in my opinion so I’m glad to see that all re-releases have continued with it. 

The early music of Pagan Altar isn’t really all that different to that of the infamous self-titled 1982 release in all honesty. In fact, three of the five tracks were re-recorded for that release & in much the same format too. There’s a fair bit of variation in style evident across the tracklisting which keeps you on your toes without ever sounding jarring. Of the five tracks on offer here, I’d suggest that four of them fall very obviously into the traditional doom metal category with Black Sabbath’s 1970’s material being the obvious inspiration. But there’s a much stronger psychedelic influence to this material than Sabbath ever incorporated with the expansive lead guitar work being very much the result of having crossed Tony Iommi with Hawkwind. I’d suggest that Pentagram’s more psychedelic 70’s material is not a bad point of reference with the lengthy title track following more of a psychedelic rock route than a metal one. In fact, it kinda sounds like a more psychedelic version of the rockier material that Black Sabbath were producing at the time (see 1978’s “Never Say Die!” album) which probably shouldn’t be a surprise given Pagan Altar’s obvious affiliation with their idols. It’s interesting that the atmosphere of almost all of this material seems to keep at least a few toes planted firmly on the rock side of the fence even during the most metal moments which has a fair bit to do with the production &, surprisingly, I find this to provide an extra layer of appeal. I honestly wouldn’t have guessed I’d view it as a positive if you had of suggested it to me beforehand but it’s hard to deny the attraction of an authentic 70’s rock sound for a music tragic like myself.

The musicianship on display is excellent throughout. Particularly from lead guitarist Alan Jones & bassist Glenn Robinson. As highlighted on the self-titled release, Jones is the best thing about “The Time Lord” & it’s his generous contribution that gives Pagan Altar their psychedelic edge. Alan was already a very skilled campaigner with his long melodic solos always being well constructed & full of meaning & intent. Glenn Robinson has quite clearly spent a great deal of time studying at the Geezer Butler School Of Heavy Metal Bass Guitar as he seems to possess a similar understanding of how to run his own race whilst never losing sight of his overall role in the band. His performance here is really interesting & I enjoy it for much the same reasons as I’ve always loved Butler’s contributions to Sabbath. A couple of different drummers have contributed to the different sessions but there’s not a noticeable difference between the two & both have formed a more than reasonable combination with Robinson, with the interaction between the instrumentalists being one of the real strengths of the EP. Interestingly, none of the three contributors to the rhythm section would be around for the recording of the self-titled release in 1982 & neither would rhythm guitarist Les Moody who features on the first couple of tracks which is a very strong indication of the level of ownership the Jones brothers had over Pagan Altar.

As I mentioned earlier, one of my major gripes with the self-titled release was the repetitive nature of Terry Jones’ vocal phrasing but thankfully that doesn’t seem to be an issue with “The Time Lord”. I was actually looking out for it given the shared tracklisting but I couldn’t identify any real problems to speak of. Terry’s delivery is very distinctive but changes a little bit between the tracks with a opener “Highway Cavalier” seeing him employing a gnarlier & significantly gruffer style for example. I didn’t notice it as much on later releases but Terry sounds very much like Manilla Road front man Mark Shelton most of the time & when you take into account the significant psychedelic elements in both band’s early works it creates strong parallels between the two. I think Terry’s voice is well suited to the 70’s psychedelic rock feel of “The Time Lord” & he brings the doomier material a similar haunting quality to Black Sabbath’s Ozzy Osbourne. “The Black Mass” is a fine example of this as it’s pure Sabbath worship for the most part while the outstanding vocal hooks in “Judgement Of The Dead” represent the high point of the EP. It’s interesting that I struggled a bit with lengthy closer “Reincarnation” on the self-titled release but here I find it to be a more enjoyable experience. Perhaps the repetition in the vocal phrasing had eventually caught up with me by the time that song graced my ears & the song structure admittedly still lacks direction here but for some reason it seems more attractive despite not being all that different. It could be that the 70’s vibe is more becoming for that particular track with its hippy-ish feel.

Overall, “The Time Lord” is a very consistent release with no weak material included. Occasionally the band will throw in a simpler riff that sounds a touch more basic than I'd like however the vocals & song-writing are generally strong which helps to overcome this issue. The lack of sonic weight in the primitive production job is certainly an inhibitor & there’s no doubt that it prevents me from reaching for the higher scores but I enjoy the classic 70’s hard rock feel of the instrumentation & arrangements which has a timeless quality to it & the fact that the traditional doom metal atmosphere is already in full effect is impressive for such early recordings. I don’t think too many doom fans will be disappointed with “The Time Lord” but the limitations of its format & tracklisting probably make it a little less essential than it might otherwise have been. Still... I have to admit that I slightly favour it over its more celebrated 80's counterpart so there's no denying that it's a pretty decent listen all round.

For fans of: Ozzy-period Black Sabbath, 70’s Pentagram, Manilla Road