In the absence of being able to tour off the back of their spectacular comeback album Forever Black, Cirith Ungol instead have taken a little trip back to their archives and recorded four old and oldish tracks that never appeared properly anywhere. So, an ‘odds and sods’ release…?

Actually, not really as… Well. See that awesome Michael Whelan cover? Yeah, they live up to it.

‘Route 666’ revs and roars, Ghost Rider style, down some dusty cursed highway. A riff that harks back to both the NWOBHM style and Cirith Ungol’s own past that crackles with dynamism. A really full-blooded horror show in the best sense.

‘Shelob’s Lair’ is probably not for arachnophobes but, hey, a bit of love for the bloated spider goddess never goes amiss. The riff is deep and rich and breaks flick off it like stabs of venom as the tale unfolds. Lovely. Well apart from backstabbing hobbitses.

‘Brutish Manchild’ I think appeared on a flexi recently, but whatever this is classic bit of CU. The rolling verse riff, the staccato chopping refrain, the classic lead break, the up front bass. It has real raw-boned appeal and makes the third fine song here.

Finally, we get to ‘Half Past Human’. A downbeat acoustic opening with some lovely bass before the slow guitar enters. Those vocals intoning doom and the doomed future of mankind. The storytelling. That deeply melancholy and lyrical guitar melody. This is the crowning glory on an excellent EP. This is what you want from epic heavy metal and Cirith Ungol. Great lead guitar work drives things higher through this science fiction/fantasy fable and the instrumental workout is glorious. It’s just a stunning end.

This proves that Forever Black wasn’t some weird fluke. Cirith Ungol are still one of the great, unique pinnacles of heavy metal and this is actually an excellent place for new listeners to get on board and discover why they are so revered.

Forever back? I do hope so.

(9/10 Gizmo)

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