Records (63 numbers or more)
- The Orange Album (Aug 1978) cassette, demo
- Frost and Fire (Sat 31 Jan 1981) album
- Metal Massacre 1 (Mon 14 Jun 1982) various
- The Metal Machine (1984) various
- King of the Dead (Mon 02 Jul 1984) album
- Cirith Uncool / Sara’s Uncool (Dec 1985) cassette, rehearsal
- LA Steel (1986) various
- Heavy Metal Thunder (1986) various
- One Foot In Hell (Tue 12 Aug 1986) album
- The Best of Metal Blade – Volume 2 (1987) various
- A Restless World (1991) promo, various
- Paradise Lost (Fri 23 Aug 1991) album
- Restless September Releases (Sep 1991) cassette, promo, various
- Live Kings (1992) bootleg, vinyl
- Frost and Fire / King of the Dead (Tue 31 Jan 1995) compilation
- Live (1996) 7inch, bootleg, live
- KnuckleTracks XVII (1999) various
- Servants of Chaos (Sat 05 May 2001) compilation, DVD, live
- Demo 1979 (2002) bootleg, demo
- Metal Blade Records – 20th Anniversary (Tue 22 Oct 2002) various
- The First Decade (Nov 2005) various
- King of the Stage LIVE (2008) bootleg, live
- Fenriz Presents The Best Of Classic ’80s Metal And Punk! (2008) promo, various
- Better Off Dead! (Fri 13 Mar 2009) bootleg, CD, compilation
- Return of the Dead Kings (2009) bootleg, CD, live
- Lauschangriff Vol. 003 (Sun 02 May 2010) various
- Battle With Shelob (2010) 12inch, bootleg, live
- Obsidian Warriors (2010) bootleg, CD, live
- Live October 14th 1983 (2011) 10inch, bootleg, live
- 1983 LIVE Arlington Theatre in California (2011) 12inch, bootleg, live
- Blood and Honor Metal Compilation Volume 4 (2012) bootleg, online
- Metal Blade Records – 30th Anniversary (Sat 21 Apr 2012) various
- All Pigs Must Die – Sonic Cathedrals Vol. CXVI (Thu 12 Sep 2013) various
- Frazetta Picture Disc (Fri 22 Apr 2016) various, vinyl
- Of Swords And Magic Mix (2016) bootleg, cassette, various
- First reunion show 2016-10-08 Ventura Theater, CA (Mon 10 Oct 2016) bootleg, online
- The Legacy (Fri 26 May 2017) cassette, compilation
- Elric Has Left The Building (Sun 20 Aug 2017) bootleg, online
- For the Sake of Heaviness (Tue 29 Aug 2017) cassette, various
- Keep It True XX Festival DVD (Fri 27 Apr 2018) DVD
- Live at the Rock Hard Festival 19-05-2018 – Gelsenkirchen – Germany (Sat 19 May 2018) bootleg, DVD, online
- Metal Lives! (2018) various
- Witch’s Game (Fri 05 Oct 2018) 12inch
- Rock n’ Roll Damnation – Apocalypse Dudes (Fri 25 Jan 2019) bootleg, various
- Live at Roxy Club. L.A. CA 1983 (Sun 27 Jan 2019) bootleg, cassette
- Total Metal (2019) various
- Blood & Iron Oxide – Metal Punk – Tape Exchange Vol. 4 (Tue 17 Sep 2019) bootleg, cassette, compilation
- Metalpunk Tape Exchange Vol.IV – Elric: The Return to Melniboné (2019) bootleg, cassette, various
- I’m Alive (Mon 25 Nov 2019) bonus, box, CD, DVD, live, vinyl
- Легенды Зарубежного Рока Vol.3 (Best Hits) (N/A) bootleg, CD
- Rock Hard – Lauschangriff Vol. 080 (Fri 17 Apr 2020) various
- Forever Black (Fri 24 Apr 2020) album, box
