Pagan Altar Never Quite Dead CD Review

I’ve avoided writing this review for a few weeks now on purpose. Not because I don’t love Pagan Altar, it just hurts my feelings to write a review about a band that has meant so much to me, yet one of the most important members of the band has now passed on, and the band has chosen to carry on. Mind you, I don’t have a personal issue with it, I totally get and respect it – the band and the songs are too good to lay to rest. Plus, co-founding member/guitarist, Alan is Terry’s son, so it’s his duty to protect, preserve and carry on the legacy that he and his father created.

As a lifelong fan it’s tough to listen a new Pagan Altar album without vocalist Terry Jones. Terry passed away in 2015 and for me his loss was devastating from a musical aspect, it stung me deeply. I got into the band through tape trading in the mid-80’s as a youth before the internet was a thing, so all I had was the voice, the lyrics and the music to dwell on. I’ve shouted of my love and admiration of Pagan Altar from the rooftops since I got that first tape in… As soon as the internet came along, I scoured it for any and everything related to the band – live shows/clips, Bootlegs, Demos, CD reissues, records – you name it, I’ve got it. The only thing I didn’t manage to do was watch the band LIVE, which has always bothered me. I’d still love to see the band, but I’m not sure how I’d feel about not seeing Terry up there chanting “This is the age, the age of SATAN”.
 
Unfortunately, we all must move on and that’s what Pagan Altar has chosen to do – they’ve been playing live shows for several years now with Brendan Radigan (Magic Circle, Sumerlands) and they’ve been well received, I’ve watched a few on youtube, granted the sound wasn’t that great nor was the video quality, but it was enough for me to get a sense of what the band was like without Terry – at least I was prepared for what it sounded like should a new album be released. Well, that time is now upon us, the band will release their new album “Never Quite Dead” in April of this year. The title of the album sends chills up my spine, I’ve had a Live Bootleg disc for years with the same title, I’d thought it was a bootlegger naming it that, I reckon there’s some significance to it now. I didn’t read anything attached to the Promo to start with, I wanted to listen intently without reading anything that would sway my thoughts – I wanted to breathe it in as if I’d never heard anything from the band before. Upon the first listen, I didn’t like it, I missed Terry immediately and then I went back and had another listen the next day and then I heard Terry’s influence, his lyrics and his spirit. After about a week of listening, I read the sheet attached with the Promo, it turns out that all these songs except one were written with Terry, so his fingerprints are all over them. I doubt that the melodies, arrangements and structures have changed much at all.
 
The album opens with “Saints and Sinners”, and I feel like I’ve died and woke up in the late 70’s, it’s very much in line with the Hard Rock from that era. Guitarist, Alan Jones is the star here and for much of the album for that matter – his riffs and song writing have always been another driving force and reasoning for my admiration of the band. Radigan’s vocals are well done here too, he injects his own flavor into this one so it’s a far cry from your typical Pagan Altar tune or it feels that way to me. From here we drop off into “Liston Church” which features the band’s signature sound/approach, it starts off slow and delicate and then it jumps into the plodding/stalking, mid-tempo dirge that the band has made a career out of playing. Jones’ guitar playing is fantastic, great lead break! Radigan’s vocals also show great respect and tribute to Terry. The same can be said of a lot of the tracks on this album – you can’t sing any of these songs and not be influenced by Terry, it’s just not possible. “Madame M'Rachel” and “Madame M'Rachel’s Grave” keep the album moving forward. I can’t tell you the significance of the song titles, I can’t really understand a lot of the lyrics, I’m hoping they’ll be added in with the vinyl release. The Doom element is heavily felt on the tune “Well of Despair”, this will certainly be a fan favorite among those that like it slow and moody like I do. As with all Pagan Altar albums there’s always a state of the union track, it’s the song that says this is why we’re here and this is why you bought this album – “Judgement of The Dead” vibes if you will. On this album, that nod goes to the song “The Dead’s Last March”. It’s epic in every sense of the word, Jones’ riffs and guitar melodies are catchy as hell and Radigan’s vocal prowess is shown off. The closer on the album is a brooding 9-minute opus called “Kismet”, and it runs the gamut of every form of human emotion. It’s an old track from Alan’s time in Malac’s Cross. You won’t find a better ending for what has already been an emotional roller coaster of an album.
 
Pagan Altar were/are one of my favorite bands when it comes to Doom Metal. I’ve always put them up there with Sabbath and Pentagram. If you ask me, I’d say P.A. are my favorite of the 3 bands, I consider them the unholy trinity of Doom Metal. Pagan Altar’s albums are more pointed and surer of themselves, there’s no wishy washiness or outside influences that can be heard or felt on any of their albums including this new effort. If Pagan Altar had gotten the label backing that they so justly deserved there’s not a Metal fan alive that wouldn’t be singing their praises. There’s still time for that though thanks to other like-minded label heads that consistently reissue the band’s back catalog. If you haven’t heard all that Pagan Altar has to offer, do yourself a favor and listen now. This is a band that deserves the accolades. While you’re at it, have a listen to this one and consider picking it up too, I’m anxiously awaiting my copy!

~Black Angel