#cirithungol — Public Fediverse posts

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Cirith Ungol:
🎵 All the Shadows

#CirithUngol
#newRelease 🆕 single

https://cirithungolofficial.bandcamp.com/track/all-the-shadows

https://open.spotify.com/track/3miRVv7wDkqEhz0Md2tvk2

🎶 show playlist 👇
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/1uZ3GLf6lDtDqJSQrY0lMU

🎶 KEXP playlist 👇
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/6VNALrOa3gWbk794YuIrwg

I did a hard thing today. I ignored a DM (image).

"This is my 🪓 There are many like it but this one is mine. My 🪓is my best friend, it is my life. I must wield it before I am struck down. I will"

@[email protected] #middleearth #orcs #CirithUngol

Dolmen Gate – Echoes of Ancient Tales [Things You Might Have Missed 2025]

By Baguette of Bodom

You can never have too many swords. This has always been the truth, and Portugal’s Ravensire was well aware of it, following in the triumphant heavy metal footsteps of fellow countrymen Ironsword for three albums. Even when fate would strike down Ravensire in 2020, drummer Alex and guitarist Nuno1 remained undeterred. They formed a new lineup under the Dolmen Gate banner and got to work immediately. Debut EP Finis Imperii released in 2023, debut album Gateways of Eternity followed last year, and now they are already up to second album Echoes of Ancient Tales merely another year later. While this could seem like rushing things to some, it’s clear to me Dolmen Gate is striking while the iron is hot, and they’re just getting warmed up.

Echoes of Ancient Tales is a direct upgrade over an already strong debut. The core of their sound still channels the epic, riff-forward demeanor of Manilla Road and early Manowar. If you’re familiar with other swordy revival acts like Gatekeeper and the aforementioned Ironsword, you’ll have a good idea of what you’re in for. NWoBHM gallops (“The Maze,” “The Prophecy”) in the vein of Satan further refine the album, increasing its variety and olde cred. Alex furiously pounds the drums while Kiko and Artur duel out riffs for days, utilizing both speedy (“Carthage Eternal”) and stompy (“A Tale of Time’s End”) songwriting philosophies in Cirith Ungol fashion. Ana’s vocals deliver the same smoky, subdued tone that enhances the music and gives the band even more of a standout personality. Better yet, Echoes of Ancient Tales fixes the only real problem I had with the debut: buried vocals. Not only does Ana sing with more confidence and power, her role is also more central and upfront—justifiably so.

Dolmen Gate’s songwriting is growing in strength, and the band is only getting heavier. The early one-two punch of “Souls to Sea” transitioning into “The Maze” alone makes their direction loud and clear, and it shows the band isn’t satisfied just sitting in one corner musically. As always, authenticity is the key factor in revival-style music, and Dolmen Gate passes the test with flying colors. They sound like they have the same influences as their favorite bands but are also aware of their musical surroundings in less olde times. The almighty riff is the most important building block here, and the band knows this well. Guitar and drum patterns from many varieties of heavy metal—and some of its heavier offshoots too—help to craft both catchy anthems (“The Maze,” “Carthage Eternal”) and epic long-form tunes (“Souls to Sea,” “Afore the Storm” into “We Are the Storm”) without missing a beat.

Echoes of Ancient Tales is, without questio,n the best pure heavy metal record of the year. A lot of newer epic heavy metal bands have popped up during the past decade, and many of them have the right idea. But it feels like the change of bands and lineups was the kick the ex-Ravensire folk needed to take that next step. Dolmen Gate is one of the best and most authentic so far, both songwriting and production-wise, while also doing something that’s uniquely theirs. Raise your swords and enter the gate!

Tracks to Check Out: “The Maze,” “A Tale of Time’s End,” and “We Are the Storm.”

#2025 #CirithUngol #DolmenGate #EchoesOfAncientTales #EpicHeavyMetal #Gatekeeper #HeavyMetal #Ironsword #ManillaRoad #Manowar #NoRemorseRecords #PortugueseMetal #Ravensire #Satan #ThingsYouMightHaveMissed2025

Dwelling Below – Wearisome Guardians Review

By Spicie Forrest

The boys in Dwelling Below get a lot of facetime here at AMG. We’ve reviewed Hierarchies’ debut (Jared Moran, Anthony Wheeler, Nicolas Turner), all three albums by Acausal Intrusion (Moran, Turner), one by Filtheater (Moran), and we’ve done a filter piece on Feral Lord (Moran, Turner). It’s no wonder, as we tend to enjoy the angry, dissonant stuff they put out. I’ve been jonesing for something in that ballpark, so when I learned that Dwelling Below’s debut unnerved Thus Spoke enough to waive seniority, I quickly snagged their follow-up. Hoping it might hit the spot, I eagerly dug my grubby lil nubbins into Wearisome Guardians.

