Frost and Fire

	Tracklist Frost and Fire I'm Alive A Little Fire What Does It Take Edge of a Knife Better Off Dead Maybe That's Why Cirith Ungol (live bonus track)
Credits Tim Baker (vocals) Jerry Fogle (guitars) Greg Lindstrom (guitars, bass, synthesizer, vocals) Michael "Flint" Vujea (bass) * Robert Garven (drums, vocals) Randall L. Jackson (executive producer) Brad Vance (remastering for 1999 reissue)	Editions LP: Apr 1980 US (Liquid Flame Records; LF001) LP: 31 Jan 1981 (Enigma Records;?) LP: ???? (?; ?) [bootleg picture disc] MC: 198? (?;?) CD: 05 Oct 1999 (Metal Blade Records; 3984-14252-2) [Has Cirith Ungol (live) as bonustrack]

Frost and Fire is the debut album by the heavy metal band Cirith Ungol. Its music is generally faster and more simplistic than that of King of the Dead, which saw the band adopt a doom metal style influenced heavily by progressive rock. The album was produced by Cirith Ungol. Originally released by Cirith Ungol on Liquid Flames Records in 1980, the album was re-released in 1981 by Enigma Records, re-released again along with King of the Dead on one CD by One Way Records in 1995, and finally re-released again in September 1999 on Metal Blade Records. A bootleg picture disc version of this LP, limited to 500 hand-numbered copies, also exists.

*Fun fact: The legendary swiss black/thrash/experimental metal band Celtic Frost took their name from this album. They took the "Frost" from "Frost and Fire" and changed "Cirith" to "Celtic".

Of course we know about it. We even were supposed to play support for Celtic Frost shows in L.A., but their management didn't want us! Sad, because you must know that we were always better live than on LP, we have over 1000 gigs behind us!

-Robert Garven, Iron Pages interview 1994 (approx. translation from german)

The cover

The coverart was created by Michael Whelan for Michael Moorcocks fantasy books. It is entitled "Stormbringer" and has inspired Deep Purple's "Stormbringer", Hawkwinds "The Chronicle of the Black Sword", Magnum's "Stormbringer", Blue Öyster Cult's Black Blade, Blind Guardian's "Fast to Madness" and many more.

At the time we wanted a "Sword and Sorcery" theme cover called "Berserker" by Frank Frazetta, a famous sword and sorcery artist, but it was taken by the country rock band MOLLY HATCHET! I was reading Stormbringer by Michael Moorcock at the time and was thinking, "man this is the ultimate cover art!" I never thought we could use it but I contacted the publisher who got me in touch with Michael Whelan, who is one of the few people in our entire music career who was honest, friendly and kind, and we got to use it. I think we were the first album cover he had done at the time and we really wanted to use all his Elric series on our covers which we did! I told him that I always wanted to buy the painting for berserkerthe cover of #1 (Stormbringer) from him if we made it big but we never did. He was quite successful then, but now he is probably the world foremost fantasy artist/painter/illustrator and his paintings cost a lot of money. It's funny, DEEP PURPLE had an album named after the book and we got the cover. BLUE OYSTER CULT also had a song, "Bane of the Black Sword" which was based on Michael Moorcock's writing.

-Robert Garven, Metal Nightmare interview 2000

To me, Elric is a classic anti-hero. He deplores all the evil in his world, and tries to fight against it, but in the end, he cannot overcome it and even unwittingly aids the forces of chaos.

-Greg Lindstrom, Tombstone interview 09/2001

The 1999-remaster has the title "Frost and Fire" on the front, as seen here.

The band in their own words

* A note about the credits

Actually, Michael didn't join the banduntil after we recorded the "Frost And Fire" album in December 1980. I played bass on that record, but we put Flint's name on the album so people would recognize him as a band member when they saw us live.

-Greg Lindstrom, interview by Patrick Lefevre

I wish we could have gotten a heavier sound, but were all still learning how to use the studio. We definitely would have liked to put “Last Laugh” and “Hype Performance” on the album, but we basically just ran out of money to pay for recording time. Remember, we paid for everything on “Frost And Fire” ourselves, from the recording time to the shrinkwrap.

-Greg Lindstrom, interview by Patrick Lefevre

I'm partial to F & F, I just wish we could have gotten a heavier sound on the album, but we were on a very limited budget and we were all still learning how to use the studio. The sound I imagined in my head was much heavier.

-Greg Lindstrom

We wanted to make it big, but all of our music was so heavy and dark, we thought we would use our most commercial material on Frost and Fire, so that we would get air time and stuff. Although all the lyrics and some of the music on Frost and Fire were written by Greg, almost all of our songs over the years were a collaborative effort, some times "I" would even hum out parts until we got it right. Everything had to be perfect, sometimes leading to fist fights over riffs. Anyway, it just turned out Greg's songs had the more commercial sound. After Frost and Fire came out it was only played a couple of times on the LA radio station KLOS because everyone said it was way too heavy..... So we figured FUCK IT!!! If they think that is heavy why are we holding back? Let's show them something really heavy!!! We wrote about thirty songs with Greg that have never been released, some not even on tape. It was only understandable that we put some on King of the Dead. Greg did not leave until after Frost and Fire, so we were writing songs up to the day he left.

-Robert Garven

The cover is painted by Michael Whelan and called Stormbringer. According to Greg, it is one of the best album covers.

One reviewer in Kerrang! called Frost And Fire the worst heavy metal album ever recorded! I think a lot of critics at the time just didn't know who to compare us to and tended to dismiss us. But the fan reaction from all over the world was great. Unfortunately, our albums didn't have very good distribution and were often hard to find in stores. And that's part of the reason I quit the band. I felt I had reached a turning point in my life after graduating college and spending 10 years in the band. It was more than a year after Frost and Fire had been released, and sales were decent, but nothing was really happening for us, and I felt it was time to move on, which I did with much regret.

-Greg Lindstrom

We used to walk around neighborhoods knocking on doors and offering to wash peoples' cars! The first 3000 copies of "Frost And Fire", as well as the recording costs were totally paid for by the band.

-Greg Lindstrom, The Corroseum interview

I think the confusion lies with “Frost & Fire”, which we wrote to get noticed and popular and so it was intentionally all of our most accessible or radio friendly or commercial songs. We wrote and played heavier songs before and after but that album was meant to launch our career. Unfortunately it was considered too heavy by the radio stations in LA, and though it did receive much underground and college airplay it was not apparently what we needed to succeed. After Greg left we said well, why try to appease an audience that we were to heavy for anyway so we made a conscious effort to make the next album much heavier and gloomier.

-Robert Garven, Diabolical Conquest interview

Question: What are your ten most valuable records from a collectors view?

My ten remaining sealed copies of the original Frost & Fire LP on Liquid Flames Records! I'm not sure how valuable they are

-Greg Lindstrom, interview

1980, USA, EPIC/TRUE METAL WITH 70S VIBES AND MORE SOUL THAN SLY AND THE FAMILY STONE!

-Darkthrone, from their list of album recommendations in the booklet for the F.O.A.D. album.

*The Tales that Speak of "Frost & Fire"

As co-founder and drummer of Cirith Ungol for 22 years I feel I need to respond to some of the reviews here.

A previous reviewer mentioned that "Frost & Fire" sounded thrown together. The real truth is that we had been in the band for 9 years already and "Frost & Fire" was our attempt to get "commercial" airplay and find success with what we considered some of our more accessable music and yes radio friendly music! When the local LA station KLOS played it once and considered it too heavy, we decided to go for broke with our second album and pulled out all the stops. I disagree with some of the reviewers and think Tim's singing is not only excellent here and that "Frost & Fire" has some of his best vocals. This album features his highest pitched and clearest singing. Anyone who does not call it sining has to compare it with some of todays death metal. "'Im Alive" was one of our all time best songs, which we started almost every set with. The LA Times said that Pearl Jams "Alive" was a blatant rip off of our song, which is debatable.

I also think the title track "Frost & Fire" is excellent with a great middle break and solo and that "Better off Dead" has a great bass line and some of Tim's greatest singing range. This is all said looking back with a historical view that only I of all the reviewers can comment on being there the whole time. Jerry's solos are amazing and his passing was very tragic and sad.

This album has to be listened to many times to appreciate the lyrics, songwriting and performance as a whole not separate parts and to understand as opposed to it being thrown together is was a calculated attempt to obtain a major label contract during a time that only bands with catchy songs that would get any radio airplay were signed. Although i think "King of the Dead" was more representative of the band I am most proud of this album because not only was it our first but it was graced by the unbelievable cover illustration of Michael Whelan's epic portrait of Elric of Melnibone holding Stormbringer high above his head. This was a dream of ours and after so many years of struggle it was our reality. And yes our music can never be worthy of this great artists work!

Considering we produced, self recorded and paid for the entire project and that we were one of if not the first independent band to put out their own album before the wave of indie productions during that time, I think "Frost & Fire" "King of the Dead" & "Servants of Chaos" are a mandatory listen.

