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.
Chaos Descends
Cirith Ungol Lyrics
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Against our common foe the jaws of fate
War unleashed the stench of spells
As we thrust our fists into the face of hell
Chaos descends
The final battle begins left or right who decides?
The beasts of hell blacken heaven's eye
We shout our fear to a soulless sky
Chaos descends
Ashes to ashes war sweeps the land
Burn the world the curse of man
No one heeds the call judgment day
Their iron dream swept away
The lyrics of Cirith Ungol's "Chaos Descends" evoke images of an apocalyptic battle against a common foe. The opening line, "The might of chaos descends as we join the fight," sets the tone for the song as a call to arms against an overwhelming force. The enemy is referred to as the "jaws of fate," suggesting that this is not just a physical battle, but a struggle against a predetermined destiny.
As the war begins, there is a sense of desperation and desperation as the stench of spells fills the air. The line "As we thrust our fists into the face of hell" suggests that the fighters are not going down without a fight, but are ready to confront their enemy head-on.
The final battle is described as a chaotic and terrifying scene, with mortal terror touching the sky and the beasts of hell blackening heaven's eye. There is a sense of resignation as the fighters "shout our fear to a soulless sky," presumably in the face of an impending defeat.
The song ends with a bleak image of the aftermath of the battle, as "ashes to ashes war sweeps the land" and the "curse of man" is shown to be the cause of this destruction. In the end, there is no hope, as "Their iron dream is swept away."
Line by Line Meaning
The might of chaos descends as we join the fight
We are joining the war, and the power of chaos is descending upon us.
Against our common foe the jaws of fate
We are fighting our enemy, who is fated to defeat us.
War unleashed the stench of spells
The war has started, and it is releasing a terrible stench of magic spells.
As we thrust our fists into the face of hell
We are attacking hell and fighting with all our might.
Chaos descends
The power of chaos is getting stronger.
The final battle begins left or right who decides?
The last battle has started, and nobody knows who will win – it could go either way.
Their mortal terror touches the sky
The enemies are terrified and their fear is palpable.
The beasts of hell blacken heaven's eye
The demons of hell are causing destruction and chaos everywhere.
We shout our fear to a soulless sky
We are terrified and shouting out to the empty sky.
Chaos descends
The power of chaos is getting even stronger.
Ashes to ashes war sweeps the land
The war has destroyed everything, leaving nothing but ashes behind.
Burn the world the curse of man
Man's greed and desire for power has resulted in destruction and chaos.
No one heeds the call judgment day
Despite the warning signs, nobody is taking action to stop the destruction that is coming.
Their iron dream swept away
Their strong, confident dreams have been destroyed, leaving nothing behind.
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management
Written by: JERRY FOGLE, MIKE VUJEA, ROB GARVEN, TIM BAKER
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind