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Artist......: Cloven Hoof
Album.......: The Opening Ritual
Year........: 2014
Genre.......: Heavy Metal
Type........: EP
Label.......: Metal Nation Records
Language....: English
Source......: WEB/FLAC (16bit)
Quality.....: 881kbps / 44.1 kHz / Stereo
Tracks......: 9 tracks
Playtime....: 00:50:18
Size........: 319.5 MiB
R.Date......: 2026-10-20
S.Date......: 2014-08-18
Url.........: https://open.qobuz.com/album/q5f92ysicsubc
01. Gates of Gehenna 6:09
02. Stormrider 4:24
03. Back in the Usa 4:32
04. Starship Sentinel 6:52
05. That's the Way It Goes (bonus) 3:36
06. Return of the Passover (bonus) 8:53
07. Road of Eagles (bonus) 6:35
08. A Piece of the Action (bonus) 4:58
09. Nightstalker (live) (bonus) 4:19
Cloven Hoof are an English heavy metal band from
Wolverhampton, active from 1979 to 1990, and again from
around 2000 onward. They were associated with the new
wave of British heavy metal movement, alongside bands
such as Iron Maiden, Saxon, and Diamond Head.
The Opening Ritual is an EP by the British heavy metal
band Cloven Hoof, and their debut release in 1982.
The EP stayed in the Sounds and Kerrang! heavy metal
charts for six weeks, peaking at number 18. Articles in
Kerrang! and Noise magazines followed, with Geoff Barton
tipping the band for the top in his prestigious
"Breaking through in '82 feature," and playlist.
Over in America, unbeknownst to the band, John
Strednansky was championing the band in his Metal
Rendezvous magazine, and college radio stations were
airing the EP on their playlists. A worldwide buzz was
growing and international stardom seemed a formality.
However, bad contract advice and in-fighting put paid to
a huge recording deal. The untimely death of David
Hemmings, the band's manager, was another terrible blow.
An independent label was the only alternative for Cloven
Hoof to once again gather momentum.
Undeterred, The Opening Ritual attained airplay on
numerous radio stations worldwide, but it was not until
Tommy Vance and Geoff Barton played tracks off the EP on
radio one in the UK that the Cloven ones' career really
began to break into a gallop.
This version includes the four-track 1982 demo as bonus
tracks (tracks 5-8) and a previously unreleased live
version of the song "Nightstalker".