That said "King of the Dead" is my favorite and the last album which we had total control over. I am proud that we are mentioned in the same breath as bands that were epic and hope you all appreciate what we were trying to acomplish at a time when only big label bands had any chance of distribution or airplay.

Unfortunately for you the listener you never got to hear the other 20 or so odd songs that never made it to print such as: "Half Past Human - A Quarter to Ape" & "Brutish Manchild" but then that is another story for another day............

Robert Garven
Ventura, CA
March 2008

Amazon-review (5 out of 5 stars)

News The Cirith Ungol Webpit

"Welcome to the brave new world - The Future's here, or haven't you heard?"

The Bands

Click here to see the Cirith Ungol Familytree.

The Members

Click here to see the Cirith Ungol Familytree.

* = not full member status.

Full Discography A complete list of all records featuring songs by any of the eight Cirith Ungol members. If you know of any other records, corrections, or if your band has covered Cirith Ungol or Falcon, please contact!

Support the artists, improve your metal collection, buy the records!

A complete list of all records featuring songs by any of the eight Cirith Ungol members. If you know of any other records, corrections, or if your band has covered Cirith Ungol or Falcon, please contact!

Support the artists, improve your metal collection, buy the records!

• Amazon
• Metal Fighters
• CD Universe
• CDandLP.com

Cirith Ungol Comeback In short: Cirith Ungol broke up in May 1992. There will probably never be a comeback.

That does however not mean there are no chance of a comeback, even if it would mean for a new album or a one gig only.

✅ Greg Lindstrom is, as most now knows, still active in playing heavy rock music in his new band Falcon with Perry Grayson and Darin McCloskey, where he also plays some old and rare Ungolsongs.

✅ Less known is that Vern Green from the Paradise Lost-lineup is still musical active and plays in various bands. Most notable in the female-fronted rockband Broken Silence. He even highly admires his time in Cirith Ungol. He has recently (Nov 2007) unleashed some really nice live videoclips from The Ventura Theater 1991-show.

✅ Robert Garven is still a Ungol-maniac, even though he hasn't played his drums ever since. He has been offered to play with Falcon, but unfortunately he rejected.

❌ But unfortunately, Rob tells in an interview that singer Tim Baker wasn't interested in Cirith Ungol at the times Servants was released (2001). But things may have changed since then. Gerrit Mutz (Sacred Steel) has been offered to take hand of the vocals, but that he said no, because he could never replace Tim. Another possible replacement would be Perry Grayson, who is also a huge Ungol-maniac.

UPDATE 2010: Tim Baker is still alive, still a metalfan and he still likes Cirith Ungol!

❌ According to an interview with Greg, Michael "Flint" Vujejia has also shown no interest in CU.

❌ Jerry Fogle has unfortunately passed away.

✅ Jimmy Barraza has not lost his interest in the band, and he is still musically active. He has recently uploaded a couple of Cirith Ungol live videos, as documented at The Webpit.

? I don't know anything about the other members state.

Cirith Ungol split up due to frustration about the music business. For more information about the issue, please read any Cirith Ungol-interview. Here are some random quotes when asked about a possible comeback:

The being called Ungol is dead
its resurrection is doubtful.
But heed it's teachings oh faithful
for on these memoratic disks contain
the wisdom of the ages
and by your iron fists
may the horror
of false metal be extinguished.
As you now join the swelling ranks of the Legions of Chaos
together we will drive before us
the cringing herd of False Metal
crush their spineless lackeys
and purge the world of their mutant plague!!!

-Cirith Ungol's mission statement

King of the Dead

	Tracklist Atom Smasher Black Machine Master of the Pit King of the Dead Death of the Sun Finger of Scorn Toccata in Dm (J.S. Bach cover) Cirith Ungol Last Laugh (Live Bonus Track)
Credits Tim Baker (vocals) Jerry Fogle (guitars) Robert Garven (drums, vocals) Michael "Flint" Vujea (bass). Brad Vance (remastering for 1999 reissue)	Editions LP: 1984 US (Enigma Records; E 1089) MC: 1984 US (?;?) LP: 1985 BR (Young RGE Records; 308.7093) [Brazilian mispress. Has Frost and Fire-sleeve.] CD: 05 Oct 1999 US (Metal Blade Records; 3984-14253-2) [with Last Laugh (live) as bonustrack] LP: 2005 (Metal Blade; 3984-14253-1PD) [picturedisc, ltd x500]

HERALDING IN A NEW
AGE OF TRUE METAL,
THEIR CRUSHING SECOND
LP HAS BEEN UNLEASHED.
A CHURNING MAELSTROM
OF CHAOS DESCENDING!
King of the Dead is the second Cirith Ungol LP. It was produced by Cirith Ungol and released July 1984 on Enigma Records. It was re-released September 1999 on Metal Blade Records. It is the only album without any "Fire"-song. The other three albums have Frost and Fire, A Little Fire, The Fire and Fire. The cover was painted by Michael Whelan and is like the album, entitled "King of the Dead". The sound is a dozen of pounds heavier than the debut album. It is also their most epic, progressive and conceptual album. It was the first CU album I bought, and it's today my favourite ungol LP.

I find more darkness and ´dread´ in a Cirith Ungol LP like KING OF THE DEAD than any Obituary or Cannibal Corpse record ever offered me.

-King Fowley, Apr 2004

The cover was painted by Michael Whelan for Michael Moorcock's book The Bane of the Black Sword.

In the band's own words

It's going to be a million times more radical. People aren't going to know it's the same band. The lyrics are much more intense and the music is heavy. Tim Baker, Heavy Metal Times 1983 (the year before release) Frost And Fire and King Of The Dead are my favorites. KOTD is CU's classic. The production is 100% heavier than on Frost And Fire.

-Greg Lindstrom

King of the Dead was our best album, the reason was that we had total control over it. Every album could have been this good if we could have exercised complete control over its production and other things. This is the album which I feel is our best effort. The reason the long wait between albums is because when you are financing them yourselves, you have to come up with the money to pay for things like studio time. Plus being on all these independent labels their time tables are slower. I also did all the layout and design of the first three covers, all this while we were all working full time trying to sponsor the dream.

-Robert Garven

Cirith Ungols Best Album

As co-founder and drummer of Cirith Ungol for 22 years I feeelricl I can say without a doubt that this was our best effort. A previous reviewer mentioned that "Frost & Fire" sounded thrown together. The real truth is that we had been in the band for 9 years already and "Frost & Fire" was our attempt to get airplay and find success with what we conpagered some of our more accessable music. When the local LA station KLOS played it once and conpagered it too heavy, we decided to go for bro ke with our second album. I disagree and think Tim singing is not only excellent and that "Frost & Fire" has some of his best vocals. "'Im Alive" was one of our all time best songs, which we started almost every set with. The LA Times said that Pearl Jams "Alive" was a blatant rip off of our song, which is debatable. C onpagering we produced, self recorded and paid for the entire project and that we were one of if not the first independent band to put out their own album during the wave of indie productions during that time, I think F&F and KOTD is a mandatory listen.

That said "King of the Dead" is my favorite and the last album which we had total control over. I am proud that we are mentioned in the same breath as bands that were epic and hope you all appreciate what we were trying to acomplish at a time when only big label bands had any chance of distribution or airplay.

Rob Garven
May 2007

Amazon-review

(Rating: 5 out of 5 stars)

One Foot In Hell

	Tracklist Blood & Iron Chaos Descends The Fire Nadsokor 100 MPH War Eternal Doomed Planet One Foot in Hell
Credits Tim Baker (vocals) Jerry Fogle (guitars) Robert Garven (drums, vocals) Michael "Flint" Vujea (bass) Brian Slagel (producer) Brad Vance (remastering for 1999 reissue) King Fowley (linernotes for 1999 reissue)	Editions LP: 01 Jul 1986 (Metal Blade; MBR 1062) LP: 1986 (Metal Blade; MBR 1062) [white label] LP: 12 Aug 1986 (Roadrunner Records; RR 9681) MC: 1986 (Restless/Metal Blade; 72143-4) CD: 1992 DE (Reborn Classics; ?) [split w/"Lesson Well Learned" + extra tracks by Armored Saint] CD: 09 Mar 1999 (Metal Blade; 3984-14203-2) LP: 2005 (Metal Blade; 3984-14203-1PD) [picture disc, ltd x500]

One Foot in Hell is the third Cirith Ungol LP. It was produced by Brian Slagel and Cirith Ungol. It was released in August 1986 on Metal Blade Records and re-released in March 1999 by Metal Blade Records on CD.

Both the rare Reborn Classics double album edition of "One Foot In Hell" with Armored Saint's "Lesson Well Learned" and the limited picture LP are available from Metal Fighters.

I think this is their heaviest, most power metalish and most in your face of their albums. This is the last album with the "classic" line-up of Baker, Fogle, Garven and Flint. King Fowley compares this album to Motörhead's Orgasmatron. No bad comparation - same year and great heavy metal on both!

"Well, this is it-- the album NME readers called the worst metal album in history." writes an Amazon-reviewer. Unfortunately I cannot find the source for that.

In the band's own words

It's a lot different from our last one obviously. Just listen to the songs. it's so much faster, better and ballsier. I think we were before, especially on our last album... we were to... kinda eccentric. Like it was too different for people to handle. A lot of the stuff on KOTD, the songs are real good, but they were kinda arranged weird. But the new one is pretty consistent, like rockin'. Actually I prefer, myself, the really sloowww, dirge type songs. That's what I really like. And really, that kind of stuff is technically a lot harder to do. But if you stack up One Foot In Hell to either one of our other albums, it sounds so much better. If sounds like a normal record, sound quality wise. KOTD sounded like it was coming through a tin can.

It should be mandatory for Metal fans to purchase, or at least listen to One Foot In Hell and find out what "radical" really means. Shit, just look at the album cover! The music is just as wild, and that's saying a lot!

-Tim Baker, Suck City interview, 1986

It's an excellent album although I thought the songs overall were not as strong as King of the Dead, and Flint’s bass seems to have gotten lost in the mix.

-Greg Lindstrom

The problem with One Foot in Hell is that Brian Slagel who owned Metal Blade Records wanted to take a large role in the production of the album. I think this was the beginning of where the band started to lose control of our vision and it is evident in this record. There were solos left out or changed, and multi tiered vocals ala Styx “Serpent is Rising” that were removed. I also did not like the final mix. We also recorded the tracks in LA, whereas with the first two albums we recorded them across the street from our band studio, so we had less time and were in a strange location, which did not help the sound or mood. Brian to this day does not like me and I suppose his feelings toward me, which I have tried to unsuccessfully patch up over the years, was taken out on the band. This again probably was my personality, negatively affecting the bands success which I will never forgive my self for.

-Robert Garven, Diabolical Conquest

You didn't hear the solo's of Jerry's tat were cut on OFIH or the unbelievable four part background vocals I did on 'Nadsokor' that never made it to the record. I also feel that it was mixed kind of flat.

-Robert Garven, Steel Conjuring, 2000

Brian was in complete control of this project and did the final mixdown. He did a good job but he cut out allot of stuff I wanted in the final mix. There were many great guitar solos and vocal harmonies, which were deleted, which is sad.

-Robert Garven, Guardians of Fate 3/02

Paradise Lost

	Tracklist Join the Legion The Troll Fire (Crazy World of Arthur Brown cover) Heaven Help Us Before the Lash Go It Alone Chaos Rising Fallen Idols Paradise Lost
Credits Tim Baker (lead vocals) Robert Garven (drums) Jim Barraza (guitars) Vernon Green (bass) Additional musicians Joe Malatesta (guitars) Robert L. Warrenburg (bass). Ron Goudie (producer, engineer) Robert Feist (mixer) Chris Mcdonald (co-engineer, ass. mixer) Jeff Cowan (co-engineer) Dom Tittle (ass. engineer)	Editions CD: 1991 (Restless Records; 7 72518-2) MC: 1991 (Restless Records; 7 72518-4) CD: 2002 ("Restless Records"; 7 72518-2) [bootleg 1] CD: 200? ("Restless Records"; 7 72518-2) [bootleg 2] LP: ???? GRC (Sonic Age Records; ?) [bootleg 3] CD: 29 Jan 2008 (Noble Rot; 800.923.1122) [digipack]

"This music was made to be played at maximum volume!"

After five years, Cirith Ungol are back with a new label, new line-up and new album. Unfortunately, this would also be their last one. Intended or not, many of the titles (Heaven Help Us, Chaos Rising, Fallen Idols and Paradise Lost) seems to describe the difficult situation they were in at that time. The situation finally resulted in the band splitting up. The problem was conflicts with their recordcompany Restless Records. This was not the first time the band had trouble with their label. Turbulence with their previous US label Metal Blade, caused them to change label.

This must be their most varied album. You'll find the typical Ungolbangers (Join the Legion, The Troll), mighty epic songs (Chaos Rising, Fallen Idols, Paradise Lost), a typical quirky Ungolsong (Before the Lash), radiofriendly rocksongs (Heaven Help Us, Go It Alone) and a cover of Arthur Brown.

Editions and bootlegs

The album was unavailable for several years, until it was finally re-released in 2007 on Noble Rot. This second edition is a quite plain and simple digipak. It features one page linernotes by Martin Huxley. No lyrics or bonus tracks are included. Contrary to popular belief, this is not a bootleg - it has been confirmed by Robert Garven. At least two different bootleg copies of the first edition exists. If you have the first edition on CD, and not the second edition from 2007 on Noble Rot, check if you have an original or the bootleg:

Bootleg 1
Here is what Metal Archives says about how to identify whether it is a bootleg or an original:
The original CD from 1991 is very rare. It was unofficially re-released around 2002. There is only very little difference between the original and the bootleg [I call this bootleg 1]. The original CD (48:33) is six seconds longer than the bootleg (48:27) and it has "Printed in Canada" on the back cover and inpage the booklet. Furthermore, the colors of the cover are slightly different - the bootleg is a little bit darker.

Bootleg 2
At least one more CD-bootleg exists. I coin this bootleg 2. This has "Printed in Canada" on the back cover, and is 48:38 long. All text on the bottom on this bootleg is slightly blurier than on the original, and the pics of the band members inpage are slightly less sharp. The name of the members beneath the pics have orange colours, while it has red colour in the original.

Bootleg 3
This is the only of the four album that has never been officially released on vinyl. Although bootleg vinyl exists. They were printed in Greece and are said to be of not very good quality. It is long out of print.

Talks about an official vinyl

That's Metal: There were rumors about a re-release of the "Paradise Lost” album on CD and even on Vinyl. Can you tell me something about it?

Robert Garven: I talked to Brian [Slagel of Metal Blade Records] about this, and once again if there is any kind of desire to re-release "Paradise Lost" (PL) on Metal Blade I am fully in favor of the project and would do everything in my power to see it completed.

-That's Metal interview 1/99

The cover

Cover masterpiece 'Sailor on the seas of fate'. Copyright 1976 by Michael Whelan. For Michael Moorcocks Elric-books.

Trouble with Restless Records

The band were not happy with Ron's production of the album. Therefore, several of the songs from the album with the bands own production, was made available on the Servants of Chaos-compilation album ten years later, in 2001.

In Rob's and Greg's own words

Looking at the album as an outpager, I think Paradise Lost is a very inconsistent album. It has got some of the best stuff CU has ever done (The Chaos trilogy) and the worst (The Troll and the truly vile Go It Alone). Even though Jimmy Barraza is a fantastic guitar player, I feel that he lacks a certain spark of uniqueness that made Jerry so great. And I really prefer Tim's higher pitched vocals on the earlier albums.

-Greg Lindstrom

I have to agree with Greg, although he was luckily not in the band "Paradise Lost" was like a nightmare I have never awaken from. We were totally screwed by the record company and the producer took away all of the control and I think destroyed the entire project. If you listen to the version we did of "Fallen Idols" on the new CD I think you can get a feel for what the entire Paradise Lost CD should have sounded like. The sad part of the whole sordid affair is that Restless never meant to do anything to promote the record at all, so I think if we could have made the CD the way we wanted it probably would have been more successful and we would still be together today. Restless to this day refuses to license the record for who knows what reaseon even though at least 3 different companies have shown an interest in re-releasing it!

-Robert Garven

I was to go in with only the little f**king click machine to record the drum tracks, no bass... no guitar.. no nothing to play with but this little piece of shit!! Next the other members followed suit except Ron did not want the other members of the band in the studio. (I guess he didn't want us to contaminate his vision of what we thought was our album !!!!) So each band member went in did his part alone. I was really upset about the vocals cause I had coached and cheered Tim through the last 3 albums, Guess what I wasn't allowed in while the vocals were done. I hope you can get the picture of how warped and terrible this whole album was done. Not only this but the best 20 seconds of the album Ron cut out because while he was producing the album he fucked up and the part which I thought was the most killer part of "Paradise Lost" was spooled out on the studio room floor. I was very pissed about this !!! And still am !!

-Robert Garven, interview by Patrick Lefevre

The best 20 seconds of music we ever wrote and or played was cut out on the mix down by Ron Goudie (the producer of “Paradise Lost”) because he micro-managed the recording sessions badly and forgot how the song went. I've said it before but this CD could have been the best we ever did but with Flint quitting and the overproduction and loss of any control by the band it was I think the worst. For instance, none of us were allowed in the studio while the others recorded. I played the drums to a forced click track without any emotion. When we protested we were threatened with the plug being pulled so we soldiered on. I cried when I heard the final mix….

