Primordial

[open face surgery]

Redemption is a cunt of a thing. Truly bad. Any argument and I'll set TIR on you.

Finally... Nothing New Under The Sun is brilliant. Sounds like something completely different.

I thought the exact opposite. Total rehashing of everything they've been at for ages.

[Eoin McLove]

I thought it started out well but then the lead melody that came in on top was so predictable it killed any momentum. I'll have to listen to the whole thing through a couple of times and see if it's worth buying but if so it'll be just a CD purchase.

[Circlepit]

First listen finished.
I'll give a while and go again.
It's a lot to get through.
So far I'd say cut out track 2 and 3 and it's really good. I'll be in the minority but that's fine. The tracks that were getting hammered in reviews are the best ones for me.
I was hoping for a lot more BM screeches but alas.

[Danny]

Damn lads, colorful craic. So far I am loving the new album. I'm not great at describing and/or criticizing (no insult intended to any of you, I honestly appreciate it) music as you guys may be, but I know I don't dislike any of the songs. I really feel I need time with the album to know how I feel about the songs honestly. It's heavy work not easily consumed really.

So far I think I like the song Pilgrimage to the Worlds End the best out of it. I actually really feel the lyrics man, especially the opening lines. Me head is fucking melted with a lot of shit and darkness lately and some things in my life, are coming to a long overdue head, and much like the albums title, to an End.

Dunno how couple heads not feeling the 1st or 2nd tracks man, Simon on the drums, when he kicks in on the 1st/Title song with tasty fills, and very well produced I may add, just fucking cheered me up, he rocks, his style is so original and concise, he blends Metal drums with trad Celtic percussion stuff so tastefully. and the guitar riffing in the 2nd song Ploughs To Rust! How is that not deadly? It sounds like black metal AC/DC or some shit; I like it....

The only bad thing I can think of to say or critic would be that while its awesome and real, I was hoping musically it was going to be a bit more darker and evil, maybe just a bit more BLACK METAL and a little less Celtic or trad, as cool as it is. and Just like Circlepit said there, more of Alan's black metal screeches and howls would've rocked.

But now that I think about it, I guess for that, if you want evil Nemtheanga, we DO have VERMINOUS SERPENT! 

[Eoin McLove]

I think Tradisiùnta is possibly my favorite song on it after a couple of listens. It's actually emotional sounding music and melodically a bit sad and beautiful. I don't think the songs are terrible as such, just very formulaic and lacking adventure at times. A full album of that instrumental stuff would be a treat.

[Black Shepherd Carnage]

All Against All is class  Just rolling to the end of a first listen to the full thing while reading here. It's been great music for that anyway, but All Against All I stopped reading to listen to.

[Black Shepherd Carnage]

Second and third listens this morning, and with a clearer less-easily-entertained head on me than last night. Still enjoying it though. And All Against All really is a stand out: got a bit of a Serpent Noir meets Bethlehem vibe to it, a bit like a glimpse of what a parallel universe Primordial could have evolved into at a much earlier juncture. The run of the last four songs overall is a great mix of traditional and more adventurous. Nothing New Under The Sun is perhaps the most formulaic... but on the other hand, is that some kind of song-title resonating thematic wink?? Dunno. Anyway, good album 

[Grim Reality]

Just one listen in earlier today and starting a second now.

First impressions.....

I liked a lot of the melodic guitar work which had that Celtic feel of Spirit/Storm.

There didn't seem to be any big, obvious live festival songs and there was a more plodding, pensive atmosphere across the whole work which I think isn't a bad thing.

Some songs had great potential but didn't seem to peak.

They are still a creative band and there's lots of new and interesting things in there so fair play to them for that.

Vocally it's more of the same. The BM rasp is in the grave. I don't like the vocals at all these days and have made that clear many times! However they did not seem as grating as on Redemption or Greater Men.

I will listen to it a few more times probably but highly unlikely to buy.

...............

I've gone through a bit of 'a metallica' with Primordial. Where I loved the original band and they played a huge part in my musical life but the fall off the cliff left me unable to fully appreciate the good stuff anymore, or separate it from the newer material.

I'm a long time out the other side with Metallica and can love the 80s gear again while totally disregarding anything 'new'. I'm reaching the same stage with Primordial where I am completely separating them into two eras, classic and meh, and not allowing dross like bloodied yet unbowed etc affect my love for the earlier golden age.

[ldj]

I'm kind of surprised by some of the sentiments regarding the recent material. I'm in my 20's so I didn't know Primordial during their 'prime', I understand Redemption... and Where Greater Men... aren't quite as vital maybe but it's not as if they've released St. Anger or Super Collider either. They've just gotten older and they've found their sound, no identity crisises, attempts at jumping on bandwagons, and they didn't do that 'back to the roots' thing of trying to sound like they're 20 again either.

That's not to say the recent stuff is perfect, but it's nothing to be ashamed of either. Just stuck the new one on for another spin now.

[Nazgûl]

It's interesting alright to see how they're perceived maybe a bit more critically by an Irish audience, judging on what I've read over the years on this board and MI before it. It makes some sense though as many indeed have been sticking with them since the early days or at least have given the back catalogue a lot of time, so would naturally just have stronger opinions on their evolution and whether they like it or not. They're probably just held to a slightly higher standard in Ireland, and I see them akin to a band like Voivod -- where even their lesser output is nearly just a result of the high standard they have set in the past, and the progression and evolution is just a matter of differing tastes for some. It's all pretty damn good to be fair.

I discovered the band through TGW on the year it came out and quickly bought Spirit The Earth Aflame after, alongside borrowing a mate's copy of Storm Before Calm. Those three are still probably my favourites, and I loved the evolution in sound on TTND. Since then, I pick certain tracks from 'Redemption' and 'Where Greater Men' to listen to but not too often. 'Exile' was a brilliant return to form.

This one,albeit after only listen... disappointing! All Against All is so far above par compared to the rest that it sounds like it was written in a different (and far more creative) period of the band's career entirely. Will give it more time, but likely not a lot.

[Cailleach]

A few posters now saying its a big step down in quality from Exile, so at least when I do eventually listen to the new album I won't have any great expectations.

[Circlepit]

I've listened to it quite a bit and the docile CD arrive this morning.
The medium shirt is quite short and I'm not tall!
I have to say I really like it more and more with each listen. The only tracks that aren't clicking for me are tracks 2 and 3.

[jpm4]

Some random thoughts after a first listen :

Pilgrimage to the World's End reminds me a lot of the song Exile Amongst the Ruins, in a good way.

Ploughs to Dust sounds like a poor man's Rome Burns.

The instrumental is great.

It's folly to judge a Primordial album until at least 3 listens in, I've a feeling I will like this one plenty but it needs to lose a song or two.

I feel the guitar riffs are struggling a bit to be memorable these days - heavy on atmosphere but we're a long ways now from something like Glorious Dawn or even Lain with the Wolf. Alan has to pick the slack up in terms of giving the songs something memorable.

[jobrok1]

One proper full listen today and I'm quite liking it. It doesn't reach the hair-raising highs of other albums, but at least they're still trying to shoot for them.

[Thorn]

This thread has worked a treat for lowering the expectations so I came away from my first listen there with more of a 'it's really not all that bad' than a 'holy shit ,the boys have dropped the ball here'..There's no doubt some parts don't work and it's suffering from a bit of bloat...and it's somewhat disjointed as an overall experience..but yeah, it's really not all that bad  at all! Alan's singing is top notch and undoubtedly the outstanding component. usual lyrical tropes aside.