Dwelling Below was a filthy slab of long-form deathened doom, and Wearisome Guardians offers much of the same. Look at that cover art. It sounds exactly how you’d expect: like bathing in stagnant catacomb water. Cavernous, mad, and malevolent, Moran echoes through abandoned tombs, disturbing centuries of eight-legged architecture. On the skins, he nearly wakes the dead with frenetic onslaughts of double bass and unsettling cymbals. Turner’s guitar stillbirths an unholy union of Saint Vitus and Autopsy. Warped and abrasive riffs lumber forward, inexorable and lethal as a cave-in, while tormented leads scream psychosis from a neighboring cell (“Terminal Experiments,” “Sacraments”). Ever-so-slightly discordant basslines weave and coil around your ankles as Wheeler encourages a reexamination of your sanity. Like meeting a skinwalker, you know something’s off, but it’s hard to describe, and it’s fucking terrifying.

It’s a little oxymoronic to call 1.) dissonant 2.) death/doom 3.) metal accessible, but Wearisome Guardians is perhaps Moran’s most approachable offering yet. His aforementioned acts all shove their base genres through the same twisted, dissonant lens, but compared to Hierarchies or Acausal Intrusion, Dwelling Below is almost melodic. Between chaotic, atonal passages and vicious whammy abuse, Turner employs more traditional riffcraft learned long ago at Candlemass (“Wearisome Guardians,” “Terminal Experiments”). Leads in “Unfolding Universe” and “The Altar” reveal traces of Brocas Helm and Cirith Ungol, while “Sacraments” reaches further back, unearthing the legendary B.B. King for a solo, soulful, bright, and blue. These ancestral trappings are strung with care and shine brilliantly against Dwelling Below’s murky core. Wearisome Guardians offers these moments of reprieve from its oppressive violence, like guiding lights coaxing you deeper into the dark.

At 51 minutes, Wearisome Guardians isn’t terribly long for the genre, but with an average track length of ten minutes, it certainly isn’t a casual listen. Luckily, songcraft is not a weakness Dwelling Below suffers. Far from sedentary, Wearisome Guardians is in constant motion. Most riffs only linger a few moments before evolving into something new or reverting to a main throughline. Even when a riff tarries longer, the bass, drums, or vocals twist and shift, keeping things fresh and engaging throughout. More than this, each song seems built around clearly defined movements. Even on a first listen, I could guess my place in a song fairly well. There’s an intuitive logic to each track’s pace, allowing Wearisome Guardians to feel lean and efficient with no real fat to trim. Even the 90-second “Interlude” belongs. What initially feels like a respite reveals itself to be just as unsettling as the rest of the album. Bright and metallic, this moment’s tainted rest doesn’t let you forget what’s on the other side.

I wished for some grimy, cavernous filth, and I got it. Wearisome Guardians is a menace to experience. I honestly thought it hyperbole when Thus Spoke said their debut induced fear, but exaggeration it was not. Even with bright moments that fractionally lessen the tension, Dwelling Below is still deeply unnerving. These casket campers know what they’re doing, and they’re good at it. Wearisome Guardians is a strong success on both atmospheric and compositional fronts. Dwelling Below doesn’t just want to show you the dark. They want to leave you there without a torch and seal the tomb. This sophomore effort is claustrophobic, sepulchral, and evil. Wearisome Guardians is viscerally unsafe, and it’s here to break you if you’ve got the nerve to let it.

Rating: 3.5/5.0
DR: 10 | Format Reviewed: 320 kbps mp3
Label: Transcending Obscurity Records
Websites: Bandcamp | Facebook
Releases Worldwide: October 31st, 2025

#2025 #35 #AcausalIntrusion #AmericanMetal #Autopsy #BBKing #BrocasHelm #Candlemass #CirithUngol #DeathDoom #DeathMetal #DoomMetal #DwellingBelow #FeralLord #Filtheater #Hierarchies #Oct25 #Review #Reviews #SaintVitus #TranscendingObscurityRecords #WearisomeGuardians