primordial

Archive | Interviews | Unrestrained! Magazine, Jan 2005

- In the liner notes to Spirit the Earth Aflame, you talk about the twin forces of Strength and Tragedy which are represented in your music. Ever since I read that comment, I think that my interpretation of and appreciation for your music has been seen in light of that how that balance between Strength and Tragedy shifts from one album to the next. How does The Gathering Wilderness achieve its own balance between Strength and Tragedy, in contrast with your previous material?

I think that the band has always had this light and shade, our history is one of tragedy and of overcoming those tragedies. One of struggle and fight as well and since we are so interlinked with our history and culture its inevitable and natural for us that our music sounds as it does. So Tragedy and Might seemed to me to be a very apt way of summing up Primordial's music. And it has nothing to do with how aggressive it is or really the sound, more the atmosphere. Sometimes the slow passages can have the most fight and bile in them in a punishing claustrophobic way. With this album ?...its difficult to say. Most people seem to think it less aggressive then the last one but personally I think its bleaker, darker, blacker and more oppressive sounding then ever.

- Primordial's melodic dimension has always been somewhat melancholic/nostalgic, in keeping with at least one aspect of the Tragic, but I think that the new album explores other aspects of Primordial's Tragic melody. It sounds more desperate, a struggle within, like somebody in the midst of an existential crisis and grappling with the process of self-overcoming. Likewise, the title also gestures towards something gathering on the horizon rather than ordeals of the past. Is there more of a future-orientation to The Gathering Wilderness?

Primordial has always been a band in the here and now. we never were nor are not romantics longing for an ancient past. we live in the here and now. Of course there are great things to take from the past and these are our roots and we need them more then ever in this brave new world but we have never been about fantasy or pure mythology. If I use an old Irish text in a lyric then it will be used in such a way that it has resonance today. However you are right this album is the sound of an almost desperate struggle, of alienation. This is the album for the underdog. Those who feel every liberty has been taken from them, their culture trampled upon, their history rewritten. The Wilderness is Gathering all its children in...

- On the other hand, perhaps any serious historical inquiry possesses a present-or future-orientation, for accepting the burden of history is always also a coming-to-terms with one's self. How important do you think that historical consciousness is to the process of Becoming?

Without a shadow of a doubt understanding your roots and how you relate to them is vastly important for rounding you as a human being in this modern age. An age that tries to uproot you and sever your ties from the past and sell them as commercial profit. It can be difficult, like trying to cling to something steadfast in the eye of the storm itself but if we cannot do this and achieve this then we are born into the future with nothing.

- The Gathering Wilderness also features some of your harshest material to date. The songs remain very epic, but they also seem to be more direct, more go-for-the-throat in approach. There are fewer open spaces, and it seems that the dynamics are generated more through varying textures/tones rather than varying densities of sound (if that makes any sense). Why the decision to move in a harsher direction? How would you describe the opportunities that this movement has provided for the band to explore other dimensions of its sound?

Well you know 5 albums in we wanted and needed to challenge ourselves, we needed to shake up the formula as regards production and engineering. so we got Billy Anderson in there behind the desk and we wanted the sound you would hear if you stood in the middle of our rehearsal room. stripped back of triggers and computers and the horrible sound most bands in this day and age go for. We wanted Blood Fire Death not Arch Enemy you know. We just write songs as we do though, we don't second guess them or think about this and that but it is a fair comment to say the album is more direct. If you see us live this is more like what you will get...

- Just reading over the interviews in your website archive, it seems like you are repeatedly stating your ties to second wave black metal over and against those who don't perceive the connections. I think that many of the guitar melodies heard on The Gathering Wilderness are the most self-evidently "black metal" in terms of technique since A Journey's End and before. While this influence has never been absent, it does feel much more pronounced on The Gathering Wilderness. Why did you decide to move in this direction? How do you feel that the use of these melodic techniques have affected Primordial's sound? I've always found the tone/melody to be quite hypnotic in black metal, and I think that also comes through with The Gathering Wilderness.

Sure, I mean I really don't care if people see it or not. The kind of people who lump us in with Opeth or Dark Tranquillity or Anathema haven't really got a clue to what they are listening to. This band was born from the second wave of Black Metal. At the time there was no strict definition of sound. You had the Greek sound, the Norwegian sound, the Finnish sound, American,
Swiss, German etc. And we had our Irish sound. The spirit of bands like Bathory, Candlemass, Sabbat and Celtic Frost engendered within us the rebellious spirit, to dare to go against the grain and we ran with it and the spirit of that early scene was glorious to be a part of. No one generally sounds like us and no one plays the chords we do or in the timings we do so you know...go figure.

