primordial

Archive | Reviews | "The Gathering Wilderness" from Hot Press, 2005

'Given the incestuous nature of the Irish music scene, you'd have thought that a band who've been around over 10 years, released 5 albums and received great acclaim across Europe would feature quire prominently on the radar. So how come Dublin's Primordial aren't exactly household names? The answer is simple- they play metal. Not the kind of post ironic metal that abounds in these post-Darkness days but the real, dark deal.

Titles like 'The song of the Tomb' and 'The Coffin Ship' say it all; this is black music for black times. It's also quite unexpectedly thrilling. From the crushing opening riff of the golden spiral thru each 7 mins plus epicthe music is complex and intricate. While its extremity doesn't exactly invite the casual listener to climb on board, they arent that averse to melody and song structure-it's just that the lyric sheet is a non-stop atrocity exhibition of death doom and destruction.

For all we like to think of our set of alternative bands as beyond the mainstream, primordial really are standing on the outside looking in- don't expect to see them on Other Voices too soon. It might scare the shit out of you, but 'The Gathering Wilderness' thoroughly deserves to be heard.

8/10

"well, well for years we have of course been ignored by the mainstream Irish press and radio. Although they did review our 3rd album Journeys End back in the day I can count the amount of Irish interviews I've done for the mainstream press on one finger...well rather no fingers. However it seems Hot Press have relented and decided to interview us for an upcoming issue. So keep your eyes for some bile and vitriol directed at the safe and friendly Irish music industry. Here's an idea of how it works...ok other countries give out grammys to extreme Metal bands we don't even have a rock category, booking a gig on a Saturday night in a normal venue if you are an Irish venue (the one we are playing in may if you know which one) is an arduous task to say the least...being pushed from billy to jack with no one having the guts to confirm you. Chances of playing a festival in Ireland with normal bands forget it ?...even when most other mainstream festivals always have Metal bands or a Metal tent or a Metal night. Try not having a Metal band at any kind of festival in Italy or Germany or what have you. What do we get ?, well you might get the Darkness for all the ball less indie kids who haven't the guts to admit that AC/DC really kicks seven shades of shit out of whatever self pitying coffee table music it is that's flavour of the moment. Which here is "Singer songwriter" acoustic guitar drivel. Says a lot about a country and the state of the people when you look at the music it buys...this drivel says it all, safe, complacent, rich and shallow. So as you can imagine Primordial is too dangerous, dark and challenging for
the mainstream...
oh yeah that idea Hot Press interviewed a piss take covers band called Snakes of Desire...the concept of covering or getting behind or even respecting a real Metal band seems anathema to them. Or at least it has been. We'll see what the interview turns out like....watch this space. oh by the way here in Ireland we are more like lepers without the bells...."
/Nem