For the first time in history world renowned Heavy Metal Legends CIRITH UNGOL will make their debut in Australia for the first and last time in May/June 2024!
Supported by and introducing US heavy metal trio NIGHT DEMON, the pair will hit Brisbane, Sydney, Canberra and Melbourne for one of the most paramount moments in Australian heavy metal history.
Ventura Californias ‘Cirith Ungol’ formed in the 70’s, forging their own brand of hard/progressive rock, only one year after Black Sabbath’s debut birthed the genre.
Considered an early player in both doom and power metal, the band’s obsession with Tolkienic sword-and-sorcery blazed a trail for much of metal as it’s known today.
After a 25 year hiatus, the band reformed in 2016, taking heavy metal by the throat re-releasing past albums and a new album in 2020 which would gain world-wide attention and respect, instantly signing to Metal Blade Records.
2023 saw the band release their final album Dark parade with a solid line up of players featuring the one and only Tim Baker (Vocals) along with some original and new members of the band including Jim Barraza (Guitars), Robert Garven (Drums), Greg Lindstrom (Guitars) and Jarvis Leatherby (Bass).
Dates:
30.05.2024 The Basement, Canberra
31.05.2024 Marrickville Bowlo, Sydney
1.06.2024 The Corner, Melbourne
Tickets available from www.yourmatebookings.com
Proudly presented by Your Mate Bookings, Metal Evilution and Utopia Records
CIRITH UNGOL BIOGRAPHY
Few bands in the history of the heavy metal underground have a story as
remarkable, improbable, or uplifting as that of Cirith Ungol. It is a tale of pioneering
innovation, crushing disappointment, self-imposed exile, populist fervor, and,
ultimately, global redemption.
The band was formed in Ventura, California, in the early 1970s, long before the rigid
tropes and ironclad traditions that define today’s heavy metal genre had taken
shape. There was no rulebook, no template to follow, so Cirith Ungol simply made it
up as they went along, allowing their imaginations to run amok and their creativity
to be their guide. Musically, Cirith Ungol emerged from the 1970’s hard rock /
progressive rock tradition epitomized by the likes of Grand Funk Railroad, Blue
Oyster Cult and Sir Lord Baltimore.
Rather than passively channeling their
influences, the band was driven to forge an altogether heavier, darker, more
apocalyptic sound. According to drummer Robert Garven, even in those early days,
before heavy metal as we know it existed, the band’s burning ambition was to play
“the heaviest metal known to man.” Cirith Ungol’s lyrical approach was profoundly
influenced by the high fantasy literature of J.R.R. Tolkien (from whose Lord of the
Rings opus they derived their name) and Michael Moorcock, fittingly enough
because co-founding members Garven and guitarist Greg Lindstrom first met in a
seventh-grade English literature class.
For years, the fledgling Cirith Ungol (which also included co-founder Jerry Fogle on
guitar and, from 1976 onward, Tim Baker on vocals) practiced in a bedroom at
Garven’s parents’ house. There they honed their musical vision into something
utterly unique and prescient. Baker’s anguished howls from the fiery pits of Hades,
Fogle’s inventive and otherworldly lead guitar work, and Garven’s unorthodox
drumming coalesced into a sound the world had never experienced before. It was
obscure and arcane, mysterious and eccentric, epic and expansive, but most of all
unfailingly, bone-crushingly heavy, dark and doom-filled.
NIGHT DEMON BIOGRAPHY
For more than a decade, Night Demon have defiantly flown the flag of traditional heavy metal, unwavering in the face of shifting industry trends and unscarred by global calamities.
The band erupted onto the underground heavy metal scene with a self-titled four-song EP in 2012. Showcasing a sound forged in a deep-seated passion for the New Wave of British Heavy Metal melded to distinctly American muscle and swagger, and embracing a rigorous touring schedule, Night Demon quickly gained momentum in the USA and Europe. In January 2015, the band released their first full-length album, Curse of the Damned, which refined the band’s trademark sound and garnered widespread acclaim by fans and critics alike. To promote the record, Night Demon hit the killing road for the better part of two years, crisscrossing the United States multiple times, touring the European market relentlessly, and even veering off the beaten path with extensive dates in Mexico, South America and Latin America.
These festival slots included Rockhard Sweden, Mexico Metal Fest, Hells Heroes, Keep It True, Up The Hammers, Burning Festival, Rock of Ages and a dozen more!
Now after the one EP and three full length albums, and dozens of massive support slots and festivals across the globe, the band is ready to take on Australia for the first time ever as they share their brand of traditional heavy metal.