Pagan Altar is an English doom metal band formed by Terry Jones and his son Alan in 1978 in the borough of

Brockley Brockley is a district and an electoral ward of south London, England, in the London Borough of Lewisham south-east of Charing Cross. History The name Brockley is derived from "Broca's woodland clearing", a wood where badgers are seen (' ...

in London.

History

Alongside

Witchfinder General Matthew Hopkins ( 1620 – 12 August 1647) was an English witch-hunter whose career flourished during the English Civil War. He claimed to hold the office of Witchfinder General, although that title was never bestowed by Parliament, a ...

, they are one of the few

new wave of British heavy metal The new wave of British heavy metal (commonly abbreviated as NWOBHM) was a nationwide musical movement that started in England in the mid-1970s and achieved international attention by the early 1980s. Journalist Geoff Barton coined the term i ...

(NWOBHM) bands to play doom metal. The band's concerts are characterised by moody, epic and heavy music, blended with stage effects which accentuate their interest in occult themes. Pagan Altar's only release from the NWOBHM era was an independent, self-released, self-titled demo album (which was heavily bootlegged in later years). The album would be re-released as an official full-length on Oracle Records in 1998, retitled "Volume 1". The group reformed in 2004 to re-record an album of previously unreleased material which had been written during their original tenure as a band. The resulting album, "Lords of Hypocrisy", met with a positive reception from fans, and a third full-length album duly followed in 2006, entitled "Mythical and Magical". In 2008, Pagan Altar co-headlined the "Metal Brew" Festival in

Mill Hill Mill Hill is a suburb in the London Borough of Barnet, England. It is situated around northwest of Charing Cross. Mill Hill was in the historic county of Middlesex until 1965, when it became part of Greater London. Its population counted 18,45 ...

, alongside

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 ...

. Both bands also performed at the "British Steel IV" Festival at the

Camden Underworld Camden Underworld is a music venue in Camden Town, London, England. The venue is a part of the World's End pub, situated in the basement of the building. It has a capacity of 500 people. History Over the years The Underworld has become th ...

in 2009. Pagan Altar returned to headline the "British Steel V" Festival in April 2011 and the "Live Evil" Festival in October 2011. In 2012, Pagan Altar began work on their next album "Never Quite Dead", in a purpose-built recording studio in the back garden of vocalist Terry Jones's home. The 2013 lineup included: Dean Alexander on drums, Vinny Konrad (Vince Hempstead) on 2nd guitar, and William Gallagher on bass guitar. On 15 May 2015, vocalist Terry Jones died of cancer. The band had finished recording their upcoming album, which was in its final mastering stage. In 2017, Alan Jones announced that he intends to partially re-record the band's upcoming album as neither he nor the late Terry Jones were happy with the finished product.

Discography

Albums

* ''Judgement of the Dead'' (1982) * ''Lords of Hypocrisy'' (2004) * ''Mythical and Magical'' (2006) * ''Room of Shadows'' (2017) * ''The Story of Pagan Altar'' (2021)

EP

* ''The Time Lord'' (2004, re-released as a special edition in 2012)

Singles

* Pagan Altar – "Walking in the Dark" / Jex Thoth – "Stone Evil" (Split single, 2007) * Pagan Altar – " Portrait of Dorian Gray" / "

Mirror of Deception Mirror of Deception is German doom metal band, formed in 1990. Biography Along with Dawn of Winter, Mirror of Deception is Germany's longest running traditional doom act. The band was formed by guitarist Jochen Fopp (also founder and owner ...

" – "Beltaine's Joy" (Imperial Anthems split single, 2011) * "Walking in the Dark" / "Narcissus" (2013)

Demo

* ''Pagan Altar'' (1982)

References

External links

Official website
* {{Authority control English doom metal musical groups Musical groups established in 1978 Musical groups disestablished in 1985 Musical groups reestablished in 2004 Musical groups from the London Borough of Lewisham Occult rock musical groups New Wave of British Heavy Metal musical groups Black Widow Records artists