Primordial – To The Nameless Dead

artist website

publisher

impulse buy

Metal Blade
Produced by Chris Fielding

Despite 2002′s momentary revisiting of their early black metal sound (in terms of vocals as least) Ireland’s Primordial have continued with their massively epic, progressive style first heard on Spirit The Earth Aflame and returned to on The Gathering Wilderness in 2005.

Almost like a mixture of an aggressive version of Three and Opeth at their most expansive, To The Nameless Dead fuses magnificent textured melodica to controlled yet frantic aggression and renaissance folk interludes. A.A. Nemtheanga adds some black metal style vocals to the blend from time to time, but mostly delivers an impassioned performances that simultaneously exudes Celtic pride and a World-weary sorrow, and while many people continue to attach “folk metal” to the band, their music is light years beyond that.

Eight tracks may appear to be a short album, but four of them are over eight minutes long and one is over nine minutes, while the other three are between five and seven minutes each. Each one is measured precisely, never outstaying its welcome or repeating itself too many times within its duration. Getting through the eight minutes of opener Empire Falls, for instance, is a breeze. It even feels like it’s over too soon.

While the tracks aren’t linked, the long durations and the epic nature of the compositions give the album the feel of continuous flow. To The Nameless Dead has obviously been written with an eye on how the complete album will sound, rather than collecting together a set of individual songs. It is the sound of the band perfecting their craft and losing none of their passion along the way. A lot of bands are trying to make music this epic, and most are failing. They should listen to Primordial and make copious notes.

“ World-weary sorrow ”

Tracklist: Empire Falls / Gallows Hymn / As Rome Burns / Failures Burden / Heathen Tribes / The Rising Tide / Traitors Gate / No Nation On This Earth

Written by Andy Lye
More: Albums, Black Metal, Progressive, Primordial