Album Review: Cirith Ungol – Dark Parade (Metal Blade Records)

The black air was alive with the cloudy, semi-visible bulk of shapeless elemental things with eyes. A naked phosphorescent thing which swam into sight, scrambled ashore, and climbed up to squat, leeringly on a carved golden pedestal. – The Horror at Red Hook by H.P. Lovecraft.

The passage above was written in 1925, yet almost 100 years later, it epitomizes the timeless terror and apocalyptic gloom of Ventura, California band Cirith Ungol, and the colossal power of their new album ‘Dark Parade’. Out on October 20th, 2023, via Metal Blade Records.

Channelling the sound of NWOBHM, injecting doom blackness into it, and giving it a fresh coat of paint with modern clarity. Cirith Ungol’s sixth release to date, Dark Parade, is every bit the Cirith Ungol of old, but with enough forward-thinking elements to not make it sound ‘crusty’.

The excitement level is high as the riffs come thick and fast with the opening NWOBHM delight that is Velocity (S.E.P.). Any doubts that Cirith Ungol have lost any of their fire is put to bed completely here. How about that guitar soloing too? This is a straight banger and will please just about everyone.

Slowing things down, getting a bit more wicked, but still killing it in the riff department, Relentless is the doomier side of Cirith Ungol and it sounds immense. Though if we’re talking about size and scope, there’s nothing grander on this album then Sailor on the Seas of Fate. Not just the longest track at over eight-minutes, but one that brings forth an entrancing dark and doom vibe. Cirith Ungol are more methodical here, but that just means the heaviness is given time to really permeate the soul. When it does get an injection of pace, it just becomes even more of a head-banger than it was before.

Have the quality riffs been mentioned enough yet? What’s on offer across this album can’t be understated and both Sacrifice and Looking Glass are both strong examples. The former is a more antagonistic and moody sounding track, whereas the latter is something liable to create some neckache thanks to the guitar groove.

Of course, it must be mentioned that the whole of Cirith Ungol is sounding pretty damn great here. Vocals that scream and howl with devilish power, and percussion that gives so much weight to the doomy NWOBHM sound. The entire band combined are on fire here, and it continues to make the album so exciting. The latter part featuring another delectable doom adrenaline hit with the title track. Before Distant Shadows and Down Below cap off the experience in heavy, riff-driven, and astonishingly epic style.

2023 and Cirith Ungol are still absolutely killing it.

Cirith Ungol – Dark Parade 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

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