- Continuing from the last question, you have often cited Bathory as an influence, and that seems to come through with particular strength in places on The Gathering Wilderness, especially in reference to Hammerheart and Twilight. Was your movement in this direction at all inspired by the recently-departed Quorthon? Perhaps a subtle homage?

Not really to be honest. The spirit of Bathory has always been in Primordial but I guess the more raw and direct sound of the album helps it to shine a little more. Of course his death affected us all greatly and it was so tragic. Yet we just write as we do as I said, we don't say...oh here's that Bathory part. yet we dont deny his influence, on the contrary we are proud of it. Rest in Peace Q.

- Your vocal approach on the new album is probably your most diverse and expressive yet, in terms of the extremes of emotion which you convey. Which passages are you particularly proud of from an artistic standpoint? Which passages do you feel usher your art to a new level?

I don't know really. I'm thankful that I can achieve more and more with every passing year and can achieve most things I try and do. This kind of melodic yet gruff or brutal singing tone can be heard on songs like sons of the morrigan and fallen to ruin from the last album storm before calm but this time round its more pronounced and it fits the stripped back sound and the raw-to the bone atmosphere. When you mean what you say and say what you mean its not so hard to convince you know...you just put every nerve and muscle and fibre of your being into it. No more no less.

- Why did you decide to switch from Mags to Billy Anderson as a producer? In contrast with Mags' work, what qualities do you think that Billy Anderson brought to the recording? I note particular differences in the guitar tone. Do you think that the album would have came out much differently had Mags recorded it?

Yeah I'm sure it would have, I mean Mags is a great great guy and one of the most influential guys we've ever had the pleasure to work with and it was a hard thing to decide against using him but sometimes you just need to shake things up you know. Things can get too safe. Billy and I had some mutual friends and I got his number and called him up. He brought his craziness and energy to Ireland and although there was some hard times we came through it. What can I say he's the King of Filth and that's what we wanted.

- I would imagine that recording this sort of music in the studio can be very difficult. It requires you to express a lot of emotion, but oftentimes I would imagine that the studio is simply not the place where those emotions can be easily summoned. So, how did you extract this emotion from yourself while in the studio recording The Gathering Wilderness?

Totally. I personally don't like the studio too much. I find it restricting and often boring and having to summon the muse as we an say at will to get the best and most honest performance can be so draining both mentally and physically. And we aren't the kind of band to practise 4 times a week and have everything worked out in advance. A lot of it is experimentation and trial and error but we try and go with the feeling often more then precise technicalities. However I must say as I've said before when you are singing about something that is so close to the heart I cant do it and not become immersed in it.

- Not only in terms of production, but in terms of vibe and composition, this album feels much rawer, more primal, than your last two albums. Even the melodies really seem to get back to a sense of raw, unmediated expression. Why the decision to move in this direction?

I don't know really. this may seem like a lame answer but we really don't examine it too much. We only knew we wanted this kind of sound and that's why we changed studio and got Billy in but as for the songs. Well what comes out comes out and we don't for a moment think hey we better get a fast short one in there to level things out. Every album is like a chapter of the same book, we don't repeat ourselves but we know what makes Primordial Primordial and if you as a listener trust us with each new Journey then I think that's the best way to think of it.

- What is the meaning behind the album title? It obviously ties in very closely with the album artwork and is also the title to the second song on the album, so I am assuming that this particular phrase resonated with good reason?

Since we recorded our last album the world seems a much darker, desperate place and that's really what the title reflects. Its about so many things but it reflects politics the world over, the feeling of civil unrest among people, their feelings of alienation and the feeling that their freedoms are being taken from them, the feeling that old historical wounds are being re-opened, old hatreds re-ignited. History being rewritten to suit the victors or rather economical victors. This is almost the album for the underdog and it beggars the question, when you have nothing else to loose what can you do to make sure your voice it heard ?....will you let the Storm carry you away or will you cling fast to our ideals and beliefs ?. This album is about that struggle. People thought I would mellow with age but the opposite has happened, I've become more full of rage then ever and I think you can hear that...