- Rock Tribune 191 [magazine+CD] (Tue 28 Apr 2020) various
- Brutish Manchild (Sat 02 May 2020) 7inch
- Metal for the Masses (Fri 10 Jul 2020) various
- Rock Hard Festival Archives II – Best Of 2009-2019 (Fri 11 Sep 2020) various
- Record Store Day Presents Decibel Completely Extreme Volume One (Fri 30 Oct 2020) various, vinyl
- Half Past Human (Fri 28 May 2021) 12inch, box, cassette, EP
- Легенды Poka 50/50 Часть #3 (Best Hits) (2021) bootleg, CD, compilation, various
- WOA 2022 50th Anniversary Show (Aug 2022) bluray, bootleg
- The Dark Parade (Sat 07 Oct 2023) album
- The Planet of Doom – An Animated Tale of Metal and Art (N/A) unreleased, various
- Cirith Ungol Box set (N/A) box, compilation, unreleased
Unreleased songs (36 numbers or more)
- Ain’t Gonna Take No More (cover of HIGHWAY ROBBERY)
- Bad Scene / Tight Teen
- Breadfan (cover of BUDGIE)
- Cities on Flame With Rock and Roll (cover of BLUE ÖYSTER CULT)
- Crack of Dawn
- Crash Course in Brain Surgery (cover of BUDGIE)
- Dusty Track (cover of FREEDOM)
- Evil (cover of CACTUS)
- Flesh Dart
- Gambler Gambler (cover of ELF)
- Go, I’m Never Let You (cover of SKID ROW)
- Gonna Creep Up On You (cover of THIN LIZZY)
- Hand of Doom (cover of BLACK SABBATH)
- Inside Looking Out (cover of GRAND FUNK RAILROAD)
- Jury (cover of TRAPEZE)
- Keepin’ Time (cover of TRAPEZE)
- Louisiana Blues (cover of SAVOY BROWN)
- Make It (cover of AEROSMITH)
- Mississippi Queen (cover of MOUNTAIN)
- N.S.U. (cover of CREAM)
- Radiation Blues
- Refried Boogie (cover of CANNED HEAT)
- Return Of The Farmer’s Son (cover of THIN LIZZY)
- Rock ‘n’ Roll (cover of DETROIT)
- Rock ’n’ Roll Hooker
- Roll A Rocket (cover of HARD STUFF)
- Rollin On
- Search and Destroy (cover of IGGY & THE STOOGES)
- Sinner (cover of URSA MAJOR)
- Smoking the Day Away (cover of MAY BLITZ)
- Spoonful (cover of CREAM)
- The Hunter (cover of BLUE CHEER)
- Vagabonds Of The Western World (cover of THIN LIZZY)
- Whiskey River (cover of BUDGIE)
- Who Do You Love (cover of QUICKSILVER MESSENGER SERVICE)
- Worse Things Waiting
Covers of (60 numbers or more)
- 100 MPH - IRONSWORD N/A
- 100 Mph - FINGER OF SCORN Thu 01 Mar 2012
- 100 MPH - NIGHT DEMON Mon 04 May 2020
- Atom Smasher - ATOMKRAFT N/A
- Atom Smasher - MAUSOLEUM 1991
- Atom Smasher - FAUSTCOVEN 2003
- Atom Smasher - FINGER OF SCORN Thu 01 Mar 2012
- Atom Smasher - EXTINçãO Sat 14 Apr 2018
- Bad Scene - FALCON N/A
- Better Off Dead - REVELATION 1988
- Black Machine - PURIFICATION N/A
- Black Machine - ASSEDIUM 2005
- Black Machine - HC MINDS Jun 2009
- Black Machine - FINGER OF SCORN Thu 12 Jan 2012
- Black Machine - HEXENHAMMER Sat 07 May 2016
- Blood and Iron - FINGER OF SCORN Thu 12 Jan 2012
- Blood And Iron - AXECUTER 2014
- Chaos Descends - DOOMSWORD Thu 09 Sep 1999
- Chaos Descends - FAUSTCOVEN Thu 09 Aug 2018
- Chaos Descends - MARKGRAF Tue 23 Apr 2019
- Chaos Rising - CRYSTAL VIPER & ELIXIR 2005
- Chaos Rising - FINGER OF SCORN Thu 01 Mar 2012
- Cirith Ungol Tribute - AXEVYPER Mon 15 Nov 2010
- Death Of The Sun - ROSAE CRUCIS 2003
- Doomed Planet - DAWN OF WINTER 2005
- Doomed Planet - DEMONTAGE Sat 30 Jul 2011
- Doomed Planet - SPIRITBELL Wed 20 Feb 2013
- Edge Of A Knife - REVELATION 1988
- Edge Of A Knife - FALCON Mar 2006
- Edge of a Knife - FINGER OF SCORN Thu 01 Mar 2012
- Edge Of A Knife - MUTANT DISEASE Fri 19 Oct 2012
- Fallen Idols - MONSTRUM 2005
- Fallen Idols - FALLEN IDOL Thu 15 Aug 2019
- Finger of Scorn - FINGER OF SCORN Thu 01 Mar 2012
- Frost and Fire - STATIC LAUGHTER 2001
- Frost and Fire - HOLY MARTYR 2003
- Frost and Fire - FINGER OF SCORN Thu 01 Mar 2012
- Frost and Fire - MASTERS OF DISGUISE Fri 27 May 2016
- Frost and Fire - ARKHAM WITCH Mon 25 Jul 2016
- Half Past Human - FALCON Fri 21 Nov 2003
- Heaven Help Us - EMERALD 2005
- High Speed Love - FALCON Mon 24 May 2004
- I’m Alive - REVELATION 1988
- I’m Alive - SPIRITBELL 2012
- I’m Alive - FINGER OF SCORN Thu 12 Jan 2012
- I’m Alive - CONVIXION 2013
- I’m Alive - FALLEN IDOL Thu 15 Aug 2019
- Join the Legion - BATTLE RAM 2003
- Join the Legion - FINGER OF SCORN Thu 01 Mar 2012
- King of the Dead - HC MINDS Jun 2009
- King of the Dead - FALLEN IDOL Thu 15 Aug 2019
- Machacador atómico - ATONEMENT Tue 10 May 2016
- Nadsokor - DOOMSWORD Thu 09 Sep 1999
- Overture - ROTTEN 2005
- Route 666 - FALCON Mon 24 May 2004
- Shelob’s Lair - FALCON Fri 21 Nov 2003
- Show You All - FALCON N/A
- The Fire - OCTOBER 31 Mon 24 May 2004
- War Eternal - HYBORIAN STEEL Tue 15 May 2012
- What Does It Take - SOLEMNITY 2005
Misc staff (41 numbers or more)
- Brad Vance
- Arthur Rizk
- Armand John Anthony
- Bill Metoyer
- Brian Slagel
- Dan Baker
- Greg Hazard
- Jerry Evans
- John Doane
- Kevin “Dr. K” Sage
- King Fowley
- Mike Mowry
- Patrick Lysaght
- Randall L. Jackson
- Robert Feist
- Tim Nelson
- Wallace “Wally” F. Rollins
- Chris Bellman
- Michael Whelan
- Matt Baker
- Tim Baker
- Rick “Kirk” Love
- Cliff Montgomery
- Erika Wallberg
- Jowita Kaminska-Peruzzi
- Leon “Eljotpe” Pfaff
- Luca Bernasconi
- Michael “Paranoid” Hoenninger
- Peter Beste
- Sebastian Wilke
- Brian Ames
- Armin Steiner
- Brian Cräbaugh
- Oliver “Klosterbomber” Barth
- Florian Hille
- Ron Goudie
- Markus “Bart” Grasseck
- Stephanie Shoulders
- Jeff Cowan
- Bart Gabriel
- Brent Woodward
Gigs (93 numbers or more)
- Dance With 4 Bands, Friday – Louie’s Life (N/A)
- Dance With 4 Bands, Saturday – Louie’s Life (N/A)
- live 1971 Tue 04 May 1971
- Peace rally gig @ Ventura 1972
- Mini Pop Festival @ Larrabee Stadium Mon 21 Feb 1972
- At The Catacombs Fri 28 Apr 1972
- At Louie’s Life, Friday 1973 Fri 23 Feb 1973
- At Louie’s Life, Saturday 1973 Sat 24 Feb 1973
- Benefit Concert @ The Foster Park Bowl, Ventura Sun 20 May 1973
- Heaviest Metal Known To Man @ Ventura Fairgrounds Sat 22 May 1976
- Heaviest Metal Known To Man – Dance Concert @ Ojai Art Center Fri 30 Jul 1976
