Cirith Ungol

Biography

Cirith Ungol is an American heavy metal band formed in late 1971 in Ventura, California. An early doom and power metal group, Cirith Ungol is known for lyrics based on fantasy (particularly sword and sorcery). The band is named after the mountain pass Cirith Ungol in J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings.
Throughout the 1970s, the band played heavy metal rooted in hard and psychedelic rock. Its first studio album, Frost and Fire×Frost and Fire1 April 1980 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 7 tracks1Frost and Fire3:352I'm Alive4:583A Little Fire3:464What Does It Take3:375Edge of a Knife4:296Better Off Dead4:467Maybe That's Why6:15 (1981), featured a heavier sound, regarded as an early example of American power metal. Its second studio album, King of the Dead×King of the Dead2 July 1984 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 8 tracksA1Atom Smasher4:13A2Black Machine4:16A3Master of the Pit7:09A4King of the Dead6:48B1Death of the Sun3:54B2Finger of Scorn8:34B3Toccata in D minor4:37B4Cirith Ungol6:23 (1984), solidified its power metal style while gravitating toward a "darker" sound. Many consider the album among the first doom metal releases.

Early years

Greg Lindstrom, Robert Garven, Jerry Fogle, and Pat Galligan (later a guitarist in Angry Samoans) played in junior high school band Titanic. Wanting to play music similar to Mountain and Grand Funk Railroad, the rest of the band parted with Galligan and founded Cirith Ungol in late 1971.
After forming in late 1971, the band played their first show on January 1, 1972, at an anti-Vietnam War rally.
In 1980, they signed to Liquid Flames Records, and released their first album, Frost and Fire×Frost and Fire1 April 1980 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 7 tracks1Frost and Fire3:352I'm Alive4:583A Little Fire3:464What Does It Take3:375Edge of a Knife4:296Better Off Dead4:467Maybe That's Why6:15, in 1981, with singer Tim Baker and songs written by bassist and guitarist Greg Lindstrom. Some music journalists described it as "The Worst Heavy Metal Album of All Time".
Their second album, King of the Dead×King of the Dead2 July 1984 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 8 tracksA1Atom Smasher4:13A2Black Machine4:16A3Master of the Pit7:09A4King of the Dead6:48B1Death of the Sun3:54B2Finger of Scorn8:34B3Toccata in D minor4:37B4Cirith Ungol6:23, was released in on July 2, 1984, and contained lyrics primarily written by vocalist Tim Baker and drummer Robert Garven. The album was followed by One Foot in Hell×One Foot in Hell12 August 1986 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 8 tracksA1Blood & Iron3:51A2Chaos Descends4:55A3The Fire3:37A4Nadsokor4:44B1100 MPH3:26B2War Eternal5:12B3Doomed Planet4:38B4One Foot in Hell5:10 on August 12, 1986, and Paradise Lost×Paradise Lost23 August 1991 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 9 tracks1Join the Legion4:322The Troll3:503Fire3:014Heaven Help Us6:245Before the Lash4:406Go It Alone4:257Chaos Rising8:438Fallen Idols6:459Paradise Lost6:12 on August 23, 1991.

Disbandment and inactivity

They played their last live show for 25 years on December 13, 1991, and disbanded in 1992, frustrated with their record label.
In 2001, Metal Blade Records released Servants of Chaos in Germany, a compilation album of unreleased demos and live songs. With old tapes and assistance from Lindstrom and Garven, it was an attempt to give fans archival and previously unheard material before the tapes deteriorated beyond retrieval. This double-CD was later re-released worldwide, with a 1984 live DVD recorded at Wolf & Rissmiller's Country Club in California.
Lindstrom joined Falcon, who perform some Cirith Ungol songs. Founding guitarist Jerry Fogle died from liver failure on August 20, 1998.

