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Pagan Altar: The Time Lord (EP)

Meleodic Heavy/Doom Metal (NWOBHM)

3.5/5.0

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Shadow Kingdom Records
by Craig Hartranft,  09.05.2012

Shadow Kingdom Records reaches deep into the obscure darkness of early New Wave of British Heavy Metal (NWOBHM) to find the early recordings of Pagan Altar. Like their British brethren Witchfinder General, Pagan Altar plays a form of doom metal mixed with melodic heavy metal.

Pagan Altar: circa 2012.

These recordings date to early as 1978 as demo recordings for the band. Some songs subsequently arrived on cassette, to be bootlegged as well. They arose from obscurity on Oracle Records as Volume 1 in 1998, an event that seemed to recharge and reform the group to begin recording again. In 2004, the exact same songs found here, although in a different order, arrived on the vinyl version of The Time Lord. Two years later, Pagan Altar would release a double vinyl LP of new material called The Lords of Hypocrisy.

If you like old school melodic and epic doom metal, which isn't pathetically sluggish, you'll need to add The Time Lord EP to your collection. Highway Cavalier is less doom metal and more classic heavy metal. The title track and Judgement of the Dead are the best of the doom equation, having more interesting arrangements and guitar solos. Black Mass and the final long piece Reincarnation, not so much. Pagan Altar and their The Time Lord reminds of other old school purveyors of the genre like the long serving Candlemass, but also more recent upstarts like Altar of Oblivion from Denmark, also on Shadow Kingdom Records. Recommended, if only for the history.

Note: All Amazon advertising in this review first benefits the artist, then Craig Hartranft also receives a residual. Click, and thanks for your support.

If you like old school, melodic and epic, doom metal, which isn't pathetically sluggish, akin to Candlemass or Altar of Oblivion you'll need to add the The Time Lord EP to your collection.

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