To The Nameless Dead is an interesting title, where did it come from?

it came originally from a headstone erected in cork, southern Ireland by the local blacksmith to the nameless dead who had died during the great famine 1845-49, and to those who left the port to attempt to find a new life for themselves over the atlantic ocean in America onboard the coffin ships.

The running idea is Nationhood.  Is there such a thing anymore or are we really islands to ourselves?

It’s a loose theme ?. is there such a think as nationhood ?. I think you should ask that for example to all the people all over this earth fighting for what they believe is their “nation”. In Europe Kosovo just declared themselves an independent state. We can see images of Palestinians under siege in the Gaza strip every day on the news. Ask Basque separatists or people in Northern Ireland who believe they are Irish and do not live in England. Of course nationhood is a burning question in the modern world.

The last album, The Gathering Wilderness, was a masterpiece.  Were you intimidated when you started work on The Nameless Dead?

No, not at all. We just approached things like we always did. Things take time in this band. When it feels right we gather when we can in the rehearsal room and hammer things out. We are our own biggest critics but we know exactly what makes Primordial sound as it does.

Again, the idea is seemingly Nationhood.  Why this particular topic?

I’m not sure I understand the question ?, is this connected to question two ?. It is not the only topic, we are dealing with loss of faith, martyrdom. Many things.

The lyrics seem personal.  Was there something in you that needed to come out?

let me explain something. Primordial is art not entertainment. It’s not fantasy, its not romance. It’s not some facile comic book bullshit about zombies or unicorns of angels. Art reflects life, how we as human beings relate to the world around us. Of course it’s personal, all music has some form of catharsis in it.

The feel is very dark, what attracts you to that side of writing?

This is not fantasy or escapism. This is a dark world we live in and Primordial reflects that. I can’t really say it any simpler then that.

The artwork for TND is different, something that you normally do not see.  Where did it come from and why did you use it.  What does it tell?

We wanted to side step all the usual clichés. I was quite inspired aesthetically by the neo-folk, industrial scene as a whole when it came to not only this album but also Wilderness. We wanted something instantly recognizable as Primordial and I think the imagery perfectly fits the mood of the album.

Tell us about each of the tracks and what commanded you to write them.

I can’t really separate them like that as the inspiration for the whole writing period was somewhat similar and it’s quite hard to quantify in a short soundbite what exactly inspired every song. People, places, passages in time, readings and writings, traveling the world. It really can be anything that inspires us, we don’t place any kind of limitation upon it.

Your sound is a bombastic Wall of Music.  What is your approach to producing a Primordial album?

The atmosphere as a whole is more important then the sound of individual instruments, we are not striving for a modern sound or what some would consider modern perfection. Which at least to me more often then not sounds like a computer. We wanted an old warm, rich, raw analog sound. The sound of 5 people playing together putting their all into what they are doing. We don’t spend ages in the studio, work hard and quick and try and capture the feeling.

You have a seemingly negative vibe on your website about the success of the band.  Is the music that you create not a success unto itself?

I don’t know if I really agree with that. I am quite negative about the music industry in general and the bullshit that surrounds it. I’m quite glad we have an understanding label and that we work on our own terms and those terms alone. We never planned on being the biggest band, or the most extreme or the fastest etc. never compromising was always our goal and we have achieved that.

Do you really feel that he band is in it’s twilight or do you have more albums in your veins considering the creative peak that you are in?

I really don’t know, when we made one album I couldn’t see us making 6 so who is to say we won’t make ten albums. I doubt it personally but you never know. Right now there doesn’t seem to be an end in sight and we are in the ascendant…

What does Primordial mean to you at this point in your career?

I have been in Primordial longer then I haven’t which is a strange thing to consider. It’s part of me and each album captures where we were as individuals at that time. Whatever happens to me I have created something that will outlive me if I died tomorrow. That sense of timelessness regardless of scene is what always drove us. I am proud to have been part of it.

You do custom backdrops and other art for bands.  Tell us exactly what you can do for a band.

I can paint backdrops for bands, local demo bands mainly. I don’t really have much time at the moment so there isn’t much to say about it really.

Will we see a DVD from any of the Festivals and other shows that you will be doing to support this album?

Hopefully over the year we will collect enough footage to release something at the end of the year. That’s the rough plan anyway.

Do you have a desire to play America  and do you feel that will be come a reality?

Of course, we played the first Heathen Crusade and it was great, very positive people and the reaction was tremendous. Logistically a whole tour might be hard for us with the way our lives are but hopefully we can do some sort of tour or min tour sometime in 08.

What do you see in the future for Primordial?

no compromise. Not then. Not now. Not ever……….

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