Cirith Ungol - King of the Dead (1984) Reviews

This is tough, because I like the music quite a bit, and I kept going back and forth on Tim Baker's vocal approach. I ultimately decided that there had to be somebody who could have done it better. There are a lot of good riffs, melodies, and grooves in this album, but you have to deal with Baker just being obnoxious. There are cases where not having the "best" vocals works out for a band. I don't want anyone other than Cronos singing in Venom, and if I'm listening to Manilla Road, I want Mark the Shark. Tim Baker does not have that charm, he's just annoying. I ultimately decided that the music is a 5/5 but Tim's vocal is a -2.5 penalty and put this thing right in the middle. No disrespect to Tim, it just doesn't work for me-it grates. 

So yeah in short; really great classic heavy metal here, tainted by an aggressively agitating vocalist. If you can tolerate Tim, you'll really love this.

I feel dirty rating this so low. I do not like Cirith Ungol, and I never have even after trying so many times over the years with this band. But I can't in good conscience rate this better than I truly feel. The vocals don't work for me. The instrumentation seems lacking, and this is all my opinion and you can entirely disagree with me if you want, but the guitar sound is generic to me and when I do find a good lick or riff in there it changes or gets drowned out by the vocals or drumming or something else. Drums don't stand out, but I also tend to not always notice drums unless they're really good. This is not what I want to listen to, but I respect those that do. Variety is the spice of life, and we need this to bring out others to use this and take the style and run with it. I'm not trying to be down on this too hard, but it's not for me but I also think there always does need to be a counterpoint when necessary. I would perfectly accept someone taking one of my favorite albums and rating it low because it didn't work for them. Your opinion is still valid, and if you are also one that will still try Cirith Ungol and not like it either know you are not alone. 

I was originally attracted to Cirith Ungol's 1984 release by the random coincidence that the cover art was the same Michael Whelan painting as that of a paperback issue of Michael Moorcock's Elric novel The Bane of the Black Sword, a fantasy series of which I was a huge fan at the time (and must admit, still am to this day). Initially, I confess, I wasn't exactly sold on the Californians' brand of epic heavy metal, but as the years have passed they are a band I have become increasingly fond of, whose new releases I greet with some anticipation and whose earlier discography I have positively re-evaluated.

The reason for my original reticence, I'm sure you have guessed, was Tim Baker's high-pitched vocal delivery. In much the same way as King Diamond, Baker's vocals are a bit divisive. His pitch isn't as falsetto as King's as he does mitigate it by having a rough, rasping edge to his voice which is more obvious the lower he sings, but it is still a style that doesn't hold universal appeal. However, I have now become used to his vocal eccentricities and actually I appreciate the fact that they differentiate the band from the pack.

Anyway, Cirith Ungol play epic heavy metal that has it's roots in classic Sabbath and the NWOBHM. For some reason they are often associated with the traditional doom metal scene and while some of their tracks are kind of slow and the guitars are downtuned, I don't think that association really holds up to close scrutiny as this is most definitely first and foremost heavy metal. King of the Dead is the follow-up to 1981's Frost and Fire, itself only being released after the band had been in existence for a decade, and sounds very much like a band who know what they are about and are happy with their own identity. King of the Dead exudes confidence and a "this is us, fuck you if you don't like it" attitude that I wholeheartedly applaud. Although album opener Atom Smasher isn't the greatest introduction to the album, being one of the weaker tracks, there are some absolute killers on here that any fan of 1980's heavy metal should lap up - Master of the Pit, Cirith Ungol, the speedy Death of the Sun and best of the lot the title track, King of the Dead.

The riffs are titanic and the late Jerry Fogle cranks out some great solos. The rhythm section drives the tracks along and feature quite prominently, particularly Flint's bass which takes a lot of influence from the great Geezer Butler. The production is fine, although I certainly wouldn't call it pristine, it does add a certain character to the album. The only real bummer for me was the misguided inclusion of a metal interpretation of J.S. Bach's Toccata in Dm which sounds incredibly self-indulgent. Luckily they don't close the album on that note, but follow it with the mighty Cirith Ungol, an epic closing track that does the whole album preceding it justice.

