History & Biography Cirith Ungol has aged very well. The band was formed in 1972 and issued a demo in 1979. It was called The Orange Album. The group had been kicking around loosely much earlier than that however. First several members of Titanic overturned their band in 1971 in order to play heavier music. Neal Beattie became the singer in 1975. Tim Baker, who was a band roadie, took over as Neal's vocals and image were not a fit and too glam-oriented. When the band released its debut Frost And Fire under its own label's (Liquid Flames) banner, one Kerrang! reviewer called the band the worst band in the history. Greg Lindstorm had played bass on the debut despite Michael Flint being billed. Flint had joined just after the recording. The heavy metal act sported several great covers with Tolkien inspirations and is liked by fans of heavy and doom metal. Greg left in 1982 as the band was not progressing. He would return in 2015. A 1977 song called Death Of The Sun appeared on Metal Massacre 1 of Metal Blade. The band played gigs in USA and Mexico. Robert Garven's parents loaned him, and the band, money for the recording of King Of The Dead. One Foot In Hell of 1986 was on Metal Blade. Paradise Lost was on Restless, which was the successor to the gang's earlier home, Enigma. This label, in turn, was an offshoot of an even earlier label home, namely Greenworld. Bassist Flint left. Then returned a mere six months later before departing again. Paradise Lost featured two session players, guitarist Joe Malatesta and bass player Bob Warenburg. They were supposed to be members, but decided to leave between the recording session and the album' release and were relegated to session membership. The group disbanded in 1991/1992. Restless had dropped the band leaving an option for three more records on the table. Robert Garven vowed to never drum again. Jerry Fogle, who had left in 1987, died of liver failure in 1998.
Falcon was formed in 2003 and featured Perry Grayson formerly of Destiny's End. Metal Blade issued a two-CD compilation of the band called Servants Of Chaos in 2001. The material was mostly rarities and omitted music.
Jarvis Leatherby became the bassist in 2016 as the band reformed in 2015. Michael Vujea was living too far to rejoin. The man was from Night Demon and organized the Frost And Fire festival. he had been introduced to Robert Graven through Carl Valdez of a punk band called Ill Repute. Cirith Ungol members had done a signing session at Frost And Fire, which bore the name of their debut. The band had reformed in 2015. A 2017 package was called The Legacy. It was issued by Metal Blade. I’m Alive was a box set and was mostly recorded at Up The Hammers festival in 2017. The band had gotten back together and played its first European concert at Keep It True in 2017 after playing at Frost And Fire in 2016. The group was offered the chance to contribute a song to an animated film called The Planet Of Doom in 2018. The act was invited to Blowup festival in Finland in 2018.
Forever Black was a Metal Blade 2020 release. It was the first new full-length in over 30 years. Metal Blade issued a 2021 EP called Half Past Human. Candlemass, Dark Angel, Cirith Ungol and Riot V were among the groups booked at Hell's Heroes Festival in Houston, Texas, USA April 2022. The band was booked for England’s Dominion Festival, which was scheduled to take place between May 5 and 7th 2023, but that was called off due to less than 5% of available tickets being pre-sold. Cirith Ungol, which had released a new album called Dark Parade through Metal Blade, announced retirement from live performances at the close of 2024. The band was announcing concerts for 2024 including opening for Night Demon in Australia in March and playing a concert again with Night Demon in China. The "final European show" was billed for Keep It True Rising IV in Würzburg, Germany in October 2024. The band was booked for Metalitalia for September 2024 alongside Xentrix, Overkill, Ural, Haunt, Satan, Night Demon, Hell Fire, Destruction and Angelus Apatrida
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