CIRITH UNGOL · The Orange Album | CD

Jewel case CD.

Background information about 'The Orange Album'

Somewhere in a garage in Ventura, four guys with more ambition than budget pressed play on a tape recorder and accidentally kicked open a door that heavy metal is still walking through. "The Orange Album" is that tape — the earliest known recording ever circulated by Cirith Ungol, handed out as home-dubbed copies to scare up label interest and fill a few live slots. Named for its unmistakable bright orange j-card, it has been out of circulation in every format for more than four decades. Now it's back, freshly remastered by Bart Gabriel and otherwise left exactly as it was, warts, hiss and all.

And what a strange, wonderful beast it is. This is Cirith Ungol before the band knew what Cirith Ungol was supposed to sound like — embryonic, restless, evolutionary, with four different lead vocalists taking turns at the mic and a rhythm section still figuring out how far it could push. You can hear the blueprint being sketched in real time: the doom-laden weight, the theatrical flair, the riffs that lurch and then suddenly sprint. It's rough. It's raw. It's also completely riveting, because nothing here has been sanded down for modern ears. The remaster gives it presence without polishing away the charm of a bunch of hopefuls recording on a shoestring.

For anyone who has worn out Frost and Fire and wondered where the story actually begins, this is the missing first chapter — a genuine artifact of heavy metal history, finally available again.

For fans of: Manilla Road, Brocas Helm, Omen, Cirith Ungol, Pagan Altar

Track listing

1. Show You All
2. High Speed Love
3. Neck Romancer
4. Use Me
5. Bite Of The Worm
6. WitchDance
7. King Tut Uncommon
8. Atom Smasher
9. We Know You're There
10. WitSucker
11. Route 666

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