Let’s start about the title of your album. What is the namelss dead? Why nameless?

well there are several different themes of course but one of the main currents running through them is that of nationhood. Why a certain people believe they have rights to a certain land. The movement of borders. The eclipsing of nations, what happens to their folklore, folk heroes, languages etc. the people upon whom empires are built. The nameless dead who gave their lives in wars, in the mud, shit, blood and filth remembered only as numbers. To people who gave their lives thinking they were making a better life for their people only to have it all taken from them. People the world over who in their own way fought for what they believed in…testament to the tenacity of the spirit in man to resist and rebel. Maybe this album is their song…

I’ve noted a great folk influence in this new album Can we talk about your folk aesthetic? What is the folklore for you?

We have always taken some inspiration from Irish traditional music but always in a dark and subtle way. Nothing typical andn nothing that you would expect. From very early on in the bands career we wanted to mix our Epic Metal template with some Irish traditional influence. Mainly though the dark and melacholic side of the music. You can hear it in our 6/8 timings, phrases and chords for anyone who is a musician. Very untypical for Metal.

Which is the concept behind your album and, in general, behind Primordial music?

It’s  just engaging with the world we live in. Primordial is not escapism, it is not fantasy. This is very real and we are not entertainers. We are artists and at least to me we are continuing a great Irish artistic tradition. Writers and musicians. We are motivated by the need to communicate something to people, which is surely the intent of all art ?. to make people think if we can, challenge and move them. To make a stand for something real, to be able to look my peers, my family, my children perhaps someday in the eye and say what I created came from purity and honesty and I tried to make my mark with honour and integrity. When we stand onstage and play a song like “The Coffin Ships” I hope in some small way I am keeping our history alive, keeping people’s memories alive. Bringing something of ourselves to people. Moving them in some way. Not everything has to be pre-packaged for the 3 minutes pop consumer culture in a shallow way.The concept behind this album is one of nationhood and martyrdom, of sacrifices and faith.

A song in particolar caught my attention. I always loved latin/roman history so can you please talk a litle bit about ‘As Rome Burns’?

I think in the West we have sacrificed any form of spirituality for naked capitalism. Sacrificed our culture and history to the United States of Europe. We are fiddling while Rome is about to Burn. That’s the basic idea behind the song. The line “you may look away but your children will not” is perhaps one of the most important on the album. I think we are in the the very last generation who can choose to ignore the world we have created. We will burn...

You have a very long career on your back made of picks and valley, as I can read on your website. Which is the highest pooint of your career in your opinion? And the lo west one?

The highest point ?. I think the simple fact we have never compromised, never give in to anyone. Always struggled and fought our corner and never done anything for commercial reasons. We are still going now stronger then ever. There has been many low points, shitty gigs, fights, rip off labels etc. But I just use these as fuel to my fire and will power not to give in...

Will you please analyze your musical changes throughout all your discography? Do you think that in all these years you changed only as musician/artists or also as men?

Of course we have evolved as people, we have grown as musicians but we still understand what it means to be in Primordial, what the music means. You can still hear it is the same band that played on our demo. The hunger is still there, unlike some other bands we will never say our first album sucks for example. You do the best of your ability at the time and live with it. We have grown from not being friends in the beginning, from fighting all the time to being like a gang sometimes. It’s us against the world sometimes...we are the outsiders, the rebels...

You’re always labelled as a black metal band (with other definitions attached like irish, folk, rock, ecc). Do you think that this definition really fits to your music or not? Why?

Personally i dont care for labels or definitions. That’s up to the fans and the journalists. Just know it is Metal, dark and honest. We came from the second wave of Black Metal that much is obvious to anyone. We are not orthodox Black Metal in the pure sense however it is the kind of Metal I feel closest to and I think you can hear some Black Metal always beating in the heart of Primordial.

Can you please spend some word on the recording process? Where, when, how… feelings, emotions…

It rained every fucking day how about that !. Well we learned a lot from recording the last album and we had some very definite ideas this time around and the studio is old itself. It’s full of old gear and we could wake up and jam with each other all standing in the same room and get our ideas out. I don’t like the computerised sound of most modern metal records, they don’t have and life or soul. The frequency range maxed out completely and no space between the instruments. Anyone who tells me the drum sound on the new Soilwork cd is better then Mob Rules or Killers is missing something. We aren’t looking for perfection, we are looking for something honest and real sounding and while everyone is trying to make something sounding more perfect then the next album they are missing one thing. Soul !…I’d rather listen to Venom or The Ramones then something that sounds like it’s been played by a computer !. The differences this time round were that we recorded as much as we could live and went for less layers of guitar only heavier, very much like a traditional old Metal album, two rhythms panned left and right, we fired up some old compressors and went through a big old desk. Not a laptop. The way at least I think Metal should be…

All your album have received very good reviews. How ca you explain your big success? It’s onyl your amazing music or something else?

We have always been something of a critics band. In truth I think the band is hard to criticise. You can’t accuse us of sounding like anyone else or not being original for example. This of course doesnt always mean that you sell albums as bands who are difficult to categorise often dont sell that much. However maybe things are changing for us.

I always wondered where the name Nemtheanga comes from?

Nem means evil in old Irish and theanga or theang means tongue or language so it basically means evil tongue or something like that. Hard to translate.

Can you please talk me a lil bit about your Nemtheanga's Art?

When i get the time i paint backdrops for some bands here and there. Nothing more really, mainly irish demo bands. I dont really have the time to be drawing logos or painting album covers anymore but when i can its something i like to do...

No compromise. Not then. Not now. Not ever

Thank you for your time and attention and good luck for the new album

Cheers, Pier Marzano