Cirith Ungol - One Foot in Hell (1986)^{Release ID: 5544}

My experiences with highly regarded Californian heavy metal legends Cirith Ungol have been fairly inconsistent over the years to tell you the truth. I struggled with their 1981 debut album “Frost & Fire” quite a bit, failing to understand the widespread appeal that seems to follow the band wherever they go. It was obviously a much more commercially focused offering compared to later releases though & I found the doomy, Black Sabbath-inspired 70’s atmosphere of their classic 1984 sophomore album “King of the Dead” to sit a lot closer to my musical sweet spot, even if there was far too much filler to see it becoming an essential release in my opinion. That album's more up-tempo material was significantly weaker than the slower, heavier tracks but I liked where Cirith Ungol were going with things so I always intended to follow-up on their 1986 third album “One Foot In Hell” at my earliest availability. Well, I’m afraid that earliest availability has ended up being six or seven years later now but better late than never as they say.

“One Foot In Hell” was Cirith Ungol’s first record with legendary US metal label Metal Blade & I was led to believe that this had resulted in a stronger production job based on the consensus drawn from other people’s reviews. I don’t see it personally as the release has clearly maintained a pretty rough-&-ready, live-in-the-studio aesthetic that kinda buys into Cirith Ungol’s retro-cool vibe, particularly during the more proggy moments where we find the band reaching out into jam territory. There are a lot fewer of those moments than I was expecting here though with the band opting to explore a more straight-forward sound for the most part. There isn’t as many touches on genuine doom metal as I’d hoped here with a good three-quarters of the tracklisting residing in more up-tempo heavy metal territory although when the band do opt to get their Sabbath on we find some of the best parts of the record, particularly on the crushing album highlight “Chaos Descends” but also on “Doomed Planet” to a lesser extent. The lone US power metal number “Blood & Iron” is also pretty strong though which is an indication that I’m simply into a heavier sound if I’m being honest about it.

The tracklisting isn’t the most consistent you’ll find with a few obvious fillers being chucked in amongst the eight tracks & the effects of that are accentuated by the short run time. In fact, much like Judas Priest’s heavily overrated 1977 “Sin After Sin” third album, “One Foot In Hell” is a great example of the "quality canyon" concept, only this time we see it having a greater effect on the overall result with a more than decent start & finish to the album being somewhat ruined by a very poor middle. “Nadsokor”, “100 MPH” & “War Eternal” all sit well below par in comparison to Cirith Ungol’s best material & the album sounds thrown together as a result. Apparently the band’s musical direction was heavily influenced by the label’s demands if we’re to believe the band’s reports & that may well be true because there are a few very simple Motorhead-style heavy metal tunes included that aren’t half as appealing as Cirith Ungol’s more expansive & challenging works. Perhaps it’s that divisive front man Tim Baker simply can’t pull this shit off but I don’t think that’s entirely fair as the song-writing sounds pretty flimsy & lacking in inspiration while Tim at least maintains a level of street-cool that adds a little interest, even if he struggles to fit his wild howls over the top of some of the more accessible song structures. The longer tracks certainly offer more scope for the band to experiment with a few lengthy guitar solos offering some much needed respite.

I’ve been disappointed with “One Foot In Hell” as I expected more from such a highly regarded heavy metal record to be honest. I have no doubt that diehard fans will still enjoy it, as will those with a strong penchant for the more epic 80’s heavy metal acts like Manilla Road, Pagan Altar & Brocas Helm, but be warned that this isn’t half as epic or heavy a record as “King of the Dead” was & it’s not nearly as enjoyable either. I’d probably take it over “Frost & Fire” but not by much as neither are exactly my cup of tea.