Who's Cranking the New CIRITH UNGOL Today?

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nightsblood
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Who's Cranking the New CIRITH UNGOL Today?

Post by nightsblood »

Howdy gents. Been a while since I had time to stick my head in the door.
After a hellacious day- nay, week- of work (but hey, at least I still have work)- I'm finally sitting down for an hour before bed to listen to the new CIRITH UNGOL album, which is the first album I've pre-ordered in who-knows-how-long.

So who else is checking this out today upon its official release?
"I'm sorry Sam, we had real chemistry. But like a monkey on the sun, our love was too hot to live"
-Becky
Decibel_Rebel
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Re: Who's Cranking the New CIRITH UNGOL Today?

Post by Decibel_Rebel »

Received it on Wednesday already and had 5 spins until now.
Hell yeah, just like they have never been away! Who could have guessed a few years ago that we would talk about a new CU album? My fave right now is "Before tomorrow".
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Khnud
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Re: Who's Cranking the New CIRITH UNGOL Today?

Post by Khnud »

My copy is still in the mail. Hope to get it next week.
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Lama
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Re: Who's Cranking the New CIRITH UNGOL Today?

Post by Lama »

Same here. I expected my order from HRR to be delivered yesterday, but postal and delivery services are overloaded with parcels right now. I'm a postman myself, I speak from experience.
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omen of hate
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Re: Who's Cranking the New CIRITH UNGOL Today?

Post by omen of hate »

Same for me, I expect it to arrive next week.
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bigfootkit
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Re: Who's Cranking the New CIRITH UNGOL Today?

Post by bigfootkit »

Didn't get my copy of 'Forever Black' until Friday but it was worth the wait, i'm really liking it a lot.
Initial impression is that they've preserved their trademark sound perfectly, but also added a couple of interesting new wrinkles as well. Nothing feels out of place or forced & the songwriting & execution both retain that dark otherness that hooked me in the first place. A couple of the songs seem like knowing winks for the benefit of old school fans which is a cool touch, like 'The Fire Divine's overt 'Frost & Fire' vibe & how 'Legions Arise' seems thematically like the separated-at-birth brother of 'Join The Legion'.
Better than i'd dared hope, and only likely to sound ever better with growing familiarity.
If i was being ultra critical, the longest song on the album, 'Nightmare' is the one i'm least impressed with so far (though that could change), and at just 40 mins it's not the longest album ever, (they could have added 'Witches Game' & 'Brutish Manchild' to the running order as bonus tracks). If i was being ultra critical, but i'm not. I'm far too pleased.
Unbelievably, for a band who were so unloved and overlooked during their initial career, with this new record they've only gone & made the album charts in Germany (#11 at time of writing!). Who would ever have thought that was a possibility?
:shock:
Is this part of this 'new normal' i keep hearing about?
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great_knuthulhu
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Re: Who's Cranking the New CIRITH UNGOL Today?

Post by great_knuthulhu »

Not me, I'm expecting it here on Friday. Optimistic about the quality, though it will take months to decide whether or not it lives up to the old albums.

Have to say I'm very happy with Tim Baker's vocals after the reunion. At times, his lower "near-growl" feels even better than the higher-pitched singing of the 80s. Other times it doesn't, of course but so be it
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nightsblood
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Re: Who's Cranking the New CIRITH UNGOL Today?

Post by nightsblood »

I bought a d/l of this while waiting for my CD copy to arrive. I've played it a lot in the past 10 days and feel confident saying that this is one BADASS album! I am very skeptical of most comeback albums because, well, most of them aren't that good. This one....this one smokes!

The Good
Great sound, and Tim Baker's voice is every bit as sonically deranged as it ever was, which was a big concern of mine. The songwriting is really strong, and it definitely calls back to their earliest material at times, which I'm guessing is a result of Greg being involved. There are killer riffs throughout, and the songs feel right at home in the CU catalog. The album wastes no time; at just under 40 minutes it comes in, kicks ass, takes names, and is done. No drawn-out thematic tracks, no bloated concepts, just punch you in the face, wipe the blood off their hands, and call it a day.

The Bad
OK, time to nitpick just a little. Opener 'Legions Arise' is a good track BUT lyrically it's the "hey we're back and rockin!" type fare that every reunion project feels compelled to sing. While CU do make it work within their particular idiom as a callback to the mighty 'Join the Legion', the concept is a pretty tired one since, as of the time of this writing, approximately 337 80s metal bands have done comeback albums within the past decade and at least 34.788% of them have done this same gimmick in a song. We know you're back guys, you don't have to spell it out for us in 4/4 time.
Next nitpick, 'Stormbringer' is a god song BUT it is perhaps just a tad too slow and/or a little too long. I like that it helps vary the tempo in the middle of the album, BUT it could be a bit shorter or faster- it feels like it drags just a little.
Last nitpick- the final three songs tend to run together just a tad. 'Nightmare' is not my favorite on the album (I agree with the all-knowing bigfootkit; may his knowledge forever illuminate the left hand path). The following two tracks are better but these three tend to blur together.

My Favorite Songs
'Frost Monstreme' is a fucking monster; heavy, quirky, and Tim channels all the fucking demons of chaos as he bellows out the title in this track inspired by one of Greg's old fantasy favorites, 'Fahthrd & the Gray Mouser'.
'Fire Divine' is a molten rocker with a hook so sharp Pinhead is jealous.
'Fractus Promissum' is another scorching ball of lead that grabs you immediately. The riff, oh the riff!
'Before Tomorrow' is a great, angry defiant anthem for our times. 'Today we live in anger, today we live in fear'. In a review from long ago I wrote that CU would be the soundtrack to the apocalypse. With this track, I rest my case.

Anyone on the fence about checking this out- lay your fears to rest, CU did not disappoint with this comeback album. Get off that fence and re-join the fucking legion!
"I'm sorry Sam, we had real chemistry. But like a monkey on the sun, our love was too hot to live"
-Becky
Lama
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Re: Who's Cranking the New CIRITH UNGOL Today?

Post by Lama »

'34.788%...', is that a nod to the My Dying Bride-album, or is it pure coincidence :) ?
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Re: Who's Cranking the New CIRITH UNGOL Today?

Post by 7varvar7 »

I thing "Legions Arise" is an amazing song but then I don't tend to listen to comeback albums so much!
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mordred
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Re: Who's Cranking the New CIRITH UNGOL Today?

Post by mordred »

Is it just me, or does the album sound quite bad on vinyl? It’s very muddy and lacks clarity and punch. I suspect Metal Blade just put the CD master on vinyl. Certainly no “mastered FOR VINYL by Patrick Engel at Temple of Disharmony” declaration on this release. I redeemed my download code and indeed, the bloody MP3’s sound better!

I practically gave up buying new recordings on vinyl 10+ years ago because they usually sounded inferior to the CD’s, but I thought the industry had long since realized records aren’t souvenirs but people actually buy them to listen to. :cry:
Chroming Rose “Pressure” LP found! :D
Aiden
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Re: Who's Cranking the New CIRITH UNGOL Today?

Post by Aiden »

When it's blasting at an unholy volume it sounds fine Mordred! (You have a point otherwise)

The lyrics to Legions Arise put a big smile on my face but the album really kicks off with the drums at the start of The Frost Monstreme. Oh baby....

The artwork is fu*king immense too.
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Khnud
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Re: Who's Cranking the New CIRITH UNGOL Today?

Post by Khnud »

Agree on the sound. And I was kinda disappointed with that poster, it's far too big and pixelated to look good. But I shouldn't be complaining, it's a new Cirith Ungol album, for goodness sake!
Last edited by Khnud on Wed May 27, 2020 9:28 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Aiden
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Re: Who's Cranking the New CIRITH UNGOL Today?

Post by Aiden »

The poster is made with terrible quality paper but I always just look at them and put them back in the sleeve anyway so I shouldn't complain either!

Really cool Cirith Ungol article here:
https://yourlastrites.com/2020/04/30/ci ... ver-black/
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mordred
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Re: Who's Cranking the New CIRITH UNGOL Today?

Post by mordred »

I forgot to mention that there's an obvious difference to the vinyl reissue of "Paradise Lost" from a few years back, which was obviously mastered specifically for vinyl to sound as good as possible. It's a little surprising they (or Metal Blade) would invest the effort in a reissue but not in an all new release.
Chroming Rose “Pressure” LP found! :D
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