- Battle of the Bands @ National Guard Armoury Mon 09 Aug 1976
- Halloween Party • Dance @ National Guard Armory Sat 30 Oct 1976
- Heavy Metal @ Starwood, Hollywood 1977
- Battle of the Bands @ Ventura Fairgrounds Sun 14 Aug 1977
- Heaviest Metal @ National Guard Armory Sat 25 Mar 1978
- Rob’s 23 Birthday @ Camp Comfort Fri 22 Jun 1979
- Heavy Metal @ Whisky A Go Go Mon 23 Jul 1979
- Battle of the Bands @ National Guard Armory Mon 03 Sep 1979
- Heir Apparent to the Heavy Metal Throne! @ Huntington’s Thu 22 May 1980
- Battle of the Bands @ 2 Great Rock Bands Every Monday Mon 14 Jul 1980
- Heavy Metal @ Valley West Concert Club Sat 08 Nov 1980
- Concert Club @ Valley West Sat 17 Jan 1981
- Heavy Metal Concert Club @ Valley West Fri 13 Feb 1981
- Masters Of Metal @ Xenon West Sat 21 Feb 1981
- Spring Fever, Rock And Roll in the Park Sun 22 Mar 1981
- Foster Bowl Rock Festival Sat 25 Apr 1981
- Heavy Metal @ Whisky a Go Go Thu 07 Jan 1982
- En Concierto En Mexico Alternando Sat 17 Apr 1982
- Battle Of The Bands @ Spring Fair ’82 Career Expo Fri 07 May 1982
- The Upper Deck Thu 22 Jul 1982
- The Heaviest Metal Known To Man @ Cirith Ungol Fri 30 Jul 1982
- Heavy Metal @ Wolf & Rissmiller’s Country Club, Reseda Fri 03 Sep 1982
- One Night Only Sat 18 Sep 1982
- Arlington Theatre, California 1983
- Metal Madness @ Wolf & Rissmiller’s Country Club, Reseda Sun 16 Jan 1983
- Heavy Metal @ Roxy Club, Los Angeles Wed 19 Jan 1983
- Masters Of Metal @ Club Soda, Reseda Thu 27 Jan 1983
- School’s Out Rock ‘n’ Roll Spectacular @ Perkins Palace Fri 17 Jun 1983
- Heavy Metal @ Beverly Theatre Thu 28 Jul 1983
- LIVE IN COUNTRY CLUB, RESEDA 03.10.1983 Mon 03 Oct 1983
- Wolf & Rissmiller’s Country Club, Reseda Fri 14 Oct 1983
- Masters Of Metal @ Club Soda, Ventura Sun 24 Jun 1984
- Kings Among Men! @ Ventura Fairgrounds Gem & Mineral Building Sat 27 Oct 1984
- Heavy Metal @ Wolf & Rissmiller’s Country Club, Reseda Fri 09 Nov 1984
- Heavy Metal @ Santa Monica Club Fri 30 Nov 1984
- Heavy Metal Masters @ John’s Music Fri 07 Dec 1984
- CU @ Country Club, Dec 1984 Wed 26 Dec 1984
- The Masters of Black Metal @ Arlington Theatre Thu 25 Apr 1985
- Chuck Landis’ Country Club, Reseda Thu 25 Sep 1986
- Masters Of Metal @ Gazzarri’s Sat 23 Jul 1988
- Friday Nite @ Ventura Theater Fri 19 Aug 1988
- Cirith Ungol @ Club Soda, 1990 Mon 23 Apr 1990
- Club Soda, Ventura, California Mon 01 Apr 1991
- Anaconda Theatre Fri 12 Jul 1991
- The last concert @ Ventura Theater Fri 13 Dec 1991
- Metal Maniacs Metalfest VI Sat 18 Jul 1992
- Meet & Greet @ Keep It True XIX Sat 30 Apr 2016
- First ever European show @ Keep It True XX, Germany 2017 Sat 29 Apr 2017
- Up the Hammers XII Sat 27 May 2017
- Chaos Descends Festival Fri 21 Jul 2017
- Psycho Las Vegas 2017 Sun 20 Aug 2017
- Days of Darkness Festival Sat 28 Oct 2017
- Hammer of Doom XII Sat 18 Nov 2017
- Hell’s Heroes Festival Sat 21 Apr 2018
- NYDM Milwaukee Spring Bash Sun 22 Apr 2018
