Pagan Altar

Pagan Altar
Pagan Altar in 2013.
Background information
Also known as	Time Lord (2017)
Origin	Brockley, London, England
Genres	Doom Metal, NWOBHM
Years active	1978 - 1985, 2004 - 2017 2018 - Present
Labels	Black Widow Records, Oracle Records, I Hate, Cyclone, Buried By Time and Dust, Temple of Mystery
Associated acts	Voice of Destruction, Dragonforce, Lucifer, Solstice, Bloodstone, L.A. Hooker, Isen Torr, Sludgelord, Solomon Kane, Bio-Hazard, Nailbomb, Sore Throat, Bludgeon, Extreme Noise Terror, Desolate Pathway, Sacrilege
Website	Official Page
Band Logo

Pagan Altar was a doom metal band from London, England. Active in their initial run between 1978 and 1985 they were known for their live gigs of moody, epic and heavy music interpreted with highly visual stage aspect which accented their interest for occult themes. Also of note is that along with Witchfinder General they were one of very few bands of the 1980s NWOBHM movement to play doom metal. In their initial run the band only managed to self-release one album before attaining a cult following. Upon a reformation in 2004 the band would hit their most productive years in terms of studio and live releases up until vocalist Terry Jones' passing in 2015.

History

Initial Run (1978 - 1985)

Pagan Altar in 1982.

Rare Pagan Altar live footage 1984 - The Black Mass

Pagan Altar was formed in 1978 by Terry and Alan Jones, who are father and son, respectively. Alongside Witchfinder General, they are one of the few NWOBHM bands to play doom metal. The band's concerts are characterised by moody, epic and heavy music, blended with stage effects which accentuate their interest in occult themes. In the early years of the band's existence considerable time and effort went into portraying the mood and feel of Pagan Altar's music from a visual aspect. The stage act was perfected to a fine art and followed an ongoing theme that continued throughout the whole set beginning with "Pagan Altar" and culminating in the eleven-minute long "Armageddon".

Pagan Altar's only release from the NWOBHM era was an independent, self-released, self-titled demo album (which was heavily bootlegged in later years). The album would be re-released as an official full-length on Oracle Records in 1998, retitled Volume 1 on Oracle Records.

Reformation

In 2004 a host of unreleased Pagan Altar recordings from the beginnings of their career saw release on I Hate as The Time Lord in 2004. The band would also reform in 2004 with a brand new album composed of re-recorded material written during the band's original tenure. A thematic album centered around man's inhumanity to man, Lords of Hypocrisy was released in October 2004 via Oracle Records. The would actively perform gigs again throughout Europe, mainly appearances at festivals. The album known as Volume 1 would get re-mastered and re-released as Judgement of The Dead in 2005 via Black Widow Records. The band's third full-length album Mythical & Magical saw release on 18 December 2006, composed again of re-recorded songs from the band's initial era. A split with Jex Thoth was released on Halloween 2007 via I Hate, a re-recording of their second ever recorded song "Walking in the Dark".

In 2008, Pagan Altar co-headlined the "Metal Brew" Festival in Mill Hill, alongside Cloven Hoof. Both bands also performed at the "British Steel IV" Festival at the Camden Underworld in 2009. In 2010 the band would perform in Montreal, Canada in one of their first known North American performances. Pagan Altar returned to headline the "British Steel V" Festival in April 2011 and the "Live Evil" Festival in October 2011. A split with Mirror of Deception entitled Imperial Anthems No. 8 saw release in 2011 via Cyclone Records.

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. The band had finished recording their upcoming album, which was in its final mastering stage. In 2017, Alan Jones announced that he intends to partially re-record the band's upcoming album as he nor the late Terry Jones were happy with the finished product. On 5 June it was announced Pagan Altar's final album Room of Shadows would see release via Temple of Mystery Records on 24 August 2017.

Alan, together with PA alumni Diccon Harper and Andy Green, and session members Brendan Radigan and Andres Arango, will perform one final show, as Time Lord, for the release of "The Room of Shadows", at the Wings of Metal festival in Montreal on 9 September 2017. Despite the intended last show the current lineup of Pagan Altar continue to perform live, also notably performing a tour of the United States in August 2019.

Discography

Studio Albums

• Volume 1 (Recorded 1982 & released as Pagan Altar) (1998, Oracle Records)
• Lords of Hypocrisy (2004, Oracle Records)
• Judgement of the Dead (Volume 1 re-mastered) (2005, Black Widow Records)
• Mythical & Magical (2006, Oracle Records)
• Room of Shadows (2017, Temple of Mystery Records)

Other Releases

• The Time Lord (EP; Recorded 1976 - 1978) (2004, I Hate)
• Pagan Altar / Jex Thoth (Split with Jex Thoth) (2007, I Hate)
• Imperial Anthems No. 8 (Split with Mirror of Deception) (2011, Cyclone)
• Walking in the Dark (Single; Recorded 2007) (2013, Buried By Time and Dust)

Members

• Alan Jones - Guitar, Backing Vocals (1978 - 1985, 2004 - 2017)
• Terry Jones - Vocals (1978 - 1985, 2004 - 2015) (Died 2015)
• Diccon Harper - Bass (2007 - 2010, 2016 - 2017)
• Andy Green - Drums (2008 - 2009, 2016 - 2017)
• Andres Arango - Guitar (2017; as part of Time Lord)
• Brendan Radigan - Vocals (2017; as part of Time Lord)
• Matt Young - Guitars
• Glenn Robinson - Bass (1978 - 1982)
• Ivor T. Harper - Drums (1978 - 1980)
• Ron Neary - Guitars (1978)
• Les Moody - Guitars (1978)
• Mark Elliot - Drums (1980 - 1981, 2004 - 2007)
• Toby - Drums (1980)
• Trevor Portch - Bass (1982 - 11985, 2004 - 2007)
• Greg - Bass (1982)
• John Mizrahi - Drums (1982 - 1983)
• John - Drums (1983)
• Brian Cobbold - Drums (1984 - 1985)
• Peter Dobbins - Drums (2007)
• Richard Walker - Guitars (2007 - 2009)
• Luke Hunter - Guitars (2009 - 2011)
• Russell Mcguire - Bass (2010 - 2011)
• Dean Alexander - Drums (2010)
• Ian Winters - Drums (2010 - 2015)
• Manny Cooke - Bass (2011 - 2012)
• Marcus Cella - Bass (2011)
• Vince Hempstead - Guitar (2011 - 2013)
• William Gallagher - Bass (2012 - 2015)

External Links

• Facebook
• Alan Jones' Pagan Altar Facebook
• MySpace
• 2017 interview via The Obelisk