Cirith UngolAll The Shadows

Cirith Ungol was never one of those bands that goes "heavy metal's in fashion again, let's knock out another album." These guys have been playing the same heavy, the same warped, the same gloomy epic heavy metal for years, and they couldn't care less about pleasing anybody. Dark Parade came out in 2023. In 2024 there were also reports of farewell shows being announced (I couldn't confirm that first-hand, so it's the word of the site that ran the story). Now the seventh full-length is on its way: 30 October, on Greek label No Remorse Records.

Let me say this up front: the album isn't out yet. As I write this, every edition is still on pre-order. Nobody has heard the album, and there are no reviews and no listener scores. Word is the title track went out as the first single, with a lyric video, and that's it. So this piece weighs what's on paper, not the music.

On paper it ain't bad. The line-up is Tim Baker, Armand John Anthony, Jarvis Leatherby and Robert Garven, and all four sing backing vocals. It was recorded in Ventura, at The Captains Quarters. Anthony did the engineering, mixing and mastering himself, and production is shared with the band. No outside producer came in to polish the sound, which is good news for this band. The cover is Michael Whelan again (anyone who knows Ungol's covers knows there's no point knocking on anyone else's door). Eight tracks, split over two sides on vinyl: "This Mortal Stain", "Empty Tomb", "On Broken Wings", "Venus In Thirds"... Even the titles smell of the graveyard. (One site lists the fourth track as "Shadow Reflection", but the label says "Shallow Reflection". We're going with the label.) Track lengths haven't been announced yet.

Liquid-filled vinyl (whatever that means?) is for collectors, not for the music.

Now the editions, which is where the real trouble starts. The plain CD is 15 euros and the black 180-gram vinyl is 25. Fine so far. Then it all goes off the rails. Colour vinyl is 28 and the picture disc 30 euros. The liquid-filled green-and-black vinyl is 115 euros, and the "skeleton" red-and-black liquid vinyl 130. And there's a box set with gold vinyl, cassette, signed photo and slipmat for 150 euros. Liquid-filled vinyl (whatever that means?) is for collectors, not for the music. The cassette isn't sold on its own; you only get it inside the 150-euro box. A digital or streaming release isn't confirmed yet either. If you want to hear the album cheap and right away, the CD is your only way in.

No score. Grading an album we haven't heard a single note of would be brown-nosing or a hatchet job, take your pick. This page weighed what's on paper, not the music: the line-up is right, the sound is in the band's own hands, the cover went to the right man, and the edition list goes for collectors' wallets. Once the album is out, the verdict comes from the music.

Buy the CD. And think twice before you blow 130 euros on skeleton liquid...