- Frost and Fire London Fri 11 May 2018
- Rock Hard Festival 2018 Sat 19 May 2018
- Muskelrock på Tyrolen 2018 Thu 31 May 2018
- Frost and Fire Fest IV Thu 04 Oct 2018
- Legions Of Metal Festival Fri 17 May 2019
- Northwest Terror Fest 2019 Thu 30 May 2019
- Bang Your Head Festival 2019 Thu 11 Jul 2019
- Setembro Negro Festival Sun 08 Sep 2019
- Blow Up @ Finland Thu 10 Oct 2019
- Rock The Night Festival 2020 Thu 25 Jun 2020
- Maryland Doom Fest 2021 Thu 17 Jun 2021
- Mass Destruction Metal Fest IV @ 2021 Sun 07 Nov 2021
- Courts Of Chaos Festival 2022 Fri 06 May 2022
- Frost and Fireland Sat 18 Jun 2022
- Tour with Cirith Ungol @ RCA Club, Lisbon, 2022 Mon 04 Jul 2022
- Tour with Cirith Ungol @ Riviera Remont, Warsaw, 2022 Tue 05 Jul 2022
- Tour with Cirith Ungol @ Dürer Kert, Budapest, 2022 Wed 06 Jul 2022
- Tour with Cirith Ungol @ De Klinker Club, Aarschot, 2022 Fri 08 Jul 2022
- Tour with Cirith Ungol @ Kyttaro Club, Athens 2022 Sat 09 Jul 2022
- Tour with Cirith Ungol @ Phenomerock Fest, Fontaneto D’agogna, 2022 Sun 10 Jul 2022
- Wacken Open Air @ Germany 2022 Thu 04 Aug 2022
- NecronomiCon Providence The Columbus Theatre Fri 19 Aug 2022
- Psycho Las Vegas 2022 Sun 21 Aug 2022
- Candelabrum Metal Fest 2022 Fri 02 Sep 2022
- Keep It True XXIII Thu 20 Apr 2023
- Dominion Festival 2023 Fri 05 May 2023
- Manorfest @ Whittlebury Park, 2023 Sun 04 Jun 2023
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- 🔍 Cirith Ungol (Google search or WP search)
Cirith Ungol was formed in Ventura, California, in the early 1970s, long before the rigid tropes and ironclad traditions that define today’s heavy metal genre had taken shape. Also known as Medieval Obscure Underground Epic True Cult Kvlt Heavy Doom Metal Heroes. There was no rulebook, no template to follow, so Cirith Ungol simply made it up as they went along. According to drummer Robert Garven, even in those early days, the band’s burning ambition was to play “the heaviest metal known to man.” Cirith Ungol’s lyrical approach was profoundly influenced by the high fantasy literature of J.R.R. Tolkien (from whose Hobbit and Lord of the Rings opus they derived their name) and Michael Moorcock. It was probably the first time on both on music – the name Cirith Ungol on 1971 (writer Tolkien), fantasy antihero Elric on 1981 (cover art Whelan/writer Moorcock), the symbol of Chaos Star and Praying Skeleton. Between 1981 and 1991, Cirith Ungol released four acclaimed full-length albums, including the legendary King of the Dead (1984) and One Foot in Hell (1986). Despite amassing a passionate cult following on both sides of the Atlantic, commercial and financial success eluded Cirith Ungol, prompting Garven and vocalist Tim Baker to lay the band to rest in May 1992:
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
On 17th Oct 2015 they reformed for the Meet and Greet and signing session on the first Frost and Fire Festival.
