Primordial

[Eoin McLove]

Redemption really was a dull album. I might revisit it today and see if it sounds any better as it is a long time since I listened to it.

I had Spirit on earlier and man, it's so good. I think your assessment is pretty spot on. I miss his old style of singing, even though I like the new aggressive approach too. He should bring the old style back and mix it all up with his savage BM vocals. It seems like he is missing a trick by abandoning his earlier technique completely. But sure, here's me in my armchair 

Edit. Lobbed on Redemption.

-No Grave Deep Enough was always a rather strong opener and works well live. I think after this things begin to trail off a bit. Even reading the song titles isn't really stirring much memory of these songs but let's see how we go...

-Lain With the Wolf. Not a bad little melody in the vocals but nothing exceptional either. The song goes nowhere. It builds to nothing, it throws in zero surprises and just kind of happens for seven or so minutes.

- Bloodied Yet Unbowed. This is a bit more like it. The lyrics suck; whiskey soaked 4am bare knuckle pikey shite that Alan seems obsessed with; totally banal. But the music is ripping and might really have benefited from a harsh black metal vocal attack to finish it. The chorus is pretty cool, though.

- God's Old Snake. A weird one. Kind of the inverse of the last song where the music is non-descript but Alan's harsh vocals elevate it. Not bad but a bit middling.

- The Mouth of Judas. I knew there was a song on this one (and I think there's another one on the next album too) where they essentially try to rewrite The Coffin Ships. A futile exercise that renders this song completely worthless while simultaneously cheapening The Coffin Ships in the process... WHY!!!

-The Black Hundred. Nothing about this song rings a bell. Musically it is dark and had potential to become something good but the choice of clean vocals on top doesn't work. The melody is kind of a go-nowhere assemblage of random notes. The exact same thing can be said of the lyrics. Looks like Alan was reading about the Gulags and wanted to write about it but didn't have enough time to develop the idea into an artistic statement. It's a meddly of his stock phrases aiming towards something bigger but not getting there. A missed opportunity here, actually. If they had more time to think about it and develop it it could have become something exciting.

-The Puritan's Hand. Musically OK. Some nice ideas in the mix. Vocally just utterly meh... zero thought or effort applied to the melody; every part is predictable. Early on in the song when Alan hits the higher register, he aims for a lower register iteration of the melody behind the main vocal which sounded cool. That Should have been the main vocal line I reckon, but I'm not sure it would have saved the song from ultimate banality.

-Death of the Gods. Death of my braincells. I'm struggling not to turn it off. The vocal melody has been directly transplanted from something off The Gathering Wilderness, I can't place exactly which song. Musically uninspired.

I mean, fuck, this really is the sound of a band who are low on inspiration but are contractually obliged to vomit out 'content'. A huge drop from a band who were previously on a steady upward trajectory. Where Greater Men Have Fallen followed a very, very similar path with a couple of strong songs padded out with uninspired rubbish. I had all but given up on new Primordial at that stage so Exile Among the Ruins really surprised me. It sounded fresh and invigorating/invigorated. I don't think it will ultimately sit alongside their classics at doomsday, but it boded well for the creative life of the band.

[Circlepit]

I'm sure I said it before in this thread that I think Redemption is a ripper.
I love the way the opening track feels almost like it's just teetering on the edge of being out of control and they are trying to reign in it.

I get the whole thing about the big festival type heavy metal style but I like it.

I'd say it would take an almighty effort for them to write an album in the old vein, to avoid rehashing old ideas or to avoid aping themselves. Who knows what we'll get next.
I'd love something heavy in every way. Music, lyrics, concept, delivery and belief.

[Carnage]

Late '90s, they had an album release downstairs in Fibber's, can anyone remember what it was for? Support was Alan, Darragh O'Leary & Steve Hughes playing covers.
Just curious, that was the last time I had anything to do with them.

[Circlepit]

The plan over the next few days is to go through the whole catalogue and try to put aside the rise tinted glasses for the more divisive releases to see if there are still as good as I feel they are.
I hope the gig is brilliant.

[Don Gately]

Yes am looking forward to it. The Gathering Wilderness for me is still the best.

