Throughout the 1970s, the band generally played a style of heavy metal heavily rooted in hard and progressive rock. The band's first studio album, Frost and Fire (1981), featured a heavier sound, generally regarded as an early example of American power metal. By the band's second studio album, King of the Dead (1984), the band had solidified their power metal style of playing while gravitating toward a much 'darker' sound, with many considering the album among the first doom metal releases. The band took their name from the mountain pass Cirith Ungol in J. R. R. Tolkien's epic fantasy novel The Lord of the Rings. The name is Elvish and means "Pass of the Spider." While the place in Tolkien's book is pronounced "kirith ungol," the band pronounced it "sirith ungol. Each studio album's cover art is taken from the cover of a DAW Books edition of a book in Michael Moorcock's Elric of Melniboné saga; the art is by Michael Whelan.
Greg Lindstrom, Robert Garven, Jerry Fogle and Pat Galligan (later a guitarist in Angry Samoans) played in Titanic, their first band in junior high school. With a desire to play heavier music similar to that of Mountain and Grand Funk Railroad, the rest of the band parted with Galligan and founded Cirith Ungol in late 1971. After forming in late 1971, the band played their first gig on January 1, 1972 at an anti-Vietnam war peace rally.
In 1980, they were signed by Liquid Flames Records, and released their first album, Frost and Fire, with Tim Baker on vocals and songs written by bassist and guitarist Greg Lindstrom. Their second album, King of the Dead was released in on July 2, 1984 and contained lyrics primarily written by vocalist Tim Baker and drummer Robert Garven. The album was then followed by One Foot in Hell on August 12, 1986, and Paradise Lost on August 23, 1991.
They played their last live show on December 13, 1991 and disbanded in 1992, following frustration with their record label.
In 2001, Metal Blade Records released in Germany Servants of Chaos, a compilation album of unreleased demos and live songs. With old tapes and assistance from Lindstrom and Garven, it was an attempt to give fans a wealth of archival and previously unheard material before the tapes deteriorated beyond retrieval. This double-CD was later re-released worldwide, with a rare 1984 live DVD recorded at Wolf & Rissmiller's Country Club in California. Founding guitarist Jerry Fogle died from liver failure on August 20, 1998.
The band was reformed by members Tim Baker, Robert Garven, Jim Barraza, and Greg Lindstrom on October 8, 2016 at the 2nd annual Frost and Fire Festival in Ventura, California. Throughout 2017, the band had set out to headline and co-headline several European and US festivals, including Keep It True (Germany), Up The Hammers (Greece), Defenders Of The Old (US), Chaos Descends (Germany), Psycho Las Vegas (US), Days Of Darkness (US) and Hammer of Doom (Germany). In April 2018, Cirith Ungol performed at the Hell's Heroes Festival in Houston, Texas and at the NYDM Spring Bash in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. In August 2018, Cirith Ungol released the single "Witch's Game". Their latest record Forever Black was released on April 24, 2020.
Black Machine
Cirith Ungol Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Fills your head with evil dreams
Fills your head with thoughts of fire
A quick escape - your one desire
Ride the black machine
Pearly whites behind back drawn lips
Snapping jaws of the dogs of doom
Kick your way from this stagnant tomb
Ride the black machine
Climb aboard the black machine
To that place you've never been
The black machine will take you higher
Your burning soul our one desire
The lyrics of Cirith Ungol's song Black Machine suggest being invited to take a ride on an ominous and evil machine. The repeated phrase "Climb aboard the black machine" serves as a call to action for the listener to abandon their current state of existence and take a risk by embracing the unknown. The second stanza continues the theme of the listener's desire to escape their current state, with the line "A quick escape - your one desire." The lyrics suggest that the black machine offers a release from the mundane, the stagnant, and the unsatisfying aspects of life. Additionally, the lyrics mention the idea of being taken higher once you have boarded the black machine, which could be interpreted as a metaphor for achieving enlightenment or transcendence.
One line that stands out in this song is "Ride with the masters of the pit," which could be interpreted in a number of ways. It could refer to riding with the demons of Hell, or it could be a reference to the band's own journey as underground musicians that have been overlooked by mainstream audiences. Ultimately, the lyrics of Black Machine reinforce the ideas of risk, danger, and rebellion, and they encourage listeners to embrace these qualities in their own lives.
Line by Line Meaning
Climb aboard the black machine
Get on the black machine, a symbol of darkness and evil
Fills your head with evil dreams
The rider's mind will be corrupted with evil thoughts and nightmares
Fills your head with thoughts of fire
The rider will be consumed with a desire for destruction and chaos
A quick escape - your one desire
The rider seeks to escape from their mundane life through any means necessary
Pearly whites behind back drawn lips
The black machine's riders are fierce, with bared teeth and an ominous presence
Ride with the masters of the pit
The rider is joining forces with the beings of the underworld, the source of all evil and darkness
Snapping jaws of the dogs of doom
The dogs of doom are vicious and merciless, with jaws that can tear apart anything in their path
Kick your way from this stagnant tomb
The rider wants to break free from their monotonous life and the world they know
To that place you've never been
The rider is being led to a world of darkness and evil that they have never experienced before
The black machine will take you higher
The black machine promises to lift the rider up to greater heights of darkness and power
Your burning soul our one desire
The leaders of the black machine are after the rider's soul, which they want to corrupt and add to their collection of followers
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management
Written by: JERRY FOGLE, MIKE VUJEA, ROBERT W. GARVEN JR., TIM BAKER
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
tas danazoglou
One of the best bands ever in the history of REAL heavy metal.
alex
Agree
coreshot
THE best
Marc Farré Gomez
One of Most underrated metal bands.
m6nster1965
Such an original METAL band, I own ONE FOOT IN HELL on vinyl an it is still to this day a fantastic relevant album, An I have just recently got FOREVER BLACK, An it is amazing, Such awesome tunes! 🤘🏻😈🤘🏻
Michael G
One of the greatest fucking guitar riffs I've ever heard, impossibly majestic.
Leves D
Jerry Fogle was a genius.
- Crazy80Ace-
And that solo is just so great wish I could find the pro tabs for this one
Luna Mora
Cirith Ungol were truly ahead of their time.
Metal Nordeste
Hi, yes indeed! I love their music! One of the best heavy metal bands alongside with Judas Priest and Black Sabbath. Regards from Spain ; )