primordial

Archive | Reviews | "Storm Before Calm" from Sonic Death Mag, January 2003

As far as the more widely available Black Metal albums are concerned, there seems to be a stagnant feeling hanging over this particular sector of the genre. Luckily for us, we have Primordial. Hailing from Ireland, Primordial have continued to develop and improve throughout the years without ever compromising their cult status. Make no mistake, the Celts were a violent, proud warrior people and 'Storm Before Calm' accurately captures this with its atmospheric, inspiring and nihilistic themes.

Playing what can accurately be described as epic Black/Doom Metal with an underlying Celtic flavour, this album stands as something refreshingly unique - a certain rarity within the genre from which it stems. The intense, spacious and grandiose atmosphere evoked throughout is nothing short of breathtaking, which achieved without the helping hand of any keyboards whatsoever. Vocalist A.A Nemtheanga has a theatrical and expressible ardour about his presence; his vocals range from a clean, gruff vocal style that is both melodic and soaring, a more raspy variation of this and of course, hateful, trollish and searing Black Metal shrieks. Equally impressive is the drumming performance of M. O'Floinn who thankfully does not deem it necessary to overload this listener with continuous blast-beats. Instead, we are given a glorious display of incredibly diverse and captivating drumming styles that are pulled off with a particularly professional precision.

The music's primal sensibilities belie a complex song writing approach. The individual passages of each song flow together subliminally, which has an engulfing effect on the listener. So smooth are the transitions that they often sneak by unnoticed, this is a very rare talent indeed. Unsurprisingly the music is mainly chord driven, with a magnificently epic feel that although mainly Black Metal in nature, there are other forces at work here. Primordial's Doom Metal influences entwine with the vehemence of Black Metal to give a swirling, brooding atmosphere that captures the hate and beauty that are drawn from their respective influences. At times aspects of the sound are reminiscent of Doom bands such as Solstice and My Dying Bride - the secret to this lies in the guitar work, of which the entrancing leads can slow right down and create soaring, depressive soundscapes to lose yourself within. The Black Metal influences are taken from bands such as Bathory and at a push, Burzum.

'Storm Before Calm' represents a beacon of hope within a Black Metal genre that has certainly seen better days. The excellent distribution afforded courtesy of Hammerheart Records really leaves no excuse for any fan of Black Metal in this vein to not have this as part of their collection. Sorrowful, vengeful and all encompassing, this is certainly among the greatest albums of 2002.

Neil Yeomans - 04/01/2003