Primordial – To the Nameless Dead (2007) / 100%

Stoutness, Sophistication and Sorrow

Tony’s classics part III: One of my favorite bands for like a decade, I always wanted to get my thoughts together and write a Primordial review. This is, in my opinion, their magnum opus so here it is.

To the Nameless Dead is a pure emotional voyage through music with a strong historical grasp of the world. With these eight songs, Alan Averill explores the dark past of Ireland with a sharp pen and an intellectual mind. The lyrics while linked to certain moments in time can also be interpreted in a timeless or contemporary way. “Empire Falls” can be seen as the fall of the Roman Empire or the upcoming and likely destruction of the modern western world and he, himself, mentions the fall of the west in the notes of the truly epic “As Rome Burns”

“The West is ripe for the picking, ready for the fall”

It’s not an objective vision though and nor should it be. It’s a sad and pessimistic portrayal worthy of Ireland’s rough history. There’s harsh connotations about genocide, assimilation, the faith of nations and the reasons and repercussions of wars. There’s also a true analytic work behind the lyrics of Primordial and it’s true for all their albums. They underlines the deep meaningful aspects of Earth’s tragic and often unfair history. Their four previous albums (The Gathering Wilderness in particular) almost reached the perfect mix of depressive storytelling and music and even if the band has never released a bad album (and possibly never will), their formula has never been as accomplished as it is on this 2007 opus.

“History is often dictated by faith. Putting the worlds to rights while it passes you by. Is there an honour in following your words to the bitter end despite being plagued with doubts?”

If I truly believe in something it must be the fact that the quintet will never give up their quest to unravel the shadows of the human psyche with their sound. Still, enough about their thematics, let’s talk about how freaking good the music is instead. Primordial are one of those bands formed in the 90s who really managed to craft an idiosyncratic sound out of already existing sounds. Bands like Opeth, Moonspell, Rotting Christ or even Darkthrone all created new versions of genres but in Primordial’s case, it took more time for their identity to be developed to its most refined version, the To the Nameless Dead version. While 1995’s Imrama is a good album, it feels unfinished and lacking in scope. Taking the epic sound of Viking era Bathory and drowning it in Celtic folk, we should be in known territories but the compositions are so distinctive and surprising.

I do think that a lot of great bands possess the ability to build a wall of sound where all the instrumentation comes together to make the recipe totally complete. While you can of course praise the guitar playing of MacUiliam or the thunderous drumming of O’Laoghaire, the five guys all come together in the end. The songs are long and meandering in the best way possible. They’re also packed with riffs and never feel like they’re overlong. There’s basically no bands who are that tight at writing eight minutes songs. Primordial are classified as a black metal band only because no other genre can fit their lush yet dark sound. Dark metal isn’t a real genre either, go away Bethlehem. They’re hand to pinpoint not only because of Alan’s vocals but also because of the unique and intricate songwriting. Their riffs can often be seen as simple but they’re emotionally charged and the duel guitar approach gave the band an atmospheric force. It’s never whiny, self-absorbed or pretentious, it’s down to earth and has the right amount of melodies and memorable vocal lines to feed the entire city of Dublin for decades.

“Oh they’re folk metal? Like Korpiklaani?”

“NO.”

Folk metal is mostly a vile genre full of drink-along songs and lyrics about Hobbits and generic vikings with horns on their helmets (not historically accurate, motherfuckers). On the other hand, Primordial are so much deeper and interesting in their conservative but still quite original way. It’s not overproduced (“not very produced” to quote the booklet) and it makes the sound really natural. There’s no useless flush, no keyboards or flutes. It’s lo-fi folk metal full of gloomy attitude. As an example, the subtle use of acoustic guitar in “Heathen Tribes” is far from cheesy and overdone. Their seriousness and their sophisticated yet honest epic side is what makes them so great. They never try to impress with neoclassical guitar solos or bludgeon the listener with gear worshiping riffs. Primordial is the mysterious rogue at the obscured table at the back of the tavern who knows that he could take you down with ease if he wanted to. This album managed to kick my arse when I’ve heard it in 2008 and I still spin my copy often (three times during the writing of this review!)

Alan Averill has always been one of my vocalist for the unadulterated passion he delivers. He’s one of those instantly recognizable voices in metal and he’s always so emotional and expressive. He’s really good at those gritty harsh vocals like the ones on “No Nation on This Earth” but the soaring cleans were always my personal highlight as they’re the aspect of the band that made me a fan in the place. He’s like a possessed spirit singing the woes of his nation to whoever come across his tomb. Like the music, his voice transcends genres, he fits epic doom very well (see his other band Dread Sovereign) or even war metal (see the short lived Irish/Canadian project Blood Revolt) and he never gets boring.

