PAGAN ALTAR — The Lords of Hypocrisy (review)

PAGAN ALTAR — The Lords of Hypocrisy album cover Album · 2004 · Traditional Doom Metal Buy this album from MMA partners
4.5/5 ·
Warthur
For a good long time after their original split, Pagan Altar were mostly known for their first demo - known as Volume 1 or Judgement of the Dead depending on which edition you happened to get, and widely bootlegged until it got an official release in 1998. However, what many didn't know was that Pagan Altar had a bunch more material that they'd written, with attempts made to record a followup demo between 1982 and 1984 eventually falling apart.

Come 2004, Pagan Altar took the step of reforming so that they could try and tackle those songs again with the assistance of all the tools available in a modern studio - but if you were worried that they'd lose their magic as a result, you'll be glad to know that isn't the case. If anything, this album sounds like it was recorded at the height of the 1970s, the studio shrouded in bong smoke and the band putting Sabbath and other doom metal first-wavers to shame. Pagan Altar's combination of doom metal gravitas and NWOBHM attitude remains as strong as ever on this release, and whilst it's good that we have it at the same time it's a shame they didn't manage to have a more prolific career back in the 1980s.
Share this review

Review Comments

Post a public comment below | Send private message to the reviewer
Please login to post a shout
No shouts posted yet. Be the first member to do so above!

MMA TOP 5 Metal ALBUMS

Rating by members, ranked by custom algorithm
Albums with 30 ratings and more
Master of Puppets Thrash Metal
METALLICA
Buy this album from our partners
Paranoid Heavy Metal
BLACK SABBATH
Buy this album from our partners
Moving Pictures Hard Rock
RUSH
Buy this album from our partners
Powerslave NWoBHM
IRON MAIDEN
Buy this album from our partners
Rising Heavy Metal
RAINBOW
Buy this album from our partners

New Metal Artists

New Metal Releases

Hin helga kvöl Atmospheric Sludge Metal
SÓLSTAFIR
Buy this album from MMA partners
The Cycles of Suffering Black Metal
BURIAL OATH
Buy this album from MMA partners
Facilis Descensus Averno Death Metal
SAEVUS FINIS
Buy this album from MMA partners
Merciless Crossover Thrash
BODY COUNT
Buy this album from MMA partners
More new releases

New Metal Online Videos

More videos

New MMA Metal Forum Topics

More in the forums

New Site interactions

More...

Latest Metal News

members-submitted

More in the forums

Social Media

Follow us