-Robert Garven, Diabolical Conquest interview

Lets say it was not the best of times for the band. We did, however, write the best music we ever did, only to be destroyed by the producer of “Paradise Lost”, and the time it took to get the project off the ground. One of our roadies in the last days, I’ll call him “Dave”, helped break the band up by giving false advice to Jimmy, who, like Flint, could not see the big picture. We had met the bass player for Heart who was living in Ojai ,and he came and saw us a couple of times. He was interested in producing our next CD. I called Restless and told Ron Goudie who signed us and produced “Paradise Lost” about this new development. Within a week, we received a letter saying that Restless was passing on its option to do any more albums with us. My theory is that since Ron worked for the company, he paid himself, lets say $30,000, to produce our album. Since he was the only one that made any money on the deal, removing him from the equation meant that it made no sense to keep us around. As a page note, when Brian decided to re-release the CD’s in the US and Europe, they contacted Restless to see if they could get the rights to re-release “Paradise Lost”. It turns out the attorney we had at the time, Evan Cohen, advised us to sign a contract where we gave ALL of the rights for not only the album, but also the music to Restless Records forever. The contracts were very complicated, and we had no knowledge what we doing at the time. Restless Records has refused to allow anyone to this day to re-release the CD, and we cannot understand why. They would have at least made a little money off a band that they had thrown away, so no one has figured out why they have refused every attempt to re-release this CD. I believe that it is because of spite. I thought it sucked anyway, so I have no regrets.

-Robert Garven, Sleazegrinder interview

Restless Records did nothing for the band in the way of promotion or touring. They had me contact Roadrunner Records in Europe (who released our first 2 records) to try to convince them to release "Paradise Lost" in Europe. The owner I think was named Cess Wessels or something, refused to release it saying that it was outdated. It is funny as it is the CD that everyone wants and it is still unavailable! I have tried on several occasions to get PL re-released but with no luck. Several companies were very interested in re-releasing it, however Restless Records would never return their phone calls or e-mail.

Here is the complete story of what happen before, during and after "Paradise Lost": After OFIH was released we kind of knew that M.B. either didn't have the money or interest in the band to follow through with what we needed, so the waiting game started again. We had written the most unbelievable set of new songs and we were ready to release them in 1987 when the band broke up, but the demo versions (I think I destroyed the tapes) of what was later to be Tim's trilogy "Paradise Lost" were 10 times better than the album you know of by that name. I was personally so disappointed in the album that when I came home and listened to it the night it was completed, I actually cried, thinking of all these wasted fucking years trying to get this whole fucking thing off the ground, all the REAL blood, sweat and tears and here we are fucked again. It was almost more than I could take as an artist.

What happened next is the downfall of the band as I envisioned it. Jerry, impatient with his 15 years in the band and my relentless pushing of all involved getting every one to keep up the grueling work even though there was never any pay back, left the band. Flint, Tim and I tried to talk him out of it to no avail. We had found a really good guitarist named Jimmy Baraza who we wanted to bring on board so that Jerry could concentrate on his leads and we could play all the double leads we were writing in all the new (and old) songs. Somehow Jerry must have felt that we were trying to replace him although nothing could have been farther from the truth.

Next we signed with Restless which actually were the shattered remains of our original label Enigma who had been bought by Capitol because they were impressed by all their poser type bands. After Capitol bought them and the men dressing like women thing started to die out (who would have guessed:) Enigma filed for bankruptcy. I don't know or care about all the sordid details but they ended up in an abbreviated company called Restless. We were so desperate at this time and really had nowhere else to go, so I talked this creep Ron Goudie into signing the band. It took at least 3 years for all the shit to settle at the record company after their breakup with Capitol so this whole time we waited. I showed up at the band room one night and Flint's stuff was missing. He had decided to join a garage band thinking that our career was as doomed as the planet we live on. After six months he returned only to leave again right as soon as the album was to start to be recorded. I can't fault their decision but if Jerry and Flint would have stuck it out, #4 would have been a lot better CD and we may have finally got the recognition that we deserved.

Anyway, I put ads in the local music stores and got a call from two guys who were in a local band in Santa Barbara. They came down and we decided they would be better than nothing. The deal was they'd help us record our album and they would get to put some of their songs on it. The guitarist Joe Malatesta's song was "The Troll" and the bass player Bob Warenburg's song was "Heaven Help Us". Although these songs really were not our style we really had no choice.

I showed up at the band room one night and Ron Goudie brought in a little box which was to be my little friend for the next fucking six months! It was a fucking electric metronome. I was to play along with it every day until I could learn to keep a "beat", this way the album was to be professional (in his opinion). Every time I complained about this kind of bullshit he would kindly remind us that we could stop the whole thing at any time if we couldn't follow his orders, it was just as well with him. Anyway here is the true disgusting story how we were forced to record our fourth album.

I was to go in with only the little fucking click machine to record the drum tracks, no bass... no guitar.. no nothing to play with but this little piece of shit!! Next the other members followed suit, except Ron did not want the other members of the band in the studio. (I guess he didn't want us to contaminate his vision of what we thought was our album!!!!) So each band member went in did his part alone. I was really upset about the vocals cause I had coached and cheered Tim through the last 3 albums. Guess what, I wasn't allowed in while the vocals were done. I hope you can get the picture of how warped and terrible this whole album was done. Not only this but the best 20 seconds of the album Ron cut out because while he was producing the album he fucked up and the part which I thought was the most killer part of "Paradise Lost" was spooled out on the studio room floor. I was very pissed about this!!! And still am!!

To make a long story short Bob got some kind of religion, and Joe left to do something or another. Both left before the album was even released, which made us look bad in Restless' eyes. Tim, Jimmy and I were so pissed at what we thought was a betrayal so we pulled their pictures from the album.

Anyway I put another ad the local music stores and got a call from a guy called Vern Green who also unfortunately had some religious beliefs, so right after we got cut from Restless he quit the band, then Jimmy quit. The sad thing about Jimmy, he was one hell of a guitarist but once again he didn't have what it takes to have followed it through. It is really a shame but Tim and I were looking at each other one night at our band room and we just decided after 22 years of being f**ked over we had had about enough. I sold all our equipment and my drums paid off our bills and Cirith Ungol was officially deceased.

-Robert Garven, The Corroseum interview

This is the Straw that Broke the Camels Back and was truly "Paradise Lost"

I was one the founding members and drummer of Cirith Ungol. This was our last album. We were treated so poorly by the record company that it broke the band up after 22 years. We had little or no artistic control over the production of this album, and even though we paid a big time lawyer $$$ to review the contract, we unknowingly sold the rights to album forever. When all our other CDs were re-released by Metal Blade of Germany, Restless the company that owned the rights to Paradise Lost, refused to let this cd be re-released. We were not even contacted by the current company releasing it, and will not receive any royalties from its sale. I even tried to contact them and received no reply.

To add insult to injury our singer Tim Baker went to a local store and had to buy a copy of the CD. I urge you not to buy this CD and instead look for our other remastered CD's "Frost & FIre" & "King of the Dead" & "Servants of Chaos" these are still in print in Europe (only!) and they were the only projects that we had artistic control over.

I was so upset by this project and its production and aftermath I swore "That I would never touch another drumstick or play drums, if it meant being in the same business as these people". Even though we have been offered many reunion tours and dates I have kept my oath, and expect that I will keep it until death...

Playing drums and Cirith Ungol was my life and passion and it is sad that such a great band with such untapped talent and potential had such little support while other bands with so little talent became huge commercial successes.

Sincerely,

Robert Garven
Ventura, CA

Amazon-review (1 out of 5 stars)

The reason this album sucks is that we had zero control over the entire project! The songs that dont fit were not written by band members, and each member were not allowed in the studio while the other members played their tracks. I was forced to play the drum tracks first and with a click machine with no other members playing. I cried when I heard it and it spelled the death of the band. Thanks Ron Goudie (the producer) and Restless Records. I hope there is really karma.......

If we had had full control over the album and Flint was still in the band it would have been our best, it enede up being our worst. Our demo tracks of the album were 10 times better than this lavish production which was a waste of time, ours and yours, sorry...... go back and listen to the first two! ;-)

BTW Jimmy was a hell of a guitarist, our dream was for him and Jerry to play double leads, but it was not to be.

Rob Garven
Ventura, CA
14 dec 2006

Metal-Archives-review (rating: 50%)

Shout It Out Loud

	Tracklist Finish What You Started Shout It Out Loud Carry the Torch All I Wanna Say How You Gonna Live Without Love I Will Always Hard Way It's No Secret We Will Survive No Way Out Say A Prayer
Credits Tracy King (lead vocals, bgvs) Stephen Gomez (lead vocals, bgvs, uitars) Vern Green (bgvs, bass guitar) Joy Soderstrom (bass guitar, keyboards) Keith Swanson (drums) Additional musicians Keith Mack (acoustic guitar, electric guitar) Benjy King (bgvs, keyboards, guitars, percussion) Benjy King (producer, mixer) Kent Heckman (mixer)	Editions CD: 1994 (Mighty Emma Music; BS-0294)

Broken Silence is a christian female fronted AOR rock band. This was Broken Silence's debut album. Songs are written between 1986-94. It is nothing like Cirith Ungol at all, but it's a nice melodic Heart-styled rock album and is well worth a listen. 8 page colour booklet included. The album seems to be out of print and therefore unfortunately not too widely available, but you can still find it for a fair price. My favourites are the last three songs.

