#cirithungol — Public Fediverse posts

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

Frost and Fire, Part 2 – Heavy Metal Edition

This past SpaceAce Sunday, we looked at the first of two albums we have on The List that have the same, rather holiday-relevant title of Frost and Fire. While The Watersons’ album actually has a few Xmas/Xmas-adjacent songs, the same cannot be said of the album we are looking at today. But, it’s December 24, and so anything you listen to can be an Xmas album if you want it to be. Or, as they[1] say, “yippie kayak, other buckets!”

Cirith Ungol – Frost and Fire (1981, US)

And so, today we take a listen to number 892 on The List, submitted by Almoehi.

I know that many metalheads are absolutely fanatic about this band, but listening to this album the other day was actually the first I had ever heard of theirs! With the band named after the mountain pass in Tolkien’s Middle-earth that goes through the Ephel Dúath (you know, the one near Minas Morgul in Mordor…), one might expect a lot of LoTR-themed lyrics on this, the band’s debut album. But, perhaps hinted at by the fact that the band name is to be pronounced “sirith ungol” rather than the more accurate “kirith ungol”, the name seems more of a statement of the lyrics being in the fantasy realm, with a loose association to the LoTR books rather than them being an overarching theme. At any rate, I don’t recognize any of the lyrics on this album as being LoTR-themed, so I believe it isn’t until their next album, King of the Dead (1984), that we get to totally nerd out in that respect.

But! Let’s nerd out about the cover! This is the third album we’ve looked at so far on The List with a cover painted by the incredible Michael Whelan (on Mastodon: @MichaelWhelan).[2] The Frost and Fire cover is a crop of Whelan’s 1977 painting titled “Stormbringer”, and was used on the cover of Michael Moorcock’s book of the same name, from his Elric of Melniboné saga. Whelan in fact would go on to provide the art for every single Cirith Ungol album, with all of the paintings also pulling double duty on a Moorcock/Elric of Melniboné book!

Even just based on those credits alone, it’s perhaps no surprise that music journalist and musician Sarah Kitteringham – of the epic doom metal band Smoulder[3] and of BangerTV – is a giant Cirith Ungol fan. Sarah can dance circles around anyone in talking about this band (and, well, probably any doom/heavy metal metal band), and in fact wrote the liner notes for the 40th anniversary reissue of Frost and Fire! So, rather than me regaling you with any Wikipedia-level facts, I would suggest we head on over to Discogs and read through those liner notes together (click to images 2 and 3). If you’re a fan, perhaps also check out these demos and extras that were part of that anniversary reissue.

And so concludes our mini spotlight theme. Stay frosty and/or firey, all. 🤘

• Bandcamp: Cirith Ungol – Frost and Fire
• Discogs: Cirith Ungol – Frost and Fire

[1]Well, Charles Boyle at least says this.
[2]The others being Meat Loaf’s Bat Out of Hell II and Sepultura’s Beneath the Remains.
[3]Fun fact: All of Smoulder’s album covers are also done by Whelan, and both of their LPs either reference or feature Moorcock.

#1001OtherAlbums #1980s #CirithUngol #heavyMetal #ListenToThis #metal #MichaelWhelan #music #musicDiscovery #Musodon #powerMetal #protoDoom #protoDoomMetal

#TheMetalDogArticleList
#Loudwire
10 Best Late Career Albums by Classic #Metal Bands
Chosen by #JavisLeatherby of New Wave of Traditional Heavy Metal band #NightDemon.

https://loudwire.com/best-late-career-albums-classic-metal-bands-night-demon-jarvis-leatherby/

#IronMaiden #AngelWitch #BlackSabbath #VanHalen #Satan #Megadeth #Carcass #CirithUngol #ArmoredSaint #Metallica