Primordial

[Eoin McLove]

I just noticed that Primordial haven't got their own dedicated thread. How did that happen, I wonder...

With 'Spirit the Earth Aflame' celebrating its 20th anniversary yesterday it seems as good a time as any to crank it up and dive into their back catalogue. I have it on here now with 'Storm Before Calm' lined up next but I might take this opportunity to revisit, and maybe reapraise, 'Redemption at the Puritan's Hand' and 'Where Greater Men Have Fallen', the two albums that never hit the spot for me. 

There really only is one Primordial. They sound like nobody else, are instantly identifiable and at their best are emotionally stirring, dark, epic and all of those things we like. The interplay between the instruments, the trad influence that is so deeply embedded in the choice of chords and rhythms but that is often difficult to pin down precisely and Alan's divisive vocals, any of which, if removed,  would compromise the bands identity.

So let's hash it out. Who likes, who loves and who hates!

Edit. 'Children of the Harvest'- Oof! What a song.

[Caomhaoin]

Children of the harvest is ace.

'The Gathering Wilderness' is my favourite, 'Spirit the Earth Aflame' coming in next. The last album was cool aswell. I've seen them live here in Madrid, but nothing compares to an album release show in Dublin.

I've always felt 'Storm before Calm' was a weak album, despite the lads themselves not getting the lukewarm response it got. 'Sons of the Morrigan' is a good track, but a tad pedestrian apart from that.

My favourite track is 'The Calling', absolute banger of a choon. Soft spot for 'beneath a bronze sky' too.

[Necro Red]

With age Primordial are growing on me. I wasnt a fan as a young whipper snapper, but have warmed to them as of late. I recently watched that documentary on them which was great, although Alan seems to speak over some of the boys throughout it. Babels Tower is a belter of song! Great live band too

[blessed1]

I always hated this band.
Boring overlong songs that go nowhere and the vocalist is out of key half the time.
I remember getting one of their more recent albums and there was a song that just plays the same shit riff for about 3 mins before anything happens.
Gathering wilderness is proper shite as well.

[Eoin McLove]

No.

That said,  I braved 'Where Greater Men Have Fallen' after the classic (yep) 'Storm Before Calm' this morning and it was as turgid and uninspired to my ears today as I remembered. A truly boring album. I pulled 'Redemption...' off the shelf too but I'm not sure if there's any real benefit to be reaped from revisiting that album today. The doldrum years.

[Paul keohane]

Find it very hard to listen to the more recent material,but everything up tp Storm before Calm is top notch.

Id probably rate Storm as the best metal album to come out of ireland.

[ldj]

I'd be mostly familiar with The Gathering Wilderness and TTND which are both excellent, need to give the earlier stuff more time but I've enjoyed Spirit and Storm the times I've listened to them.

[jobrok1]

Really like 'Spirit The Earth Aflame', 'The Gathering Wilderness' and 'To The Nameless Dead'...
Listened to all of these quite a lot when they came out and occasionally throw them on still.

Nothing else held my attention enough to really went to revisit them again.

[Eoin McLove]

I'd be mostly familiar with The Gathering Wilderness and TTND which are both excellent, need to give the earlier stuff more time but I've enjoyed Spirit and Storm the times I've listened to them.

If you're a vinyl person the Metal Blade reissues of those two albums are worth picking up.

[Carnage]

I loved the demo at the time and liked Imrama, but I can't abide anything they've released since*. I hate Alan's voice TBH and find the music just... turgid, frankly.

Saw them live a few times back in the day, the last time was a launch gig downstairs in Fibber's, I think it was in '98/'99 (Alan, Darragh O'Laoghaire and Steve Hughes played old thrash covers as support) and I left after a couple of songs. I've never seen what the fuss was about, despite going back and reappraising them every 5 years or so since.

That Killing Joke style song off the last album wasn't too bad, all things considered.


*That's not to try and be all kvlt and nekro or any of that bollocks, I generally can't stand black metal, which is where they leaned at the time.

[ldj]

I'd be mostly familiar with The Gathering Wilderness and TTND which are both excellent, need to give the earlier stuff more time but I've enjoyed Spirit and Storm the times I've listened to them.

If you're a vinyl person the Metal Blade reissues of those two albums are worth picking up.

Cheers, I must look into them.

On a side note, I've always thought Metal Blade was an odd label for Primordial to be signed to, they have a history of classic metal but since the 2000's they seem to specialise more in tech death/core and the like.

[astfgyl]

Was looking up the Primordial discography on wikipedia and ended up on A.A's discography page. He is on a lot of albums. Is any of his other stuff any good?

Threw on track 1 of Where Greater Men Have Fallen there and couldn't get through it despite remembering thinking it was grand.

[Eoin McLove]

Definitely not their finest hour.

Blood Revolt released one album and is essentially Axis of Advance with Alan on vocals.  It's savage. 

[Ducky]

"The Coffin Ships" is partially one of the finest songs in all of metal and I genuinely get goosebumps hearing the lyrics being belted out... just a pity about the widdly folk melodies that drone on for minutes and go nowhere (sure the few videos of it live that I've seen basically cut the intro). Oh and the production job that makes the Tom's sound like cardboard boxes doesn't help either.

They're decent live and some of their albums are good ("StEA" would be my favourite) but I've never understood their status - much better bands from this isle, IMO.

[Caomhaoin]

Some of ye need to get over to the controversial opinions thread!