Description

Double album on black vinyls with gatefold cover and lyric insert and one side lazer etched

At a time when most English heavy metal bands were reinventing the genre for future generations by adopting the D.I.Y. lessons of punk rock and the hyperactive energy of Motörhead (then approaching the height of their powers) to launch the legendary New Wave of British Heavy Metal, London’s Pagan Altar represented a truly unfashionable stylistic anomaly in the early ’80s. Along with a scant selection of contemporaries — most notably Stourbridge’s far better-known Witchfinder General — Pagan Altar remained fairly loyal to the sluggish tempos and gothic occultism that dominated heavy metal’s original template as defined by their definitive forefathers, Black Sabbath. As a result, Pagan Altar never earned a record deal throughout the course of their eight-year career, and, in retirement, endured the dubious honor of becoming one of the biggest cult acts of their generation, before finally enjoying some measure of recognition and resuming their recording activities in the new millennium. Their December 2006 album ‘Mythical And Magical’ is already hailed as a classic in underground doom metal and Nwobhm circles! Alan Jones delivers a ton of seering lead guitar here and while it’s surely metallic, it also retains the essence of the best of the early 70s heavy prog rock styles. And while this apparently appeals to doom metal heads, it should surely be heard by not only NWOBHM freaks but anyone into 70s heavy prog rock as well.

Track list:
1. Samhein
2. The Cry Of The Banshee
3. The Crowman
4. Daemoni Na Hoiche
5. The Sorcerer
6. Flight Of The Witch Queen
7. Dance Of The Druids
8. The Erl King
9. Sharnie
10. The Witches Pathway
11. The Rising Of The Dark Lord