Pagan Altar
| Pagan Altar | |
|---|---|
 Pagan Altar - live in 2009 at Metal Merchants Festival in Oslo, Norway | |
| Background information | |
| Origin | Brockley, England |
| Genres | Heavy metal, doom metal |
| Years active |
1978–1982, 2004–present |
| Website | paganaltar.com |
| Members |
Alan Jones Dean Alexander William "WillyG" Gallagher |
| Past members |
Terry Jones (d. 2015) Trevor Portch Mark Elliott John Mizrahi Glenn Robinson Les Moody Pete Dobbins Andy Green Ian Winters Diccon Harper Marcus Cella Rich Walker Luke Hunter Vince Hempstead Manny Cooke |
Pagan Altar is a doom metal band from England.
Biography
Pagan Altar was formed in 1978 by Alan and Terry Jones. Alongside Witchfinder General, they are one of the few NWOBHM bands to play doom metal.[1] 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 cassette (which was bootlegged in later years). Their debut album was officially re-released 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, alongside Cloven Hoof.[2] Both bands also performed at the "British Steel IV" Festival at the Camden Underworld in 2009.[3] Pagan Altar returned to headline the "British Steel V" Festival in April 2011[4] 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, Vince Hempstead on rhythm guitar, and William Gallagher on bass guitar.
On 15 May 2015, vocalist Terry Jones died of cancer.[5] The band had finished recording their upcoming album, which was in its final mastering stage.
Line-up
- Alan Jones - guitar
- Dean Alexander - drums
- William "WillyG" Gallagher - bass guitar
Discography
Albums
- Volume 1 CD (1998)
- Lords of Hypocrisy CD (2004)
- Mythical and Magical CD (2006)
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 - Beltaine's Joy (Imperial Anthems split single, 2011)
- Walking in the Dark / Narcissus (2013)
Demo
- Pagan Altar (1982)
See also
References
- ↑ Pagan Altar at BNR Metal
- ↑ http://legacy.roadrunnerrecords.com/blabbermouth.net/news.aspx?mode=Article&newsitemID=96237 Metal Brew Festival (2008) details on Blabbermouth website, 3 May 2008
- ↑ http://www.metalteamuk.net/review-britishsteeliv.htm British Steel IV Festival (2009) details at MTUK website, 4 April 2009
- ↑ http://www.rockersdigest.com/Article/362/British+Steel+Festival+V British Steel V Festival (2011) details at Rockers' Digest website, 2 April 2011
- ↑ http://noisey.vice.com/blog/rip-terry-jones-pagan-altar