On 8th Oct 2016, Cirith Ungol officially returned to the stage by headlining the Frost and Fire II Festival at the Majestic Ventura Theater, playing to a packed house of fans who had converged on the band’s hometown of Ventura, California to witness the kings of the dead rise from the grave. This night was vindication. In Garven’s words, “When the ancient stars aligned, Cirith Ungol crawled out of its ancient slumber, to wreak havoc on an unsuspecting world.” Two days later, fresh off their Frost and Fire triumph, the band were honored by the City of Ventura, which proclaimed October 10, 2016 to be Cirith Ungol Day.
As Robert Garven is fond of saying, Cirith Ungol remains “A Churning Maelstrom of Metal Chaos Descending!” Long may they reign!
This biography was written on 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…
The name
In the beginning, they had a few names picked out, all from the J. R. R. Tolkien’s epic fantasy novel Lord Of The Rings. Some of the others were:
- Barad Dur (barad-dûr)
- Khazad Dum (khazad-dûm)
- Minas Morgul
- Minas Tirith
- Uruk Hai
- Cirith Ungol
In the end, the band name was Cirith Ungol. They took their name from the place Cirith Ungol, and who was the tower that Sam rescued Frodo from. The name Cirith Ungol means Sindarin for Spider’s Cleft or Pass of the Spider, from cirith (“cleft, pass”) and ungol (“spider”). Read the Wikipedias Tengwar, Jens Hansen’s English to Elvish translator and tecendil. You can also check with only Cirith and only Ungol if you want to see more of these. While the place in Tolkien’s book is pronounced kirith ungol, the band pronounced it sirith ungol. The band said in a later interview they had some problems with the name:
Everyone in the band was a big “Sword and Sorcery” literature fan, especially Greg [Lindstrom, guitars] and I. He would always turn us on to the great writers who gave us inspiration for our music. We read all the books… Conan, Bran Mak Morn, etcetera, but the books that stood out in my mind are Michael Moorcock’s masterpieces: Elric, Hawkmoon, Corum among others. Greg Lindstrom and I met at an English Literature class where the teacher was reading Lord of the Rings… and Greg and I read it and it had an influence on our music and feelings. In retrospect I wish we had picked something easier to remember because a lot of our trouble has been over our name. People couldn’t pronounce it or remember it, but we figured once they did they wouldn’t forget it! We’ve humorously been called “Sarah’s Uncle” and “Serious Uncool,” for example! I know other bands are using the Tolkien angle. Led Zeppelin even made references to it in their earlier songs. I think he was an influence both then and now on many people.
Robert Garven
I remember some other possible band names we were conpagering: Minas Tirith, Khazad Dum, and Uruk Hai, all names from “The Lord Of The Rings”. Rob and I both liked J.R.R. Tolkien and Enzo Ferrari, so we knew our songs would cover both those subjects!
Greg Lindstrom
Legendary heavy metal (OK, proto-doom) act Cirith Ungol were obviously taken by Tolkien’s Lord of the Ringsand other high fantasy authors like Michael Moorcock, from which the band plucked cover art. The name they picked was either named after a mountain pass in Mordor or the tower that guards it. It certainly has a strange ring. Like most names metal bands have picked over the ages, Cirith Ungol is Sindarin in origin, where ‘cirith’ translates to ‘pass’ and ‘ungol’ is a direct reference to the spawn of Ungoliant. ‘Ungol’ translates to ‘spider’. The Californians eventually even had a song about Cirith Ungol on the awesome King of the Dead album. Either way, while it stands to reason most contemporary bands would have a name appropriated from Tolkien, remember the ’60s and ’70s were times when Tolkien’s works, particularly The Hobbit, were increasingly part of literary culture changes.
