PAGAN ALTAR · Mythical & Magical | BLACK 2LP

Black double vinyl, 3-sided with etching on side 4, in gatefold sleeve, includes poster, sticker, post card and download code.

Background information about 'Mythical & Magical'

Some records don't just get reissued, they get resurrected, and "Mythical & Magical" is exactly that kind of relic. Pagan Altar wrote the bulk of this material between 1977 and 1983, yet the album only saw the light of day decades later, which makes its ancient, moss-covered atmosphere feel less like a stylistic choice and more like a genuine haunting. This is heavy doom rock dragged through the damp English countryside, all slow-burning riffs, tolling bells and a vocalist who sounds like he's telling ghost stories by candlelight. The folk undercurrent is what really sets it apart: mournful acoustic passages drift in like fog rolling over a graveyard, and when the distortion kicks back in, the contrast hits hard.

What strikes me most is the patience of it all. Nothing here is in a hurry, and that's the whole point. The riffs breathe, the tempos lumber, and the songwriting trusts you to sit with the mood rather than chase a hook. It's the sound of a band operating completely outside of trends, which is probably why it took the world so long to catch up. Twenty years on from its proper release, this third full-length still stands as the crown jewel of their catalogue, a record that doom purists treat with something close to reverence, and rightly so.

For fans of: Black Sabbath, Witchfinder General, Trouble, Pentagram, Cathedral

Other Versions

CD · Sold out CD · 14,99 € BEIGE 2LP · 29,99 € BLACK 2LP · Sold out

Track listing

LP 1:
A1. Samhein
A2. The Cry Of The Banshee
A3. The Crowman
A4. Daemoni na Hoiche (Demons of the Night)
B1. The Sorcerer
B2. Flight Of The Witch Queen
B3. Dance Of The Druids

LP 2:
C1. The Erl King
C2. The Witches Pathway
C3. Sharnie
C4. The Rising Of The Dark Lord

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