If you're insterested in hearing this, the only song currently available for streaming AFAIK, is Carry The Torch. Vern did not play on the 1991-demo.

We Will Survive is credited Bob Held, Joe Lynn Turner, Al Greenwood, Al Pitrelli. We Will Survive performed by Joe Lynn Turner appears on the album Hurry Up And Wait, released 1999 - five years later.

Falcon

	Tracklist Downer (Grayson) Castle Peak (Grayson) On the Slab (Grayson) The Crying of Lot 246 (Grayson) Throwback (Grayson) Redman (D'Iorio, Gilcken, Ferrara) High Speed Love (Lindstrom) Route 666 (Lindstrom) Shelob's Lair (Lindstrom) Half Past Human (Lindstrom)
Credits Perry Grayson (guitar, vocals) Greg Lindstrom (bass, keyboard, additional lead guitar) Darin McCloskey (drums) Chris Kozlowski (producer)	Editions CD: 24 May 2004 (Liquid Flames Records; LF002) LP: 24 May 2004 (Doomed Planet Records) [planned, not released]

"This album is dedicated to our fallen comrade
Jerry Fogle. Rest in Peace, Brother!"

Falcon's debut album, and the first album Greg Lindstrom plays on since Frost and Fire (1980). That is, the first in 24 years! Here are some new songs and some re-recordings of unreleased Cirith Ungol songs that Greg wrote for Ungol in the 70's.

Support the band and buy the album:

Official Falcon Website
Amazon.com

Recording info

Basic Tracks Recorded Live. Recorded, Mixed & Mastered at Polar Bear Lair Studios in Middletown, MD.
Produced by Chris Kozlowski & Falcon
Engineered, Mixed & Mastered by Chris Kozlowski
Dedicated to the late Jerry Fogle, original guitarist of CIRITH UNGOL

The original tracklist was a bit different

Scheduling is underway for our album recording session. Tentative dates so far are November 22-26. Me and Greg will be flying out to Pennsylvania to rehearse with Darin a few days prior. Then we'll be driving out to Maryland to record with Chris Kozlowski at the helm. Looks like we're gonna record 10 songs. -Perry

This is what the track list looks like so far:

1. Shelob's Lair (Lindstrom)
2. Throwback (Grayson)
3. Downer (Grayson)
4. The Crying of Lot 246 (Grayson)
5. High Speed Love (Lindstrom)
6. Route 666 (Lindstrom)
7. Castle Peak (Grayson)
8. On the Slab (Grayson)
9. Half Past Human (Lindstrom)
10. Bonus: Bang's "Redman" (Gilcken/Ferrara/D'Iorio)

Press

Review by Karl Simon (The Gates of Slumber). Rating 10/10

Die Wontcha

Tracklist	Jimmy Clark ( Lindstrom) Elfland's Daughter (Grayson) Corporate Whore (Grayson) The Wreck of the John Deere (instrumental, Grayson / Lindstrom) Falcon (Grayson) No Future (Grayson) Careless (Grayson) Everything There Is To Know (Lindstrom) Show You All (Lindstrom) Leader (BUFFALO cover)
Credits Perry Grayson (guitar, vocals, keyboard) Greg Lindstrom (bass, keyboard, additional lead guitar) Darin McCloskey (drums) Chris Kozlowski (producer)	Editions CD: 06 May 2008 (Liquid Flames Records; OW 30992) LP: 2014 (Svart Records; SVR111)

The second Falcon album. The cover is a painting by renowned fan tasy artist Virgil Finlay. The title "Die Wontcha" is a play on the West, Bruce, & Laing album "Why Dontcha" (1973). To the right is a piss-take on the Why Dontcha album and the original Why Dontcha-album. Click on the covers to zoom in. Click here to see the rough, proto version of the album cover.

Recording info

Basic Tracks Recorded Live. Recorded Oct. 21-26, 2006.
Mixed & Mastered at Polar Bear Lair Studios in Middletown, MD.
Produced by Falcon & Chris Kozlowsi
Engineered & Mastered by Chris Kozlowski, Mixed by Chris Kozlowski with Perry Grayson

I took two weeks off work – no pay – so we could record Die Wontcha towards the end of October '06. It was an incredible experience. Darin and Greg rose to the occasion and played their bloody arses off! They both should be commended for a job well done! I was rooming with the dudes from Blue Cheer at Chris Kozlowski's infamous Polar Bear Lair most of that time. Got to witness the reformed Cactus at Jaxx in Virginia, caught up with the Internal Void boys and we managed to whip out an album we were very satisfied with over several days.

-Perry Grayson, 21 Jan 2009

The album can be ordered directly from the band at Falcon Official Merchandise Store.

Press

• Brave Words & Bloody Knuckles (announcement)
• Keith Bergman, Blabbermouth (review)
• Occam's Razor, Ultimate Metal (review)

Servants of Chaos

Demos and out-takes 101 Hype Performance 102 Last Laugh 103 Frost And Fire 104 Eyes 105 Better Off Dead 106 100 MPH 107 I'm Alive 108 Bite Of The Worm 109 The Twitch 110 Maybe That's Why 111 Ill Met In Lankhmar 112 Return To Lankhmar 113 Darkness Weaves 114 Witchdance 115 Feeding The Ants 116 Obsidian Alternative versions 201 Death Of The Sun 202 Fire 203 Fallen Idols Paradise Lost-practice tape session 204 Chaos Rising 205 Fallen Idols 206 Paradise Lost 207 Join The Legion 208 Before The Lash Live at Airlington Theater, Santa Barbara, California 04 May 1985 209 Atom Smasher (Live) 210 Master Of The Pit (Live) 211 King Of The Dead (Live) Live at The Country Club, Reseda , California 11 Sep 1984 212 Last Laugh (Live) Live at Airlington Theater, Santa Barbara, California 04 May 1985 213 Cirith Ungol (Live) Demos and out-takes 214 Secret Agent Man 215 Ferrari 308QV Live at Wolf & Rissmiller's Country Club, November 9, 1984 [only with bonus DVD] 301 I'm Alive 302 The Black Machine 303 Master of the Pit 304 King of the Dead! 305 Death of the Sun 306 Finger of Scorn 307 Frost & Fire 308 Cirith Ungol

Credits Produced by: Robert Garven & Greg Lindstrom Executive Producers: Randall L. Jackson & Matt Thomas Mastered By: Brad Vance Photography: Greg Hazard Graphic Design: Thomas Ewerhard Road Manager: Kevin "Dr" Sage

Editions 2CD: 2001 UK (Metal Blade Records; 3984-14383-2) 3LP: (Archaic Temple Prod.) [planned, not released] 2CD/DVD 2011 (Metal Blade Records; ) [digipak] 3LP 2011 (Metal Blade Records; ) [black vinyl] 3LP 2011 (Metal Blade Records; ) [golden brown vinyl, ltd.x300] 3LP 2011 (Metal Blade Records; ) [flame vinyl, ltd.x300]

"This album is dedicated to our fallen comrade Jerry Fogle. Rest in Peace."

This is an compilation album of 31 unreleased and rare tracks recorded between 1978 and 1990. It was only released in Europe, not in America. Artwork and layout was done by Michael Ewerhard who also has done some covers for Steel Prophet, among others. It is a great addition if you already have their four ordinary studioalbums, even though the soundquality is not always top-notch. It is my no means a complete compilation of their unreleased stuff, but a good introduction to it. Hopefully there will be a follow-up or a box set of more unreleased songs some day. The booklet is nice with pictures and linernotes by Rob and Greg. It is already out-of-print, and often over-priced, so get it while you can! In the band's own words

Fans had been asking for years about unreleased live and studio songs, so a few years ago Rob and I got to talking about the stacks of unreleased songs we had laying around, and we decided that at least some of it was good enough to be released. Overall, I’m very satisfied with the finished product. The sound quality isn’t always the greatest, but Brad Vance at DNA did a great job of saving and cleaning up our old tapes, some of which were 25 years old. The fan reaction has been great, and everyone seems to have a different favorite song. We keep getting asked when Volume 2 will come out, and there is still some more material we haven't unearthed yet.

-Greg Lindstrom, BallBuster interview

Rob came up with the idea and Metal Blade Europe was very receptive, so we both spent weeks going through our respective stacks of tapes. What ended up on the CD is a small fraction of what we have on tape.

-Greg Lindstrom, Tombstone interview 9/2001

There had been a lot of requests from our fans for some new CU material, so Rob and I spent a couple of months going through our old demo and practice tapes. Rob pitched the idea to Metal Blade, and the European side was very interested. Unfortunately, MB in the US did not release it, so the CD is rather hard to find over here in our own backyard! We would like to get a US label to release “Servants” over here.

If “Servants” generates enough interest, you could hear from us again. We still have at least 20 songs that have never been released, like “Brutish Manchild” and “Route 666”. I would like to resurrect some more old tapes that have Jerry’s guitar magic.

