┌───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │■ ■│ │ .-/ .-. │ │ _.-~ / ___ | ~-._ │ │ \:/ -~| / __/| .\:/ │ │ / || (:/:| \ │ │ / /\/| |:\___\| |\ \ │ │ / /:::|.::/:::/:.|:\ \ │ │ / /:::/ \\/:::/::/:::\ \ │ │ / .::\ \-~~~~-/\/:.. \ │ │ /..:::::\ /:::::..\ │ │ /::::::::- -::::::::\ │ │ \:::::-~ ~-:::::/ │ │ \:-~ ~-:/ │ │ METAL CLASSICS ARCHIVE │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ P R E S E N T S │ │ │ │ │ │ + Cirith Ungol - One Foot In Hell-(3984-14203-2) + │ │ │ │ │ │╔═════════════════════╗ │ │║ Release Information ║ │ │╠═════════════════════╩══════════════════════════════════════════╗ │ │║ ║ │ │║ Release Date.Dec-03-2018 Encoder......L3.98.4 -V0 --lowpas ║ │ │║ Genre........Heavy Metal Graber.......EAC ║ │ │║ Year.........1999 Khz/Bitrate..44,1/ Br ║ │ │║ ║ │ │║ Ripper.......anthem Songs........08 ║ │ │║ Covers.......Yes Url... n/a ║ │ │║ ║ │ │╚════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╝ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │╔═════════════════════╗ │ │║ Release Notes ║ │ │╠═════════════════════╩══════════════════════════════════════════╗ │ │║ ║ │ │║ Artist : Cirith Ungol Rating : You Decide! ║ │ │║ Album : One Foot In Hell-(3984-14203-2)abel : Metal Blade ║ │ │║ ║ │ │║ ║ │ │╠════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╣ │ │║ ║ │ │║ Description : ║ │ │║ ║ │ │║ King of the Dead was an album that totally blew ║ │ │║ me away the first time I heard it, and continues ║ │ │║ to do so today. It's a monumental epic, flowing ║ │ │║ with dark atmosphere, apocalyptic imagery, and ║ │ │║ Cirith Ungol's unique brand of doomy metal ║ │ │║ (compared to Black Sabbath usually, but that's ║ │ │║ not entirely accurate), infused with a bit of ║ │ │║ psychedelic and progressive rock and topped off ║ │ │║ with Jerry Fogle's emotive guitar work, Tim ║ │ │║ Baker's banshee wailing, and the powerhouse ║ │ │║ rhythm section of Flint and Robert Garven, who ║ │ │║ came together to make the band a unique ║ │ │║ assemblage of talent, as each could have easily ║ │ │║ led his own band through sheer distinctiveness ║ │ │║ and mastery of his position. ║ │ │║ ║ │ │║ In many ways, One Foot in Hell is a continuation ║ │ │║ of King of the Dead, but also condenses it. It ║ │ │║ is worth noting that although both albums ║ │ │║ feature eight tracks, One Foot in Hell is a full ║ │ │║ 10 minutes shorter. One can correctly guess from ║ │ │║ this that the arrangements are thus stripped ║ │ │║ pretty bare. There are no acoustic passages like ║ │ │║ in "Finger of Scorn", no extended lead breaks ║ │ │║ like in "Master of the Pit", and no instrumental ║ │ │║ classical interpretations like "Toccata in Dm". ║ │ │║ While the absence of such elements are somewhat ║ │ │║ missed (especially the extended lead breaks! ║ │ │║ Fogle remains one of the real greats of metal ║ │ │║ guitar), especially because the band was able to ║ │ │║ execute them so well and helped create the ║ │ │║ distinctive feel and experience of King of the ║ │ │║ Dead. In fact, at first I was somewhat ║ │ │║ disappointed in this record because of that. ║ │ │║ However, it soon becomes apparent that this is ║ │ │║ indeed Cirith Ungol's most metal album to date, ║ │ │║ thanks indeed to this stripped down aesthetic. ║ │ │║ Perhaps a contributing factor to this is the ║ │ │║ absence of Greg Lindstrom, who wrote most of the ║ │ │║ band's early material, and despite having left ║ │ │║ before King of the Dead was recorded, helped ║ │ │║ write most of that album. Despite that, this is ║ │ │║ a lean, mean album, a muscular affair unlike any ║ │ │║ other by Cirith Ungol. And as further listens ║ │ │║ reveal, this still retains the key elements to ║ │ │║ their greatness, the atmosphere of evil and ║ │ │║ destruction lurking just around the corner, and ║ │ │║ more simply, killer heavy metal riffs. ║ │ │║ ║ │ │║ Song-wise, there aren't any real highlights, as ║ │ │║ the length and new approach to songwriting makes ║ │ │║ for a very consistently excellent listen, from ║ │ │║ the faster opening cut "Blood & Iron" with its ║ │ │║ gang shout chorus through slow burning stompers ║ │ │║ like "Nadsokor" and "Doomed Planet", sometimes ║ │ │║ trading off between tempos. "100 MPH" is the odd ║ │ │║ song out, dating from the 1970s and noticeably ║ │ │║ more like something from Frost and Fire and ║ │ │║ lyrics focused being a kick ass metal band ║ │ │║ (which ring true coming from them). On a ║ │ │║ slightly humorous note, an original demo ║ │ │║ recording of the song circa 1978-9 on Servants ║ │ │║ of Chaos has the second line sung as "we're the ║ │ │║ boys who play it," while on this version they ║ │ │║ refer to themselves as "the men who play it". ║ │ │║ Quite a bit of time had passed indeed for the ║ │ │║ band, as they had been at it almost 10 years ║ │ │║ before their debut. "War Eternal" has a stand ║ │ │║ out solo by Fogle, the only one here that really ║ │ │║ harks back to the glory of the middle section of ║ │ │║ "Master of the Pit", though each lead on the ║ │ │║ album is a small masterpiece as usual for him. ║ │ │║ ║ │ │║ Arrangements aside, the element that suffers ║ │ │║ most from Lindstrom's absence is the lyrical ║ │ │║ department. Though sometimes there was less ║ │ │║ "mature" material like "Better Off Dead" or ║ │ │║ "Edge of a Knife" from their first album (not ║ │ │║ including the ultimate teen angst anthem "What ║ │ │║ Does It Take"!), they also came up with some ║ │ │║ very effective verse with powerful imagery on ║ │ │║ songs like "Frost and Fire", "I'm Alive", ║ │ │║ "Finger of Scorn", and "King of the Dead". Now, ║ │ │║ the lyrics are simpler and somewhat less ║ │ │║ imaginative when taken on their own. In the ║ │ │║ context of the music, the dark imagery is still ║ │ │║ very much present, and perhaps even the simple ║ │ │║ lyrics contribute to this, making it easy for ║ │ │║ the listener to visualize the scenes of war and ║ │ │║ Armageddon being described. The stark lyrics may ║ │ │║ also indicate the band's growing internal ║ │ │║ problems, for although they had dealt with ║ │ │║ similar subjects on their last album, this time ║ │ │║ the band was nearing a breaking point. ║ │ │║ ║ │ │║ They had been around for over a decade and ║ │ │║ simply could not catch a break of any kind. ║ │ │║ Jerry Fogle was also battling alcoholism, and he ║ │ │║ and Flint would depart the band after this ║ │ │║ album, with Garven and Baker soldiering on for a ║ │ │║ desperate final stand in 1991 with two new ║ │ │║ members Paradise Lost, after which their ║ │ │║ terminally outdated and uncommercial approach ║ │ │║ and record company intrigues finally slew a ║ │ │║ mighty beast of heavy metal. Even more ║ │ │║ tragically, Jerry Fogle's drinking claimed his ║ │ │║ life in 1998. May he rest in peace, but the ║ │ │║ legacy of Cirith Ungol will live on as long as ║ │ │║ heavy metal is still loved. This, as with all ║ │ │║ Cirith Ungol, is essential listening for anyone ║ │ │║ who loves unique and powerful metal. Avoid it if ║ │ │║ you have some bizarre hatred for traditional ║ │ │║ metal, or are too busy posturing yourself as a ║ │ │║ "mature" and "enlightened" pseudo-▄bermensch who ║ │ │║ is so consumed by a desire to listen to ║ │ │║ "higher-functioning" music, which is only sought ║ │ │║ for its use in furthering the self-absorbed ║ │ │║ image you put forth, that you are blinded to ║ │ │║ such a demonstration of skill and power through ║ │ │║ well done metal. ║ │ │║ ║ │ │║ ║ │ │║ ║ │ │╚════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╝ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │╔═════════════════════╗ │ │║ Release Tracklist ║ │ │╚═════════════════════╩══════════════════════════════════════════ │ │ │ │ 01 - Blood And Iron [03:51] │ │ 02 - Chaos Descends [04:55] │ │ 03 - The Fire [03:37] │ │ 04 - Nadsokor [04:44] │ │ 05 - 100 Mph [03:26] │ │ 06 - War Eternal [05:12] │ │ 07 - Doomed Planet [04:38] │ │ 08 - One Foot In Hell [05:10] │ │ │ │ Total Length : [35:33 minn │ │ │ │ │ │ ▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ ╔═════════════════════╗ │ │ ║ Greetings To: ║ │ │ ╚═════════════════════╝ │ │ │ │ Too all people who contributes to make this │ │ archive of good music in a exceptional conditions │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │■ ■│ └───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