Decibel, 10 Apr 2017
Some are misspelling and others are humors:
- Ciruth Ungle
- Ciruth Ungol
- Cirth Ungle
- Cirith Uncool
- Serious Uncool
- Sara’s Uncool
- Sarah’s Uncle
- Cirith Umgoo
- Cirith Unool
- Cirith Ungol 5.0
The one correct is Cirith Ungol.
Official websites:
- Amazon
- Bandcamp CU – Metal Blade Records
- Bandcamp CU – Iron Grip Records
- Cirith Ungol Band (1) no activity
- Cirith Ungol Band (2) closed
- Deezer
- Facebook page
- Google Play
- Instagram – cirithungolband
- Indiemerch (Cirith Ungol) – closed
- Indiemerch (USA)
- iTunes by Apple Music (official)
- Kings Road (Europe)
- linktree
- MySpace (official, but dead) / MySpace (archive)
- Metal Blade
- Napster
- Picclick
- Soundcloud (suspected – supposed to be Metal Blade Records, but still it has no about, no links, no banner image, nothing)
- Spotify
- Tidal
- YouTube (suspected – supposed to be Metal Blade Records, but still it has no about, no links, no banner image, no verification, no @username, no comments, nothing, but unfortunately the advertising is working)
Some of the unofficial websites:
- All Music
- BandsInTown
- Corroseum (varies fanzines)
- Cream (ps, specific issue, do not search “cirith ungol”)
- Discogs
- Facebook Private group
- Facebook Public group (first group on FB, created 10 May 2011)
- Facebook Private group – Cirith Ungol Family
- Genius
- Google Books
- Google News
- Gripsweat (Gripsweat is a searchable archive of past rare vinyl record sales and auctions.)
- Instagram – cirithungoliant
- Instagram – Cirith Ungol Family
- Internet Archive (Archive)
- Issuu
- LA Times (Los Angeles Times)
- LA Weekly
- Last.fm
- Library of Congress
- Metal-Archives
- MeWe
- Metal Storm
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Michael Whelan | Michael Moorcock | Cirith Ungol band |
Stormbringer (1977) | Elric 6. Stormbringer (Nov 1977) | Frost and Fire (31 Jan 1981) album |
King of the Dead (1977) | Elric 5. The Bane of the Black Sword (Oct 1977) | King of the Dead (02 Jul 1984) album |
Urish’s Bane (1976) | Elric 4. The Vanishing Tower (Jun 1977) | One Foot In Hell (12 Aug 1986) album |
Sailor on the Sea of Fate (1976) | Elric 2. The Sailor on the Seas of Fate (Dec 1976) | Paradise Lost (23 Aug 1991) album |
White Wolf (1977) | Servants of Chaos (05 May 2001) rare compilation album | |
Witch’s Game (05 Oct 2018) maxi single | ||
Elric Of Melniboné (1976) | Elric 1. Elric of Melniboné (Oct 1976) | I'm Alive (25 Nov 2019) live album |
Elric in Exile (2012) | Forever Black (24 Apr 2020) album | |
White Wolf (1977) | Elric 3. The Weird of the White Wolf (Mar 1977) | Half Past Human (28 May 2021) newly recorded versions of 1970’s rarities |
Elric and The Sinking City (1984) | Elric 7. Elric at the End of Time (May 1985) | bootlegs |
Elric Demonslayer (1980) | Elric 4. The Vanishing Tower (31 May 1981) - special hardcover edition |
I feel something highly occult is talking to me through your music. Its so fucking cool. I couldnt resist so i joined the legion!!!! Cirith ungol is becoming my new favorite band. And you guys have the best fucking art ever. So getting the LPS tshirts and hoodies and what not so i can wear you guys with pride and honor! Thanks for the magic guys!