''Frost and Fire'' is the debut album by the American heavy metal band

Cirith Ungol In J. R. R. Tolkien's fictional world of Middle-earth, Mordor (pronounced ; from Sindarin ''Black Land'' and Quenya ''Land of Shadow'') is the realm and base of the evil Sauron. It lay to the east of Gondor and the great river Anduin, and ...

. Its music is generally faster and more simplistic than that of '' King of the Dead'', which saw the band begin to adopt a

doom metal Doom metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music that typically uses slower tempos, low-tuned guitars and a much "thicker" or "heavier" sound than other heavy metal genres.K. Kahn-Harris, ''Extreme Metal: Music and Culture on the Edge'' ...

style influenced heavily by

power metal Power metal is a subgenre of heavy metal combining characteristics of traditional heavy metal with speed metal, often within symphonic context. Generally, power metal is characterized by a faster, lighter, and more uplifting sound, in contra ...

Album information

''Frost and Fire'' was produced by Cirith Ungol and originally self-released through the band's own record label—Liquid Flames Productions—in 1981. The album was re-released later that year by

Enigma Records Enigma Records (also known as Enigma Entertainment Corporation) was a popular rock and alternative American record label in the 1980s. History Enigma Records launched as a division of Greenworld Distribution, an independent music importer/dis ...

, re-released again along with ''King of the Dead'' on one CD by One Way Records in 1995, and finally re-released again in September 1999 on

Metal Blade Records Metal Blade Records is an American independent record label founded by Brian Slagel in 1982. The US office for Metal Blade is located in Agoura Hills, California. It also has offices in Germany, Japan, Canada, and the UK. The label is distrib ...

. A

bootleg Bootleg or bootlegging most often refers to: * Bootleg recording, an audio or video recording released unofficially * Rum-running, the illegal business of transporting and trading in alcoholic beverages, hence: ** Moonshine, or illicitly made ...

picture disc version of this LP, limited to 500 hand-numbered copies, also exists. While Michael "Flint" Vujejia is credited as the bass player on this album, it has been confirmed in several interviews that Greg Lindstrom was actually the bassist on this album. In Brazil the lp Frost and Fire was released with the cover of the King of the Dead. (1985).

Critical reception

In 2005, ''Frost and Fire'' was ranked number 362 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 book of ''The 500 Greatest Rock & Metal Albums of All Time''.

Track listing

All songs written by Greg Lindstrom. The seventh track, "Maybe That's Why", is an instrumental, however, lyrics were included for the song on the inner sleeve of the original vinyl release.

Personnel

;Cirith Ungol *Tim Baker – lead and backing vocals *Jerry Fogle – guitars *Greg Lindstrom – guitars, synthesizers,

e-bow The EBow, short for electronic bow or energy bow, is an electronic device used for playing string instruments, most often the electric guitar. It is manufactured by Heet Sound Products, of Los Angeles, California. It was invented by Greg Heet i ...

, backing vocals, bass (uncredited) *Michael "Flint" Vujea – bass *Robert Garven – drums, backing vocals ;Production *Tim Nelson – engineer *Allen Zentz – mastering *Randall L. Jackson – executive producer

References

{{Authority control 1981 albums Cirith Ungol albums Albums with cover art by Michael Whelan