 Celtic Black Metal giants Primordial are back with a brand new slab of metal so intense and grand, it makes their Viking counterparts look like queens. Primordial have been known to being insanely consistent throughout their career and winning over their fans every time, despite their love for experimentation. Even after two decades of being in and out of the industry and being overlooked, Primordial sound as epic, as mournful and as aggressive as ever. The only noticeable change being their progression into an incredibly proficient song writing team.
I've been a fan of the band for a couple of years now. 2005s The Gathering Wilderness being one my favorite black metal albums. I couldn't have imagined that album getting knocked down from its position so soon, but it has been and To the Nameless Dead is right up there among Anthems to the Welkin at Dusk, Frost, For Kunsten Maa Vi Evig Vike etc.
The album opens with Empire Falls and you can't help but be drawn into the simple yet eccentric world of Primordial. Battlefields, grassy landscape, ponies. Wait a second, wrong fantasy. Battlefields, grassy landscape, horses. Gallows Hymn. As Rome Burns. Failures Burden. These guys are relentless. Every song on this album is a masterwork of heavy metal. Even the short ambient interlude The Rising Tide - Keeping you on the edge with anticipation of what’s to come next. And there it is, Traitor's Gate - The fastest song on the album and just when you think there's no way they can top this one for a better album closer, comes No Nation on this Earth. A brooding melody is played over and over again until it becomes a part of your psyche and when it changes you'd wish it didn't. But the mid-paced song makes for an excellent album closer. As the song fades out, it leaves you hanging in the balance hoping for more.
The guitar tones on this album are really rich and the subtle use of the wall-of-sound effect makes it sound really lofty and voluminous without drowning out the rest of the band. Alan Averill gets the man of the match award for some of the most intense singing performances I’ve heard in a long while. His rather energetic melancholic voice soaring high above the rest of the band and at times managing to sound like a cross between Aaron Stainthorpe (My Dying Bride) and Kristoffer Rygg (Arcturus).
Highly recommended.
Year of Release - 2007
Label - Metal Blade Records
Pól MacAmlaigh - Bass
Ciáran MacUiliam - Guitars
Alan Averill - Vocals
Michael O'Floinn - Guitars
Simon O'Laoghaire - Drums
Primordial Myspace page
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