Their latest two albums tried to expand their sound a bit but they’re not as compact and as To the Nameless Dead. This album hits all the sweet spots in terms of lyrics, riffs, ideas and overall enjoyment. Primordial are without a doubt a blue collar band, hard working and hard drinking individuals who continue to do what they love despite all odds. Regardless of who they appear to be, they’re highly intelligent and this is a masterpiece for the ages.

Primordial in 2007

Dark Forest – Beyond the Veil (2016) / 85%

Epic English artful metal

The English lads are back with their fourth album and it’s their most ambitious work since their formation. Beyond the Veil is a truly epic album clocking over seventy minutes and really showcase everything the band can do. I’ll admit the length was overwhelming at first and I still think it’s too long for the genre they play but there’s nothing disposable to be found on the record. They suffer from the same syndrome one of their main inspirations has been suffering for a while, I’m of course talking about the overlong albums of Iron Maiden.

Their mix of classic NWOBHM with the fun folky melodic side of Skyclad is enjoyable but since their formula is so uplifting, it’s a bit too much at times. They do unleash the necessary slower and calm moments such as the two interludes but those are a bit too short to really catch your breath between the busy, often long numbers (six songs over six minutes). Songs like “Earthbound” bring a melancholic mid-paced feel but still brings out the riffs. For such a long album, there’s not a lot of surprises but the title track has those added female vocals adding an ethereal influence to one of the catchiest tracks of Beyond the Veil. This same song also has a pure folk break without turning it into a cheese fest.

I’ve been listening to the album a lot and while it’s an exhausting experience, it’s nevertheless a rewarding. I do feel like skipping some tracks to reach the concluding fourteen minutes epic “The Lore of the Land” which really feel it could be on Dance of Death or The Final Frontier (I love those albums by the way)

Josh Winnard’s second album with the band sees the singer expands on his performance from The Awakening. The dude sounds really good and fits the elegant traditional metal identity of Dark Forest very well. His approach is clean, powerful and he has a lot of range and really fits the powerful vibe the band explores. Sure, he’s not rough or anything and is perhaps one of the most noticeable power metal aspects of the band but I enjoyed his contribution. The choruses and vocal lines are super epic and never boring.

Patrick Jenkins and the band founder Christian Horton both delivers excellent twin guitar harmonies and like their ancestors, their guitar styles encompass heavy, folk, epic power or even speed metal and considering the songs are packed, it’s always combined into a tightly knit package. The leads are well written and they also know how to write clean soothing moments (like on “The Wild Hunt” ).

While it’s too long-winded for nothing, Beyond the Veil is a great album worth your precious time if you like this kind of metal. They’re certainly able to represent England’s past in a wonderful way.

Dark Forest on Facebook

Originally published on The Metal Observer

L'Airged l'amh – One Eyed God (2002) / 75%

Hellenic Metal Help Fund part II – Varangian Silver

A series highlighting the best of what the Greek underground metal scene has to offer. In this time of need for the legendary country, let's show our support by listening to their rich musical endeavors.

The Athenians formed this project way back in the 80s but this is their debut album released more than a decade after their inception. The name of the project is, based on some online translators I've tried is Irish for “raw silver” or “the silver arm” and that's a pretty lovely moniker but weird for a Greek band to use this foreign tongue. Instead of being influenced by the rich and interesting Greek mythology, these guys are more into Celtic heritage and Nordic tales (made obvious by the drawing of Odin on the cover and its related title. It's not that surprising though since it's well known that Vikings (Varangians for the Greeks) traveled everywhere in Europe and reached Sicily, Russia, Constantinople and obviously the Hellenic world and has influenced these cultures. Many centuries (or millenniums) later, this band emerged and offered their metal to the gods of old.

Throughout the seven songs, L'Airged l'amh demonstrates their ability to cover many different genres. They remind me of Blind Guardian's period before Nightfall In Middle-Earth, a period where the German legend was mixing heavy, power and folk metal (think of “Somewhere Far Beyond”). Furthermore, the vocals of John Georgopoulos (he's sharing the vocals duty with Stavros Giannakopoulos, who's the singer on their two other full lengths) easily remind the ones of Hansi Kürsch. L'Airged l'amh are a bit all over the place, they try their hand at overblown symphonic epic metal like on the second track “The Vision Revealed” and folk metal such as the serene acoustic debut of Yildrazil / One Eyed God or the Skyclad-ish break during “Dissention Seeds”. 

They have this sort of 1990s progressive power metal vibe with technically sound riffs and interesting leads. This is combined to their classy yet sometimes artificial background of epic symphonic metal and their traditional mix of heavy and old power metal. When they decide to move things up and play outright heavy metal, the dual guitars are making themselves obvious and the bass is quite in your face. While musically interesting and quite proficient at their instruments, it's a bit mundane sometimes, the extraneous elements the band is using save this from being a mediocre effort. The tracks are not too long and well garnished except the ten minutes closer, it drags a little too much. It's worth checking out if you like the aforementioned Blind Guardian and you're tired of spinning their records.