Cirith Ungol - 'Velocity (S.E.P.)' [Official Visualizer Video]

Stretch your soul upon the rack
Flaming whips across your back
Look around - a tragic illusion
Look around - the grim conclusion,
Just where you are

How on earth can this be real
Sold your soul-took the deal
Did your best to do your worst...
A lake of fire but an endless thirst
Are all that’s all left for you

Looking down the Rings of Hell
Are stretching far below
Endless pain and anguish
There’s so many more to go...

Everything to please your master
All you touched… disaster
Wanton greed your one temptation
Your craven life of subjugation,
Never set you free

Looking down the Rings of Hell
Are stretching far below
Endless pain and anguish
There’s so many more to go...

Crying out - it’s all in vain
Every night it’s always the same
Pluck out your eyes, refusing to see
The cruel precision and velocity,
Were always meant for you

How on earth can this be real
Sold your soul-took the deal
Look around its no illusion
Look around - one conclusion,
Just where you are.

As you fall the Rings of Hell
Are churning Down Below
Endless pain and pleasure,
There’s so many more to go...

Cirith Ungol, μισός αιώνας (συν δύο έτη) παρουσίας στο μουσικό σύμπαν. Heavy Metal μυσταγωγία, μυστικιστικό ατσάλι και σκοτεινό έπος. J.R.R. Tolkien, Michael Moorcock και Michael Whelan. Πέντε full length albums, δύο demos, δύο singles, ένα ep, ένα live album, μία συλλογή και ένα boxed set η (άκρως ιδιαίτερη και -κατ' εμέ τουλάχιστον- ενδιαφέρουσα) δισκογραφική τους παρακαταθήκη η οποία θα έχει και συνέχεια καθώς τον επόμενο μήνα θα κυκλοφορήσει το νέο τους πόνημα υπό τον τίτλο "Dark Parade", με το τραγούδι "Velocity (S.E.P.)" να προετοιμάζει το έδαφος...

Δελτίο τύπου: «Few bands in the history of the heavy metal underground have a story as remarkable, improbable, or uplifting as that of Cirith Ungol. Formed in Ventura, California in the early 1970s, Cirith Ungol created a sound the world had never experienced before.

Rather than passively channeling their influences, the band was driven to forge an altogether heavier, darker, more apocalyptic sound. It was obscure and arcane, mysterious and eccentric, epic and expansive, but most of all, unfailingly, bone-crushingly heavy, dark, and doom-filled.

Wasting no time to ride their molten wave they started with their 2020 studio comeback Forever Black, Cirith Ungol started writing songs for Dark Parade as soon as Forever Black was released. Then, like everyone else, Cirith Ungol were hamstrung by the global pandemic, struggling through illness, seclusion, grief, and depression in their quest to create dark, vibrant art.

And like the greatest warriors, they persevered, working on one song at a time - distractions be damned. The first track composed was the crushing “Relentless,” which reinforced their confidence and clarity of vision. The rest of the album came naturally, fueled by personal misery and the tragedy of worldwide collapse.

“Band members lost close relatives and we struggled as best we could through the pandemic which ravaged the earth’s population and economies,” drummer Rob Garven notes. “As horrifying as it was, it was the perfect backdrop for our doom-laden message of a world on the edge of destruction.”

The first single from Dark Parade is opening track “Velocity (S.E.P.),” a compact, mid-paced blast of crunching riffs and deft hooks that act as a microcosm for much of the doom-laden album.

“While talking with [vocalist] Tim [Baker] and Rob about what kind of song was needed, a decision was made to stop doing the galloping chugs, as done many times on previous albums, and start doing down-picking chugs while keeping some sort of tie to the Cirith Ungol sound,” reveals guitarist Jimmy Barraza.

“Straying toward a Sabbath or Priest vibe is not far off and happens subconsciously.”

The track is about promises made and debts paid. Faust and Robert Johnson both knew what to expect on their visit to the Crossroads - great rewards and great loss. A bit of suffering in Dante’s Inferno will always remind us that the earthly pleasures we seek always come at a price. Sell your soul, take the deal, suffer the consequences.

“It’s about what happens when we sell that which we hold dear,” Baker notes. “Our soul -- if such a thing exists -- our dignity, pride, and whatever else we have that will help seal the deal in an endless pursuit of money, power, glory and dominion over others”.»

Band: Cirith Ungol
Country of origin: United States
Location: Ventura, California
Formed in: 1972
Genre: Heavy/Doom Metal
Lyrical themes: Fantasy, Science fiction
Years active: 1972-1992, 2015-present

Audio: "Velocity (S.E.P.)"
Album: "Dark Parade"
Type: Full length
Release date: October 20th, 2023
Label: Metal Blade Records
Format: CD, Vinyl, Digital

Track listing:
1. Velocity (S.E.P.)
2. Relentless
3. Sailor on The Seas Of Fate
4. Sacrifice
5. Looking Glass
6. Dark Parade
7. Distant Shadows
8. Down Below

Line-up:
Tim Baker - Vocals
Greg Lindstrom - Guitar
Robert Garven - Drummer
Jim Barraza - Guitar
Jarvis Leatherby - Bass