Warthur
For a good long time after their original split, Pagan Altar were mostly known for their first demo - known as Volume 1 or Judgement of the Dead depending on which edition you happened to get, and widely bootlegged until it got an official release in 1998. However, what many didn't know was that Pagan Altar had a bunch more material that they'd written, with attempts made to record a followup demo between 1982 and 1984 eventually falling apart.
Come 2004, Pagan Altar took the step of reforming so that they could try and tackle those songs again with the assistance of all the tools available in a modern studio - but if you were worried that they'd lose their magic as a result, you'll be glad to know that isn't the case. If anything, this album sounds like it was recorded at the height of the 1970s, the studio shrouded in bong smoke and the band putting Sabbath and other doom metal first-wavers to shame. Pagan Altar's combination of doom metal gravitas and NWOBHM attitude remains as strong as ever on this release, and whilst it's good that we have it at the same time it's a shame they didn't manage to have a more prolific career back in the 1980s.