-Greg Lindstrom, True Metal magazine 07/02 interview

Greg and I were actually the two original members so it was only natural that I turn to him to help work on the project. The other remaining members either did not want to participate or were totally against the project thinking that the music was inferior to our studio work. I was just interested in getting the music released before it was destroyed by time as so much of the other material was. Since our other albums had been released I thought that this was the best possible time and I knew that our good fans would enjoy hearing some of the early and live versions of some of the songs.

-Robert Garven, True Metal magazine 07/02 interview

The only money we got to release Servants of Chaos went to the mastering lab, the few hundred dollars we had left over Greg and I agreed to send to Michael Whelan. In fact Greg and I spent some of our own money to get the project out and as soon as we signed the contract with Metal Blade it had a hidden clause in it that combined all the other re-release royalties guaranteeing that we would never make a cent on the deal. On a lighter note royalties that were made on Servants of Chaos were supposed to be deducted from the monies owed on the re-releases but never were. I contacted Metal Blade and Brian said he would look into it. I never heard back from them. People asked me if I was upset that bootleg albums existed of some of our material. My reply has been that since we have never made any money from our legitimate record companies why should we be upset at someone who would promote our music by releasing a bootleg?

-Robert Garven, Diabolical Conquest interview

Metal Blade in Germany however, is run by a very cool guy, Michel Trengert. He has been a good friend to the band. We have never made much money from either group, but he was the guy that suggested that we put out our “Servants of Chaos” CD, which contained all our old and unreleased material, without him it never would have happened. Brian our old friend did not release it in America for whatever reason.

He [Trengert] suggested the idea to me and Greg and I got all the material together that we could find in hopes of releasing allot of stuff that no one had heard before. There are some real gems in there, including some great instrumental work by Greg, and a version of “Fallen Idols” that showed what the album “Paradise Lost” would have sounded like if we would not have had a producer destroy the musical compositions and arrangements. All in all, I was very happy with it, even though Metal Blade saw fit not to release it in the US. Tim was opposed to it, as he thought there was going to be some questionable material on there, but since the tapes were deteriorating, it was then or never. I decided that since the tapes were legally either Greg’s or mine that I was going to go for it for our fans. Unfortunately, it seemed to have cost our friendship.

-Robert Garven, Sleazegrinder interview

This album has been re-released in 2011, ten years after it's original release. It was re-released on both CD and 3LP gatefold vinyl. The CD was a digipak featuring a bonus DVD. On vinyl, it came in three different colours and with a A2 poster. It also has a slightly different cover - the title is written at the bottom.

One Foot In Fire - A Tribute

Tracklist Rotten (Holland) - "Cirith Ungol Overture" Falcon (USA) - "Shelob's Lair (remix)" Solemnity (Germany) - "What Does It Take" Holy Martyr (Italy) - "Frost And Fire" Dawn Of Winter (Germany) - "Doomed Planet" Assedium (Italy) - "Black Machine" Emerald (Switzerland) - "Heaven Help Us" Monstrum (Poland) - "Fallen Idols" Rosae Crucis (Italy) - "Death Of The Sun" Battle Ram (Italy) - "Join The Legion" Crystal Viper (Poland) & Elixir (UK) - "Chaos Rising"

Editions CD: 2005 (Solemnity Music; SOL-M 008) LP: 2006 (Solemnity Music; SOL-M 007) [ltd. x150, pic. disc]

A collection of Cirith Ungol covers. Some of the songs were made years before this compilation, others have been made specially for this album. The booklet contains linernotes written by Robert Garven. Album was produced by Bart Gabriel for Solemnity Music. Cover was painted by Michal Oracz who also has done covers for Lord Vader and Damascus Steel. His brother has painted artworks for Crystal Viper. Album is availabe directly from Solemnity Music.

The missing tracks

The original press in 2005, was announcing three further tracks that did not appear on this album. They are:

• ATOMKRAFT (England, feat. Tony Dolan of VENOM) "Atom Smasher" (from "King Of The Dead")
• OCTOBER 31 (Usa) "The Fire" (from "One Foot In Hell")
• IRONSWORD (Portugal) "100 Mph" (from "One Foot In Hell")

So what happened to these three songs? Were they ever released or even recorded? I sent a mail to Solemnity Music, asking for this. I got a quick reply from Sven the Axe, and he could inform me that for various reasons, neither of these tracks were ever released or recorded. Unfortunately.
Thanks to Sven for the clarification!

Alternative artwork

There were other cover artworks originally planned for the album. I recieved a mail from Graham Ganson who painted two different covers for this tribute album. They were done in 2004. Click the links to see the images below:

• Alt. artwork 1, a collage of images from their cd covers.
• Alt. artwork 2, a hand drawn/photoshop coloured image of Elric of Melbourne.

Nice work!

I almost did the artwork for the cover on CIrith Ungols Tribute "One Foot in Fire" However communication and collaboration with Bart Gabriel somehow got mixed up and things didn't work out. Kind of a bummer!

He never used them, there was no contracts.

-Graham Ganson (the artist), 03 Mar 2010 Here is another alternative cover. I don't know where it is from, but I guess it is a draft of the final version. Only the typings looks different.

Alt. artwork 3, a draft for the final version??

The band in their own words

I can’t say that I’m familiar with most of them, but it’s really gratifying to know that so many fellow musicians are into CIRITH UNGOL. I’ve heard DOOMSWORD’s version of “Nadsokor” and they did a great job. By the way, FALCON is planning to be on the CIRITH UNGOL tribute as well, possibly with “Edge Of A Knife” or a different version of “Half Past Human”. I would love to hear PENTAGRAM do “I’m Alive”. I think Bobby singing would really add some poignancy to the lyrics.”

-Greg Lindstrom, Headache interview, 2005 (a year before release)

I was also blown away by the covers to our songs that just came out on the Cirith Ungol tribute album. I think some of the versions of our songs are better than our original versions!

-Robert Garven, Diabolical Conquest interview

Merchandise If you know of any other merchandise or dealers, please contact. If you are a retailer selling merch, please send link, picture and short description.

Order at your own risk! Feel free to use the commentfields to report of good or bad traders. Note that not every lister has all items listed at every time. Try contacting the seller directly. Most of the merchandise is unofficial.

Click here for official Cirith Ungol merchandise store

Unreleased and Upcoming This is a complete list of all unreleased and upcoming songs and recordings that features any of the eight Cirith Ungol members. Some of it will be relased, some of it will most probably never be released, and some of it hasn't even been recorded, but only written and/or played live. Cirith Ungol has composed over 300 songs, according to Robert Garven in the Iron Pages interview, 1994.

In addition to what is listed beneath, Cirith Ungol has also played covers of

Black Sabbath
Cream
Hard Stuff
Highway Robbery
Jimi Hendrix
Mountain
Spontaneous Combustion

The songs will be added to the list when it is known which songs they covered. The pre-Cirith Ungol band Titanic, played Beatles-covers. Also these will be added. If you have any additional info, please contact!

Falcon Bio

2008 - The Year of Die Wontcha

The power trio known simply as FALCON is back to rock the scene again with Die Wontcha, the follow-up to their successful self-titled debut. The raw, heavy and loud ingredients that made the eponymous 2004 FALCON album such a critical success are in abundance on Die Wontcha. Armed with vintage axes and massive amplification, PERRY GRAYSON (guitar/vocals), GREG LINDSTROM (bass/keys) and Darin McCloskey (drums) returned to the Polar Bear Lair in Middletown, Maryland to kick out the jams with engineer Chris Kozlowski (Blue Cheer, Pentagram, Internal Void, Penance, The Obsessed, The Melvins, etc.) behind the board.

Much like the spontaneous late Sixties and Seventies heavy rock platters of yesteryear FALCON committed Die Wontcha to tape over a span of 5 days in October 2006. Guitarist/vocalist Perry Grayson is ecstatic about the recording of Die Wontcha. “We only had three nights to rehearse in Pennsylvania before hitting the Polar Bear Lair to record. Greg and Darin busted their asses just as much as I did. The Die Wontcha sessions far exceeded my expectations, and I really have to thank Greg and Darin for a job well done! Chris Kozlowski surpassed himself in preserving the loud, raw edge of FALCON. I even played keyboard for the very first time on a recording! The whole experience was just killer. From the actual performances on the songs to hanging out with Chris Kozlowski and the guys from Blue Cheer and Internal Void and seeing Cactus simply destroy live in Virginia. Darin, Greg and Chris did their part to make sure Die Wontcha got knocked out before my move to Sydney, Australia, and that’s the best going-away present anyone could have given me.” Yes, you read that right. Though Perry Grayson relocated to Australia in December 2006, FALCON is still alive and will continue recording and gigging whenever humanly possible.

For those taking notes, the album title was conceived by Greg Lindstrom as a nod to West, Bruce & Laing's 1974 LP. The cover of Die Wontcha features a full-color painting by renowned fantasy artist Virgil Finlay, an ominous illustration befitting the doomy page of FALCON.

