Homages

• Shattered Winds

Has Cirith Ungol t-shirt, left on saxophone

• Forest of Equilibrium (1991)

• F.O.A.D. (2007)

Fenriz: Most beautiful… never gave that much thought, I think the album front cover of the first Cirith Ungol and also the second is very beautiful.

• Unis Dans La Glorie (2015)

• In the Rectory of the Bizarre Reverend

This album has actually nothing directly to do with Cirith Ungol. Track 6, “Cirith Ungol” is not a cover of the band’s song. But it’s a homage to the band. An extraction from an interview with Reverend Bizarre:

Reverend Bizarre was a doom metal band from Finland. They played slow and heavy traditional doom with dramatic vocals, following in the footsteps of bands such as Saint Vitus, Pentagram and Black Sabbath. The band was one of the biggest names in the fourth wave of traditional doom metal.

According to Albert Witchfinder, the band had planned three more full-length albums, after their second album – titled Songs from the Funereal World, Heavier Than Life and How It Was Meant to Be – but this plan was later scrapped and the band made only one more LP, disbanding Reverend Bizarre “before it started to suck.” The album, III So Long Suckers, was recorded in the first half of 2007, and released in August of that year. The band’s last concerts were played during the autumn and winter of 2006 culminating in a final performance in Turku.

The final track on their 2002 debut album In the Rectory of the Bizarre Reverend is named “Cirith Ungol”. It is not a cover, but it is a homage to Cirith Ungol. An extraction from an interview with Reverend Bizarre:

There’s also a text named ‘Cirith Ungol’ dealing with the saga of the `Lord Of The Rings`: Is this one of your favourite books? In the end of this year there’ll be this movie in cinema: Will you watch it? I personally don’t know actually `cause I really adore the book of Tolkien and I for sure will  be disappointed because a film can never come near to the feelings connected with the written saga!

We do like the works of J.R.R.Tolkien, although we are no fanatics in this matter. As a personal note, I conpager the fantasy worlds of Stephen R. Donaldson – especially the saga of Thomas Covenant the Unbeliever – much more interesting and rewarding than Tolkien’s b/w creations. So, since Tolkien’s writings are no holy texts to us, we are not really afraid of the outcome of the forthcoming movie adaptation, either. Still, even though Peter Jackson is a great director, it is true that the story in question can never be captured on film in its entirety. We’ll just have to wait and see.

Besides, do you like CIRITH UNGOL, the band?

Yes we truly do! Voted the worst metal band ever, they must be the most underrated band in the entire metal history. It is true that Tim Baker’s rather chaotic expression demands a bit from the listener, but hell, the same goes with Scott Reagers of Saint Vitus as well! As a matter of fact, our “Cirith Ungol” started out as a homage to the band, and the Tolkien theme came actually later, through the title. This unbearably slow and colossal 23-minute funeral hymn that serves to end our debut album does not sound at all like the band Cirith Ungol, though!

• Dream Quest Ends (2020)

• What’s on the Other Side? (2017)