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Pagan Altar – Mythical & Magical – Re-Release Review

An insanely underrated album (and band); doom metal simply wouldn’t be doom metal if it wasn’t for Pagan Altar!

Source // moole.ru

In 1976, from the mysterious English countryside, emerged Pagan Altar, a band whose arcane doom rumblings forever changed the face of the sub-genre. Despite their infamous debut album, Judgement of the Dead, taking decades to be officially released, their short-yet-bright star finally took off in the mid 2000’s when the band unleashed The Time Lord, Lords of Hypocrisy, and Mythical & Magical, ending decades of setbacks and unintentional silence

Fusing core elements of traditional heavy metal with the classic doom metal they themselves pioneered in the early 80’s, with Mythical & Magical Pagan Altar successfully wound back the clock to the glory days of Black Sabbath, Necromandus and Witchfinder General.

Exhibiting a paganist sound that definitively grounded Mythical And Magical as a British release, Pagan Altar’s fusion of folk and 70’s heavy metal rendered the album strangely timeless, resulting in the most warmly organic album imaginable and the perfect amalgamation of doom metal’s original sounds.

Bewitching and unashamedly retro, Pagan Altar’s updating of folk staples and classic heavy metal mentality were particularly showcased on the outstanding “Rising Of The Dark Lord” and the alluring “The Cry Of The Banshee”; a time-warp of NWOBHM licks, Ozzy-esque vocals and vintage songwriting (much of Mythical And Magical dates back to the 80’s, so this should comes as no surprise) with the artistry on display proving both breathtaking and bewitching.

An insanely underrated album (and band); doom metal simply wouldn’t be doom metal if it wasn’t for Pagan Altar!

Essential. 9/10

Due for release on December 6th 2019 via Temple of Mystery, the gatefold LP version includes insert, new layout, etch on vinyl and remastered songs, while the jewelcase CD version includes exclusive liner notes and remastered songs.

About Chris Jennings (1957 Articles)
I love metal. Always have. Always will. As editor of Worship Metal - a site dedicated to being as positive about metal and its myriad of sub-genres as possible - my aim is to 'worship' metal through honest reviews, current news and a wide variety of features; offering the same exposure to underground bands as we do to mainstream/well known acts. Our mantra; the bands are partners and we exist to serve the bands \m/

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