Reunion

In 2015, the band announced they would reform with Tim Baker, Robert Garven, Jim Barraza, and Greg Lindstrom. Their first performance would be on October 8, 2016, at the second annual Frost and Fire Festival in Ventura, California. Throughout 2017, the band headlined and co-headlined several European and US festivals, including Keep It True (Germany), Up the Hammers (Greece), Defenders of the Old (US), Chaos Descends (Germany), Psycho Las Vegas (US), Days of Darkness (US), and Hammer of Doom (Germany). In April 2018, Cirith Ungol performed at the Hell's Heroes Festival in Houston, Texas, and at the NYDM Spring Bash in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
In August 2018, Cirith Ungol released the single "Witch's Game". The full-length album Forever Black×Forever Black20 April 2020 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 9 tracks1The Call1:042Legions Arise3:193The Frost Monstreme5:164The Fire Divine3:515Stormbringer5:596Fractus Promissum4:087Nightmare6:008Before Tomorrow3:589Forever Black5:35 followed in 2020. Another full-length album, Dark Parade×Dark Parade20 October 2023 · Studio albumSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 8 tracks1Velocity (S.E.P.)4:442Relentless4:283Sailor on the Seas of Fate8:104Sacrifice4:585Looking Glass4:256Dark Parade5:517Distant Shadows6:088Down Below5:21, was released on October 20, 2023, and the live album Live at the Roxy×Live at the Roxy25 April 2025 · Album · LiveSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 20 tracks · 2 discsDisc 11Velocity (S.E.P.)5:172Relentless4:253Sailor on the Seas of Fate7:324Sacrifice4:535Looking Glass4:336Dark Parade6:147Distant Shadows5:548Down Below5:28Disc 21Atom Smasher4:262I'm Alive5:173Frost and Fire3:484Black Machine4:195Blood and Iron4:036Chaos Descends4:487The Frost Monstreme5:248Fire (The Crazy World of Arthur Brown cover)2:539Death of the Sun3:5710Master of the Pit7:2611King of the Dead8:2012Join the Legion7:05 on April 25, 2025.
In October 2023, the band announced that they would retire from performing live at the end of 2024. Nonetheless, the band toured South America in 2025, and at the urging of Robert Garven, the band will continue to perform at exclusive live shows. They will release their seventh studio album, All the Shadows×All the Shadows30 October 2026 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 8 tracks1All the Shadows3:452This Mortal Stain3Turning Blind4Shadow Reflection5Empty Tomb6On Broken Wings7Hollow Nimbus8Venus In Thirds, on October 30, 2026.

Name

The band took their name from the mountain pass Cirith Ungol in J. R. R. Tolkien's fantasy novel The Lord of the Rings. The name is Elvish and means "Pass of the Spider". While the place in Tolkien's book is pronounced "kirith ungol", the band pronounced it "sirith ungol". The band said:

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 remember some other possible band names we were considering: 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!

Album cover art

Each studio album's cover art is taken from the cover of a DAW Books edition of a book in Michael Moorcock's Elric of Melniboné saga; the art is by Michael Whelan.

Current

Tim Baker – lead vocals (1976–1992, 2015–present)
Armand Anthony – guitars (2023–present)
Greg Lindstrom – bass (1971–1980), guitars (1981–1982, 2015–present)
Jarvis Leatherby – bass (2016–present)
Robert Garven – drums (1971–1992, 2015–present)

Former

Jerry Fogle – guitars (1971–1987; died 1998)
Neal Beattie – lead vocals (1971–1976)
Michael "Flint" Vujea – bass (1981–1987)
Jim Barraza – guitars (1988–1992, 2015–2023)
Vernon Green – bass (1988–1992)

Compilation

Frost and Fire / King of the Dead (One Way; 1995, Canada)
Servants of Chaos (Metal Blade Records; 2001)

Box set

The Legacy (Metal Blade Records, 2017)

Singles

"Witch's Game" (Metal Blade Records; 2018) in the film Planet of Doom
Brutish Manchild (Metal Blade 2021)

Other appearances

Metal Massacre (compilation appearance, 1982)
The Metal Machine (compilation appearance, 1984)
Best of Metal Blade, Vol. 2 (compilation appearance, 1988)
Double Whammy (compilation appearance, 1999)
Metal Blade 20th Anniversary (compilation appearance, 2002)

Bootlegs

Cirith Ungol (bootleg EP, 1979)
Live (bootleg single, 1996)