PAGAN ALTAR’s highly anticipated sixth album. PAGAN ALTAR defy time and return with Never Quite Dead – a “new” record in theory, but one bearing the imprint of the past, particularly with Terry Jones’ unmistakable touch.
On vocals here is Brendan Radigan, who true metallers will know from Magic Circle, Sumerlands, Savage Oath, and tons more. His somber, ever-so-poignant tones pay reverence to the prevailing PAGAN ALTAR sound whilst putting a distinctive touch upon Never Quite Dead. As Alan Jones details within the album’s liner notes, nearly all the songs on the album – barring the closer “Kismet,” which came as a precursor to Alan’s band Malac’s Cross in the early ‘90s – originated while Terry was still alive and thus does Never Quite Dead remain an authentically PAGAN ALTAR album.
From the Rainbow-rocking opener “Saints and Sinners” on to trad-doom juggernauts like “Liston Church” and “The Dead’s Last March” to the emotional climax of the aforementioned “Kismet,” pretty much every aspect of PAGAN ALTAR is covered in incredibly compelling fashion…even the folk instrumental “Westbury Express,” keeping the mythical & magical alive. Never Quite Dead? You better believe it!
Shared the stage with Lord Vicar, Cirith Ungol, Autopsy, Tormentor, Lord Weird Slough Feg.
For fans of Black Sabbath, Witchfinder General, Cirith Ungol, Manilla Road.