[hellfire]

I went from loving everything up to The Gathering Wilderness to not buying a single album after it. Did the same thing with Behemoth. I think it says more about my changing tastes than their output.

[ResidentOfBok]

They are playing local to me next month, so like Andy, I'll have to take a stab at their last few albums and give them another go. I didn't really bother with the last one after being uninspired by 'Where Greater Men Have Fallen'. but absolutely need to give them another go.

They'll be playing with Sacramentum who will be playing all of 'Far Away from the Sun' and for once, I kind of wish Primordial would deliver a full set of oldies as well. Alas, I reckon we'll get a raft of newer cuts and just a morsel or two from 'Spirit...' or 'Journey's End'. I know I'll enjoy the set more if I do take the time to spin the newer stuff.

[Paul keohane]

I went from loving everything up to The Gathering Wilderness to not buying a single album after it. Did the same thing with Behemoth. I think it says more about my changing tastes than their output.

ha exact same as my self!

[Eoin McLove]

Alan just released a podcast about To the Nameless Dead. I had it on the other day in the car. I loved it when it came out and it was exciting at the time to see Primordial jump up to another level. I think it still holds up as a strong album in its own right but it set the tone for the following two albums- Redemption and Greater Men...- which saw them get stuck in a creative rut, writing songs for festivals rather than for albums. I ended up with mixed feelings about the album for that reason, but it's hard to argue with some of the songs. 

In his podcast of late Alan has been hinting at the band possibly entering its final years of activity. There seems to be a real sense of disillusion around everything, something most of us can probably connect with after two or more years of Covid lockdowns, the war in Ukraine, imminent recession and whatever other issues are currently causing the world to seem a little more grim these days. The up side is that he appears to be rethinking his approach to writing, his reasons and motivations for doing so, and it makes me think we might get a good dark album from them next. As much as I enjoyed Exile I'm not interested in hearing them repeat that formula; I would much prefer to see them draw from the obscure ends of their earlier material- Storm Before Calm and backwards. What are the chances??

[91/30]

Isn't he just the lyricist singer? I always thought the guitarist,  bass player and drummer were central to the type of riffs and overall sound they had earlier on.
The Gathering wilderness was the last of the old sound,  everything after that is based around his plaintive wailing about this and that. Boring as fuck.

[Circlepit]

Something caustic is needed.
The big big festival songs are at saturation point for me. The last couple of albums have their moments but I feel something full of piss and vinegar is needed to give them a lift.
Will we get it?
I agree he repeats himself albeit not in a direct way about the band not having much more left in the tank.
I hope they put out a record worthy of their past before they decide to call it a day.
In that podcast he was going on about The Gathering Wilderness not sounding great. I think that's a brilliant sounding album.

[Circlepit]

According to himself he is very hands on with what ends up on the finished product mix wise. I'd say Ciarán has the final say over everything. He seems like a quiet sort but absolutely rules the roost.
AA does go on a bit.

[91/30]

Those old riffs that build and build, that was the signature sound.
TGW hasn't a great sound, I'd agree with him there, it's an American metal blade sound. Probably compressed with low dynamic range or something?
The hammerheart rec releases beat it hands down.

[Black Shepherd Carnage]

I've said it to him many times online and in person, but I just cannot fathom (hoho!) his gripe with the sound of The Gathering Wilderness. That kind of uniqueness is what stands the test of time. The sound of that album exists on that album and that album alone. I can only imagine the album suffering if it had production more like the albums that followed it. Whatever about what else he's saying, holding on to that idea in his head would indicate to me that they won't attempt to dig into those particularly liminal, diffuse, bitterly melancholic vibes.

[The Butcher]

The up side is that he appears to be rethinking his approach to writing, his reasons and motivations for doing so, and it makes me think we might get a good dark album from them next. As much as I enjoyed Exile I'm not interested in hearing them repeat that formula; I would much prefer to see them draw from the obscure ends of their earlier material- Storm Before Calm and backwards. What are the chances??

From listening to his podcast, I get the idea that he would channel his energy into an (final?) album that is defiant more than dark. How to translate that "defiance" into music is anyones guess but I would predict Exile 2.0, a bit of everything to finish things off.