''A Sultan's Ransom'', released in 1989, is the third full-length studio album by the British
heavy metal band
Cloven Hoof
A cloven hoof, cleft hoof, divided hoof or split hoof is a hoof split into two toes. This is found on members of the mammalian order Artiodactyla. Examples of mammals that possess this type of hoof are cattle, deer, pigs, antelopes, gazelles, go ...
. It is the last Cloven Hoof album to feature Andy Wood on guitar, due to contractual difficulties that forced the whole band itself to split up from 1990 to 2001. Music videos were made for the songs "Mad, Mad World" and "Highlander" (which are now included on the band's debut DVD release, ''A Sultan's Ransom – Video Archive'', which also contains live footage of the band playing in 1989 at Lichfield Art Centre).
Reception
''A Sultan's Ransom'' was ranked number 442 in ''
Rock Hard
"Rock Hard" is a single by the Beastie Boys, released by Def Jam Records on 12" in 1984. The track contains samples from the AC/DC song "Back in Black", which was used without obtaining legal permission, causing the record to be withdraw ...
'' magazine's 2005 book ''The 500 Greatest Rock & Metal Albums of All Time''
and 24th at ''
Metal Hammer
''Metal Hammer'' is a heavy metal music magazine and website founded in 1983, published in the United Kingdom by Future, with other language editions available in numerous other countries. ''Metal Hammer'' features news, reviews and long-form ...
''s 2019 list of the 25 best power metal album of all time.
Track listing
#"Astral Rider" ''
( Lee Payne, Russ North
Russ North (born 22 July 1965) is an English singer, best known for his role in the heavy metal band Cloven Hoof. North had several stints with Cloven Hoof, from 1987 to 1990 and again from 2006 to 2009. In 2011, he was asked back with the ban ...
)'' – 5:15
#"Forgotten Heroes" ''
(Payne)'' – 4:41
#"D.V.R." ''
(Payne, Andy Wood)'' – 2:49
#"Jekyll and Hyde" ''
(Wood)'' – 3:28
#"1001 Nights" ''
(Payne, Wood, North, Jon Brown)'' – 5:28
#"Silver Surfer" ''
(Wood)'' – 3:43
#"Notre Dame" ''
(Payne)'' – 5:45
#"Mad, Mad World" ''
(Payne, Wood)'' – 2:29
#"Highlander" ''
(Payne)'' – 3:40
#"Mistress of the Forest" ''
(Payne)'' – 6:50
*Note: The track "D.V.R." is an acronym which stands for "Death Valley Racer".
Personnel
;Cloven Hoof
*
Russ North
Russ North (born 22 July 1965) is an English singer, best known for his role in the heavy metal band Cloven Hoof. North had several stints with Cloven Hoof, from 1987 to 1990 and again from 2006 to 2009. In 2011, he was asked back with the ban ...
– vocals
*Andy Wood – guitar
*
Lee Payne – bass
*Jon Brown – drums
;Additional musicians
*Mil Gacic – guitar
*
Paul Hodson
Paul Hodson is an English hard rock singer, songwriter and musician.
Biography
Paul Hodson has been the keyboard player of the band Ten from 2001 until September 2011.
He has also played for the band Hard Rain since 1997 as well as for his ...
– keyboards
;Production
*Mark Stuart, Paul Hodson – engineers
References
Cloven Hoof (band) albums
1989 albums
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