This is the second time this year I’m called upon to write a few words about PAGAN ALTAR’s music. Early in the year, I had the honor of presenting “Never Quite Dead,” and honestly, even though the material on “Lords Of Hypocrisy” is obviously already familiar, the feeling remains the same: AWE!
The album was first released after the band’s reactivation in 2004. A full 26 years were needed for the 1982 recordings to finally find their way onto the debut “Volume 1,” released in 1998, but after that PAGAN ALTAR received such unbelievable acclaim from the underground metal community that—fortunately!—they decided to continue their musical path.
“Lords Of Hypocrisy” has since seen roughly a dozen reissues across various formats and editions. And now comes yet another one, through Dying Victims Productions, who also handled PAGAN ALTAR’s most recent work, “Never Quite Dead,” with admirable consistency and complete success. This edition is based on the Temple of Mystery Records versions, and Dying Victims Productions aims to make the band’s back catalogue available once again.
The songs on “Lords Of Hypocrisy” were written between 1976 and 1980, and that alone says much about the style the listener should expect, as well as how ahead of their time PAGAN ALTAR’s musical vision truly was. Their sound: a UNIQUE and INIMITABLE amalgam of classic ’70s guitar grit, adorned with wonderful, authentic NWOBHM elements and an atmospheric, primal yet masterfully crafted form of doom metal. A definitive specimen of exquisite heavy rock, with slow, heavy yet deeply emotional compositions rooted in the foundations laid by BLACK SABBATH and PENTAGRAM, nodding toward WITCHFINDER GENERAL, WITCHFYNDE, UFO, WISHBONE ASH, CIRITH UNGOL, and MANILLA ROAD.
Honestly, I don’t know what to single out first from the tracklist of this MASTERFUL album.
“Satan’s Henchmen,” which in barely three minutes manages to define melodic heavy metal itself?
“Aftermath” and “March Of The Dead,” showcasing the full grandeur of slow heavy riffing infused with that immortal ’70s spirit?
The impressive and multifaceted opening with the title track, or perhaps the bold and paradoxical, bluegrass-tinged “The Devil Came Down to Brockley”?
The epic “Sentinels Of Hate,” which encapsulates the entire musical revival that followed, built upon songs exactly like this one, influencing bands such as COUNT RAVEN, BLOOD CEREMONY, WITCHCRAFT, WYTCH HAZEL, etc.?
The almost psychedelic “The Masquerade,” which serves as a masterclass in song structure and development on its own, or the haunting “The Interlude,” carrying an unparalleled, chillingly melodic yet simultaneously threatening aura?
There is simply no way not to admire this album—how smartly and effortlessly it flows, how organically its enchanting songs function together, forming an incomparable, classic-grade whole.
If I had to choose one highlight, though, it might be the myth-shrouded “Armageddon,” the piece that closed the band’s early historic live performances, shows rich in theatricality and vivid imagery that brought to life exactly the atmosphere the band sought to create. This is the ULTIMATE track that encapsulates the entirety of “Lords Of Hypocrisy” and the UNBELIEVABLE music gifted to us by the late Terry Jones (vocals), Alan Jones (guitars, banjo, keyboards), Trevor Portch (bass), and Mark Elliot (drums), roughly twenty years ago.
“Lords Of Hypocrisy” will be re-released on January 23rd 2026 by Dying Victims Productions, on both CD and DLP.
Check the discussion about the album in our forum pages.
You can pre-order both the CD and the DLP here.
