Pagan Altar

Pagan Altar formed in England in the early 1980s, drawing from the heavy, slow-moving sound of Black Sabbath and the occult themes that were circulating in certain corners of metal at the time. Their first album, 'Volume 1,' came out in 1982 and established their particular take on doom, with songs like 'The Crowman' and 'Walking In The Dark' built around hypnotic riffs and a persistent, eerie atmosphere.

For years they worked with a fairly stable lineup, with Terry Jones on vocals and guitar and Vincent Crowley handling bass and lyrics. They put out a few more records in the mid-80s, including 'Judgement of the Dead' and 'The Room of Shadows,' but never broke through to a wider audience. Their material, which dealt openly with paganism and witchcraft, kept them as a cult favorite in the underground rather than a commercial act.

Their songs often stretch out, mixing doom's weight with touches of folk and psychedelic rock. Tracks like 'Dance Of The Druids' and 'The Lords Of Hypocrisy' move at a deliberate pace, giving Jones's vocals and the band's lyrical themes room to breathe. They've kept at it on their own terms, maintaining a sound that feels connected to those early 80s recordings without simply repeating them.