Thunderous live performances and rave reviews and features in major mags worldwide including Vintage Guitar, Metal Maniacs, Terrorizer and Greek Hammer elevated Falcon's soulfully hard rocking reputation. Die Wontcha is a massive slab that cements Falcon's place aat the forefront of the real rock revival!

2002-2006

Guitarist PERRY GRAYSON (ex-DESTINYS END, ex-ARTISAN, ISEN TORR) envisioned a ’70s style heavy rock project for years, and he finally found the time to start work on it in 2002. The band is called Falcon, and the sound is a total throwback to what was heavy in 1971. "I’ve been talkin’ about this for years, even before I left Destiny’s End," says Perry. "I’m a huge fan of bands like Pentagram, Buffalo (Australia), Trapeze, Dust, Captain Beyond, Budgie, Bang, Thin Lizzy, Mountain, BOC, etc.—and I’ve had these song ideas floating around my head for a very long time. It’s a breath of fresh air to be able to slow down and play stuff that isn’t goin' a million miles an hour." Joining Perry in Falcon is former CIRITH UNGOL multi-instrumentalist GREG LINDSTROM. Lindstrom handles the bass thunder in FALCON, and also plays some keyboard and guitar. DARIN McCLOSKEY from Pennsylvania doom metal merchants PALE DIVINE pounded the drums for FALCON on their self-titled album, while ANDREW SAMPLE played drums for FALCON live in Southern California from 2004-2006.

"Falcon is part of the power trio tradition—like Cream, Trapeze, Budgie, Dust, Bang and Rush," Perry Grayson explains. "I had to keep things down-to-earth and involve only as many people as necessary. Greg Lindstrom is a real pleasure to jam with. He’s one of my biggest music heroes, and I couldn’t have asked for a better person to help make Falcon a reality. It goes without saying that I love Darin’s work with PALE DIVINE, and he was the obvious choice, despite the huge distance between us. Along with my original FALCON tunes, we’re doing some of Greg’s old CIRITH UNGOL songs that never got a proper studio recording. Greg’s tracks deserve to be heard!" Perry explains.

The members of Falcon are no strangers to the stage or the studio. Greg Lindstrom was a founding member of CIRITH UNGOL, which formed circa 1972. Lindstrom was last heard bashing out guitar, bass and keyboards on the classic CIRITH UNGOL album FROST AND FIRE in 1981. Greg also appears on the Cirith Ungol double disc rarity collection SERVANTS OF CHAOS (’01). Perry Grayson grinded his metal axe and was an integral part of the songwriting team in Destiny’s End for both of their Metal Blade Records releases, BREATHE DEEP THE DARK ('98) and TRANSITION ('01). Grayson's tenure in Destiny’s End included a full-scale U.S. tour with Iced Earth and Nevermore, an appearance at the prestigious Wacken Open Air Festival in Germany in '99 and a European tour with Metal Blade labelmates Sacred Steel and Wardog. Most recently Perry has been involved with multi-national metal band ISEN TORR, whose EP Mighty & Superior was released on Metal Supremacy Records in Germany in '04. With Pale Divine, McCloskey has recorded the Crimson Tears EP, Thunder Perfect Mind, Eternity Revealed and Cemetery Earth.

"I’m really happy that Perry pulled me out of musical retirement, ’cause I’m having a blast playing with these guys," Greg Lindstrom enthuses. "When Perry told me about his idea for Falcon and asked me if I’d be interested I immediately jumped at it," notes drummer Darin. "I knew that a project involving Perry and Greg was going to be very special! I think there’s a kindred spirit among the three of us with regard to this style of music and I’m very excited to be working with them!"

"I started off by demoing a couple of tracks with a drum machine, doing all the vocals myself," Perry continues. "It was the first time I’d ever tackled proper lead vocals, but I’ve really been working towards improving as a singer. It’s been a long journey since I bailed from Destiny’s End, but it was well worth it. In Falcon I’m playing the kind of heavy ass rock that made me pick up a guitar in the first place. This is stuff I can really put my heart into and stand behind. No frills, no cookie monster growling, no bullshit. My guitar tone for Falcon is very earthy—and loud—not overfuzzed.

In late March '03 Darin flew out to Los Angeles for a weekend of Falcon jamming. After two 3 hour sessions, Falcon laid down the basic tracks for their four song demo live in the span of an hour the day Darin was to return to Pennsylvania. If there’s one thing about Falcon, it’s that the band thrives on being spontaneous and flying by the seat of their pants! Vocal, lead guitar and keyboard overdubs were finished over the next couple of weeks. By May ’03 the Falcon demo was making the rounds in the underground, receiving lots of positive reviews from zines both pro and fan—like Metal Hammer (Greece), Reflections of Doom (Belgium) and Metal Maniacs (USA). A fan and press favorite from the get-go was Greg's Tolkien inspired tune "Shelob's Lair," which was a Cirith Ungol mainstay in 1976.

With the demo done, Falcon began planning their debut album recording. It was clear that Falcon needed an engineer/co-producer who is capable of obtaining the killer vintage tones the band was shooting for. So, the trio decided to go with Chris Kozlowski (Polar Bear Lair Studios), who mixed Pale Divine’s first album, Thunder Perfect Mind—in addition to recordings for The Obsessed, Spirit Caravan, Penance and Pentagram. The self-titled Falcon album was recorded in November ’03. Falcon banged this one out the way folks used to in 1971—in a mere 5 days, followed by another 3 of mixing in late February ’04.

Perry tackled vocals on all the tunes for the album, although the guys weren’t totally satisfied with how "On the Slab" turned out, so the possibility of having BOBBY LIEBLING from PENTAGRAM sing that tune was brought up by engineer Chris Kozlowski. Bobby gladly accepted to belt out "On the Slab," a tribute to rock idol Phil Lynott of Thin Lizzy. The album was released to rave reviews in August 2004, and in '05 the band was invited to play the Doom Shall Rise festival in Germany.

FALCON played many Southern California gigs following the release of the self-titled FALCON CD, sharing the stage with the likes of Fireball Ministry, Earth Ride, Slough Feg, Butcher, Shakey Mallard and others. Andrew Sample relocated to Kansas in early 2006, and FALCON played their first show with Darin McCloskey on the drum throne in April '06. Plans were cemented at that time to enter the studio in the fall to record the follow-up to the eponymous FALCON disc, DIE WONTCHA.

Written by Perry Grayson

Related acts

A list of related bands, artists and collaborators. If you feel you should be on this list, don't be shy, but send a mail! Also contact if you have any additional information or corrections. Click here to see the Cirith Ungol Familytree.

Cirith Ungol Bio This biography was written by Perry Grayson, 31 Jan 2006.

A brief Cirith Ungol bio sketch by Perry Grayson

1969-1972

Note: This is a condensed version of my in-the-works full-length bio of Cirith Ungol, which will eventually be published through Tsathoggua Press. -PG

Cirith Ungol was founded in sunny Ventura, California, by three junior high school and high school pals. Drummer (graphic artist and sometimes lyricist) Robert W. Garven Jr., guitarist extraoridinaire (and often space-case) Jerry Fogle (R.I.P.) and bassist/guitarist/keyboardist/songwriter Greg Lindstrom in 1972. The three had begun playing together when they were in their early teens in a "band" called Titanic with another school acquaintance, Pal Galligan. With a desire to play heavier rock than Beatles covers, Garven, Fogle and Lindstrom bailed to form Cirith Ungol. Far from being scorned by their folks, Cirith Ungol actually found the support of the Garven family-their rehearsal room was set up inpage the Garven family’s house. Early on the band took to covering psychedelic heavy rockers by the likes of Cream, Mountain, Budgie ("Crash Course in Brain Surgery" over a decade before Metallica did it), Thin Lizzy ("Return of the Famer’s Son" and "Vagabonds of the Western World"), Hard Stuff and Ursa Major (about half of "Sinner") and Freedom ("Dusty Track").

The name Cirith Ungol was arrived at for the same reason Rob Garven and Greg Lindstrom had initally become friends. Both Rob and Greg were fans of British fantasist J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings trilogy, which they were reading in literature class when they first met in 1969. In Tolkien’s manufactured language of Middle Earth, Cirith Ungol translates out as "pass of the spider". Cirith Ungol is the bleak place where Frodo and Samwise fight the giant spider Shelob in Tolkien’s second installment in the trilogy, The Two Towers. The spider Shelob was the inspiration for the tune "Shelob’s Lair", which was written by Lindstrom around 1975. You can also see the spider motif repeated in the longsleeve shirt axeman Jerry Fogle used to wear at practices and gigs. Much like Rush, Sam Gopal’s Dream, Zeppelin and even Mountain (okay, so those were Gail Collins’ lyrics) before them, Cirith Ungol took the hippie’s favorite fantasy saga and exploited it in the rock world. Something to write about apage from fast cars and faster women. Not that our intrepid teenage proto-metallers were above penning tunes about those tried-and-true topics. The first Ungol song was, according to Mr. Lindstrom, entitled "Rock ’n’ Roll Hooker", after which they moved onto even slightly dodgier subjects. One can only smirk at Garven’s lyrics for "Tight Teen" (circa 1976). Sure, they may owe something to Richie Blackmore and Ian Gillan, but it they wouldn’t exactly be up Tipper Gore’s alley.

She’s a tight teen, miniature queen / Not much more than a kid / She’s a tight teen, minuature queen / Seems I always rob the crib".

1975-1977

Fast forward to 1976, and Cirith Ungol had found their first vocalist, who billed himself as Terry Dactyl (aka Neil Beattie). Neil’s biggest influence was Iggy Pop, and he often spent a lot of time rolling around the boards at gigs with very little clothing on. Pretty fitting for a band with tunes like "Neck-romancer" and "Flesh Dart," wouldn’t ya say? Needless to say, the authorities at the Ventura State Beach were quick to tell ol’ Terry Dactyl to "keep his shirt on". The truth be told, Iggy & the Stooges were a huge influence on Cirith Ungol as a whole. When interviewed for his Falcon website profile page, Greg Lindstrom relates that "Iggy is my Elvis". Greg also remembers, "Robbie used to walk down the street singing ’Penetration’ off Raw Power." Cirith Ungol Mark II (Beattie, Fogle, Lindstrom & Garven) would play numerous gigs around Ventura and Ojai at venues as diverse as the Foster Park Bowl, Louie’s Life, the Ventura National Guard Armory, the Catacombs, Huntington’s, the Ventura State Beach Pier, Ojai Art Center and the Dock.

Cirith Ungol’s earliest primitive recordings are the evidence that they were among the heaviest bands of the period. After all, in 1975 many of the heavies were lightening up. But the young Ungol stalwarts were fueled more by the loud early 1970s than the fluff corporate record execs were trying to force young bands to sound like. A rehearsal recording from ’75 blew the ears off your humble biographer at first listen (around 2002). Early renditions of "One Foot in Hell" and "Cirith Ungol" are doused with blasts of Greg fuzz bass, Jerry Fogle’s eerie guitar embellishments and wild solos and Rob Garven’s blood drenched drumming. "Shelob’s Lair" and "Half Past Human," also found on these rehearsal room reels, are equal in both heaviness and epic length to anything on Frost and Fire or King of the Dead. Perhaps they weren’t Alice Cooper, but Beattie is said to have covered his hands and upper body with fake spiders while his Ungol mates played "Shelob’s Lair," an ode to the giant spider in Tolkien’s The Two Towers. A pagenote: Falcon would later re-record both "Shelob’s Lair" and "Half Past Human."

But Neil soon tired of Cirith Ungol, leaving Lindstrom, Garven & Fogle to continue as an instrumental power trio once again. This wasn’t too daunting to the three, as they still found themselves playing singerless gigs at venues like the Starwood, the Roxy and the Whisky in Hollyweird, as well as the Ventura Fairgrounds. By this time, Cirith Ungol had also recruited a bunch of their fellow rockers and school pals to be their crew. Brothers Dan and Tim Baker were roadies and Kevin "Dr. K" Sage (no doubt in charge of pharmaceuticals?!) was the stage manager.

With no suitable singer in sight or earshot, friend and roadie Tim Baker tried out for the vocal spot. Although not a trained singer, Baker boasted a unique screaching style all his own. His first stab at recording vocals for a Cirith Ungol song was a "duet" with Neal Beattie on "We Know You’re Out There", a track about alien invasion.

Armed with their own Dokorder reel-to-reel 4 track recorder, Cirith Ungol whapped out a tape chock full of their blistering tunes. The cassette demo "album" had an orange cover, and it was distributed at gigs. Some of the tunes on the orange cassette included "Show You All" sung by Rob, "Route 666" sung by Greg, "We Know You’re Out There" sung by exiting Neal Beattie and entering Tim Baker and "High Speed Love" sung by Tim Baker.

TO BE CONTINUED! Stay tuned...

Guestbook

Press

Please help me to google!

I have a bunch of more interviews. I will put any of them up if you can find any of the zines' homepage (url), cover (frontpage) of the particular issue and/or logo for the zine. Some of the zines are unfortunately long time dead. This is a list of interviews I have, waiting to be uploaded:

• INTERVIEW WITH “BLOOD OF THE ANCIENTS MAGAZINE” GERMANY, NOVEMBER 2002 with Christian Wachter
• CIRITH UNGOL INTERVIEW DARK TALES / GERMANY   4/02 with Michael Wohde
• ETERNAL FLAME’S QUESTIONS TO CIRITH UNGOL 11/99
• CIRITH UNGOL INTERVIEW WITH EXPERIENCE THE POWER/ GREECE 9/01
• CIRITHUNGOL INTERVIEW WITH GUARDIAN OF FATE METAL ZINE ITALY 03-08-02 with Francesco from Turin
• HOMO METALICUS 09/01 with IOANNIS KLADITIS
• CIRITH UNGOL/ Interview for Jose Luis Cano, Mexico 03-05-02
• CIRITH UNGOL INTERVIEW METAL HAMMER / ITALY 11/99 (frontage needed)
• Metal Heart Interview with Cirith Ungol 12-00 with Sven Sostak
• Saul Essame Interview with Cirith Ungol / France 1-02
• SCREAM MAGAZINE / GERMANY 11/99
• Cirith Ungol Interview, That’s Metal 1/99, German Heavy Metal Magazine with Thomas
• CIRITH UNGOL INTERVIEW TOMBSTONE INTERVIEW 9/01

 

Also if you have any other interviews or articles, contact!

Stuff

About

The Webpit credits

The Cirith Ungol Webpit is a fanpage created by a norwegian fanboy and IT student. It was officially launched March 2010. Thanks to:

• everyone who has supported this site, contributed and supplied with additional info and/or pics and taken the effort of replying to my mails: Perry Grayson (Falcon), Sven the Axe (Solemnity), Graham Ganson (artist), Gunnar Hansen (Faustcoven), Barbarian Wrath, Conan (Game Two Records), Manolis "Barraza" Karazeris and Marco Concoreggi (Dexter Ward), Francisco Dias (Blood And Iron Records), Page Townsley (Mausoleum, Vore), Isamu Sato (H.C. Minds), John Brenner (Revelation), Andrea "Kiraya" Magini (Rosae Crucis), Robert Garven (Cirith Ungol), Jimmy Barraza (Cirith Ungol), Bart Gabriel (Hard Rocker Management), Michael Johnson (Cirith Ungol), Dennis Schediwy and Gerrit Philipp Mutz (Dawn of Winter), Callae Goltz, Salvatore Fallucca (Classix Metal) (, 
• all visitors and Cirith Ungol fans
• any photographer and journalist who has published interviews, articles, pictures, etc
• the musicians and everyone who helped in some way or other

Your help is wanted!

I'm constantly looking for people who can contribute or collaborate in some way or other. You can contribute once, or regulary, it's up to you. Here are some ideas to contribute with:

• Use the website! The easiest way to contribute is to sign up for the email legion and use the comment fields actively to engage more fans.
• Become a co-editor. Basic knowledge in HTML doesn't hurt, but is not required. Decent skills in English and a huge dedication to Cirith Ungol is mandatory.
• Feed me with news. Tell me about any news so I can post them on the frontpage. If it's just a small update, it will be posted in an appropriate section.
• Correct or supply with any additional information to any part of this website. Also feel free to correct spelling error/bad language.
  
• Become a photo album moderator. Add pictures, sort the photos in the gallery, add captions, approve/delete user comments, etc.
• Conduct interviews with any of the bandmembers or other prominent/related people, like roadies, producers, collaborators, friends, etc.
• Find logos/frontpages for the rest of the interviews. See the Press page.
• More info and analysis on each song.
• More info on the covers. I'm not into fantasy literature myself.
• Create a section for literature CU has got inspiration from. You can create the section in Word if you like, and I'll copy it into the website.
  
• A section for bands CU has got inspiration from.
• A section for bands who has got inspiration from CU.
• A section (or page) for instruments with pics and info about the instruments CU used.
• A section (or page) for their live shows.
• A section (or page) for tourdates for related bands. At least Greg Lindstrom, Jim Barraza, Vern Green and Michael Johnson are musically active today.
  
• A section (or page) for studios and/or the record labels.
  
• A page for timeline/history of Cirith Falcon. You may get inspiration from Black Sabbath timeline. It isn't done on an afternoon, but you don't have to do the whole page at once.
• Watch out for new merch, new bootlegs, new cover songs, compilation album or movies containing tunes from Cirith Ungol/Falcon, new tribute videos, upcoming live shows with any former member or session musician, CU in the press, and any other stuff you may come over.
• Improve website design.
  

 

If you have any other ideas, don't hesitate to contact! All contributers will be credited. Sorry, but I don't pay your money for it! Contact for further info.

 

 

Contact info:

Cirith Ungol Online,

info [at] cirithungol [dot] .org

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