- Some albums are meant to be heard in the track sequence offered; rearranging the order would disrupt the journey. Other albums seem to allow the listener to cut in at any particular track and jump around as desired. In which category do you think that The Gathering Wilderness fits? How did the band determine the track sequence for the new album?

Again I'm not sure, this order seemed the most natural. This is a band without choruses or solos or what have you so we try and arrange things so they have the most dramatic sequence. Like a Journey of light and shades. Our bassist seems the most apt at arranging these things so we left it to him and I think it works.

- I know that this is likely difficult to put into words, but could you tell me about your relationship to Irish culture? It is more than just an inspiration for your music, it almost seems to be an energy which your music harnesses. Do you think that the quality of being Irish is primarily physiological (e.g. hereditary) or learned (e.g. cultural)?

Both. I'm born Irish and as such have grown to have the characteristics Irish people share, there is an energy about us as a race of people that is very unique and all of us share that. I have been saying this since we started the interview process but you know we play music because we have to, because it is in our blood and our culture. Not because we might as well or for the sake of a good tune you know. I view this band as continuing a great Irish artistic tradition that stretched back for hundreds of years, now whether that seems over the top to some people I don't really care. We are not entertainers, we are artists and this is real music. However in answer to the question...things couldn't be any different, our culture and music are one
in the same.

- Why did you choose to sign with Metal Blade Records? It was an unexpected decision, to say the least...but in many respects I think that it makes a lot of sense, for both label and band. Do you expect that this move will result in a stronger presence for the band in North America?

I hope so. Basically I knew people in the German offices for years and we were always under contract to other labels but when the time came and we were free we contacted them and I'm thankful to say it worked out. I'm just happy to be with a label where I don't have to worry about people not doing their job properly. You know its taken a lot of years for us to get to where we are and I feel now after 14 years we are in the strongest position we have ever been in and it feels like vindication, a testament to our willpower to not give in and not let the bastards grind us down. This industry is fucked but right now for once I'm feeling positive. We'll see what happens but u know Primordial will sound the same if we sell 5000 or 50 000 have no fears.

- Writing in any form - lyrics, poetry, a book, whatever - can not only be about presenting words to an audience, but also a process of self-discovery. Have you learned anything new about yourself as you wrote the words to The Gathering Wilderness?

I guess Like I said that I haven't lost my rage or my focus over the years and that we still have the energy and will to make vital sounding music. Personally I've opened myself up to everything, I could be influenced or inspired by anything, so I have some far more positive influences even though they might be difficult to ascertain but also found this world to be an even darker place then perhaps I even thought...

- After finishing any major project, such as the creation of an album, there must be an intense rush of emotion when you finally hold the finished product in your hand for the first time. Could you tell me about the response that you had, the first time that you held a finished copy of The Gathering Wilderness in your hands?

I still haven't got one !!!, its in the pressing plant !, I have the promo of course. But for once I didn't have a label boss telling me you cant have that packaging and this and that so if all goes well The Gathering Wilderness should look very special and yeah I'm looking forward to getting it, its another special moment and a milestone. I remember the first time I ever got Imrama as clear as day...I stared at it for like 30 mins before I could talk...

- Do you listen to your own music often? If so, how does listening to your music affects you personally? Does it evoke specific, concrete, memories of the album 's creation - perhaps of the songwriting process or the time spent recording the material? Or does it communicate to you in a more abstract emotional sense?
If so, how/what?

Hard to say, often I don't listen to the album for weeks or months after its done, you've lived with these songs 24-7 for such a long time and simply your brain is scrambled and you are too close to it. Some of the other guys can listen to it over and over hearing bum notes and that kind of thing, but I don't really care it takes me a long time to get used to it and see it in connection with the older albums. Then one day I pick it up and it makes sense. Where I really feel it is when we play the songs live.

- I am sure that you are familiar with the old saying, "that which does not kill you, can only make you stronger." Do you think that this applies to Primordial's existence as a band? If so, how?

Totally. We've been through so much hassle, tragedy and stress not only as people but as a collective. So it makes sense we make music as we do, but these days Primordial is like an institution in all our lives at this stage and as I said before we have to make music so right now this is merely where we are in this stage of our lives. But you know its easier to give in and then be sitting in a bar somewhere bitching to someone going...I used to be in a band, we released an album back in 1995 those were the good old days blah blah, you have to make things happen and not give in.