Whilst not exactly an underground band, I feel Cirith Ungol don't always get the respect they deserve as part of the 1980's metal scene and King of the Dead should be required listening for anyone purporting to be a real fan of heavy metal.

Cirith Ungol's second album, King of the Dead, is often cited as their masterstroke, and what really helped cement them as a quality lesser-known heavy metal band. But I've got to be honest, on revisiting it for this review, it doesn't do a whole lot for me.

I'm a big fan of the band's debut, Frost and Fire (and their recent comeback material is solid too), but a lot of the energy and verve I felt there is missing here, traded in for what feels like an attempt at more refined song-writing. And while that is an admirable aim (and, judging by this album's usual reception, one many feel they hit), more often than not it feels like King of the Dead is lacking in hooks and memorability.

Too often this album plods when it should stride, meanders when it should charge onwards. There are longer, slower-paced numbers here in contrast to the quick punch of the debut, but too often they plod and meander when they should be striding and pounding. The remaining punchier tracks are decent ("Death of the Sun" is especially catchy, and despite being a longer track, "Master of the Pit" does what "Atom Smasher" tries to, but better), and there are some quality solos throughout. It's just a shame they're often buried amid too many forgettable riffs and melodies.

Still, King of the Dead is far from unpleasant. It has a good vintage feel to it, it's obviously made with passion rather than a desire to just churn something out, and I still think Tim Baker's vocals have a fantastic narm charm about them. But there's just not a lot to grab onto here.

Choice cuts: Master of the Pit, Death of the Sun

I remember checking this album out with excitement because I love fantasy-themed heavy metal and I was drawn in by the amazing album cover. It looked like serious shit was about to go down between the knight and the skeleton, and I wanted to hear the soundtrack to the duel! Safe to say, the music didn't quite live up to its art. King of the Dead  is a stale and outdated fossil of 80s metal. This premise would be executed better by other bands like Manilla Road, Coven (US) and even modern retro bands like Visigoth.

Fantasy-themed heavy metal rarely lives up to the expectation set by the album cover/title.  It often crosses my mind that if bands paid half as much attention to the musical content of their albums as they did with the cool artwork then the world would be a better place.  Most Manowar albums suffer from this scenario quite a lot in my experience so it is refreshing to have found Cirith Ungol a decade or so ago as one of the few bands who lived up to the promise of the etchings and sketchings on their record covers.

I get the dislike for the vocals (usually it is one of my major issues with records) but I have played this so much now that I actually would miss Tim Baker's vocals if they weren't there, I couldn't see anyone else being able to fill his shoes most definitely.  I think the vocals is what sets the music apart from other similar artists - in a good way for me - and makes me reach for anyone of the bands first three albums in order to scratch my epic/heavy metal itch.

The main cause for celebration here is the late Jerry Fogle's guitar work.  It is precise and vivacious, making the album soar and glide like some giant winged metal eagle that casts a huge shadow over all it flies over.  The pace of the album is largely slow to mid-tempo and Fogle's guitar sounds like it is centre-stage for most of it as a result, like it truly takes the lead and not just in the solo sense!  The percussion/rhythm unit of "Flint" on bass and Robert Garven on drums compliment him superbly, supporting where required and pairing back when required to do so also.

As much as I enjoy it, I can't go much above four stars for it as it never quite strays into being outstanding.  It most certainly is competent and unique at the same time but still lacks a little edge to just elevate it to five star material.  Too many tracks end the same or seem to get trapped within themselves and almost feel like they end without a full exploration of what they set out to achieve.  Still the album kept the flames that Frost and Fire started some three years earlier burning brightly for another couple of years.