Review Summary: Intriguing proto-doom metal that should require a warning label.
Cirith Ungol's 2nd album KING OF THE DEAD is a flawed, but unique album of proto-doom metal from the early 80s. The overall vibe is quite 70s sounding and seems to have been influenced at least some by Black Sabbath and maybe even Pentagram. Jerry Fogle's guitar playing is the real highlight of this album and is showcased in his take on Bach's "Toccata in D minor". If I were to judge the album on the music alone, I would probably nudge this to at least "great". The riffs are heavy, interesting and really has the makings of a decent heavy metal record. The Frank Frazetta inspired cover art was striking enough to convince at least a few brave metal heads to pick this up on vinyl back in 1984.
One of those metal heads was an acquaintance of mine named Brian who wasn't really known for exemplifying great judgment. He showed up at my friend James' house with this album under his arm and begged us to put it on. We were probably listening to some Sabbath or Metallica at the time, but reluctantly gave in to his pleading. I was quite intrigued up until the point when vocalist Tim Baker first opens his mouth on "Atom Smasher". Me and James just started laughing at this point. "You've got to be kidding, Brian...." Thus beginning to illustrate my main complaint about this album and anything with the Cirith Ungol name on it.
Vocalist Tim Baker seems to have only trick in his bag and that's to shriek his lyrics out with the same ghastly tone of voice for EVERY song (except the aforementioned instrumental, which is a blessing). His presence makes the band sound more amateurish than they should. He's going for that tormented ghoul style and would probably get lots of voice over work if he gave Sam Raimi a call.
This scenario reminds me of several garage bands I've heard where the musicians didn't want to jeopardize their friendship with their singer friend by giving him a dose of truth (and the boot). I can see a lot of listeners to this album instantly turning this album off after they hear Baker blurt out a few lines. Braver (and possibly more tone deaf) souls may hail this album as a classic of sorts. For me, the truth seems to exist somewhere between these polarized perspectives.
The best I'm willing to offer this album is a "good" rating. I do see value in songs like "Black Machine", "Master Of The Pit" and "Toccata in Dm" and can somehow manage to disregard Baker's yelling long enough to groove on the music. Still, this album can be challenging in the same way as a King Diamond record and won't be welcome in everyone's CD player. KING OF THE DEAD is probably best heard when stoned so you can suspend rational judgments for a spell. I guess I should be thankful that I can still find something worthwhile in albums that would drive my wife straight up the wall in less than 10 seconds. You'll never know when you need to whip something like this out, so I'll be sure to keep KING OF THE DEAD handy when the need arises.
