Greg Lindstrom, Robert Garven, Jerry Fogle and Pat Galligan played in Titanic, their first band in junior high school. With a desire to play heavier music similar to that of Mountain and Grand Funk Railroad, the rest of the band parted with Galligan and founded Cirith Ungol in late 1971.
Early history
After forming in late 1971, the band played their first gig on January 1, 1972 at an anti-Vietnam war peace rally. In 1980, they were signed by Liquid Flames Records, and released their first album, Frost and Fire, with Tim Baker on vocals and songs written by bassist and guitarist Greg Lindstrom. Their second album, King of the Dead was released in on July 2, 1984 and contained lyrics primarily written by vocalist Tim Baker and drummer Robert Garven. The album was then followed by One Foot in Hell on August 12, 1986, and Paradise Lost on August 23, 1991.
Disbandment
They played their last live show on December 13, 1991 and disbanded in 1992, following frustration with their record label.
1992–2016
In 2001, Metal Blade Records released in Germany Servants of Chaos, a compilation album of unreleased demos and live songs. With old tapes and assistance from Lindstrom and Garven, it was an attempt to give fans a wealth of archival and previously unheard material before the tapes deteriorated beyond retrieval. This double-CD was later re-released worldwide, with a rare 1984 live DVD recorded at Wolf & Rissmiller's Country Club in California. Lindstrom now plays with Falcon, who perform some Cirith Ungol songs. Founding guitarist Jerry Fogle died from liver failure on August 20, 1998.
Reunion
The band was reformed by members Tim Baker, Robert Garven, Jim Barraza, and Greg Lindstrom on October 8, 2016 at the 2nd annual Frost and Fire Festival in Ventura, California. Throughout 2017, the band had set out to headline and co-headline several European and US festivals, including Keep It True, Up The Hammers, Defenders Of The Old, Chaos Descends, Psycho Las Vegas, Days Of Darkness and Hammer of Doom. In April 2018, Cirith Ungol performed at the Hell's Heroes Festival in Houston, Texas and at the NYDM Spring Bash in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. In August 2018, Cirith Ungol released the single "Witch's Game".
Name
The band took their name from the mountain pass Cirith Ungol in J. R. R. Tolkien's epic fantasy novelThe Lord of the Rings. The name is Elvish and means "Pass of the Spider." While the place in Tolkien's book is pronounced "kirith ungol," the band pronounced it "sirith ungol." The band said they had some problems with the name:
