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Album Review – Primordial / How It Ends (2023)

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The excellent new album by these Irish veterans sees the band delivering more of their seminal blend of Celtic and Black Metal.

Dublin, Ireland-based Black/Folk Metal veterans Primordial really do have nothing to prove. Having lasted 32 years and now returning with their tenth full-length opus, titled How It Ends, the Irish band have made it clear they are a primal force who consistently lay it all on the line. Recorded at Hellfire Studios, produced by Chris Fielding at Skyhammer Studio, mastered by James Plotkin, and displaying a classy artwork by Paul McCarroll, the follow-up to their 2018 album Exile Amongst the Ruins sees the band delivering more of their seminal blend of Celtic and Black Metal, all carefully brought into being by vocalist A.A. Nemtheanga, guitarist Ciarán MacUilliam, bassist Pól MacAmlaigh and drummer Simon O’Laoghaire, being therefore highly recommended for admirers of the genre.

The guitar by Ciarán kicks off the band’s grim feast by exhaling a melancholic sound in the title-track How It Ends, being then joined by his bandmates and exploding into a Folk Metal extravaganza led by the passionate vocals by A.A.; whereas the tribal beats by Simon set the tone in Ploughs to Rust, Swords to Dust, a powerful tune with tons of Epic Metal elements with A.A. having an amazing vocal performance while his bandmates keep the music vibrant and imposing until the very end. Then the rumbling guitar lines by Ciarán ignite the also dense and multi-layered We Shall Not Serve, another fantastic creation by the band with Simon and Pól dictate the song’s galloping pace, blending the most energetic elements from Black and Folk Metal. Traidisiúnta, which is Irish for “traditional”, is an instrumental interlude that showcases a more Folk Metal-inspired side of Primordial and flows into Pilgrimage to the World’s End, with the progressive, experimental guitars by Ciarán walking hand in hand with the poetic vocals by A.A. until the very end.

In Nothing New Under the Sun, more of their poetry in the form of lyrics are offered to us all (“So let me show you that there is nothing new under the sun / So gather your days and to the ends of the world together we run / Are we not the penitent, the willing and the righteous, beasts without nation / We are born of plague and marked by your heresy at the myth of creation”) amidst a cryptic, grim sonority, followed by an epic intro that gradually evolves into the battle hymn Call to Cernunnos, with its tribal beats and imposing riffs making it truly compelling. After that, A.A. and his henchmen will darken the skies even more in All Against All, one of the most cryptic and atmospheric of all songs thanks to the strident riffs by Ciarán; however, it goes on for too long and loses its punch after a while. A.A. continues to darkly declaim their wicked lyrics in the somber, Sludge Metal-infused aria Death Holy Death (“I heard Hallelujah, just one last time / Your tired faces, they are worn by sorrow / Out sadness is worn like a gift from God / O Death Holy Death! You cast us in grace”); and lastly, their Irish riffage sets fire to the music in Victory Has 1000 Fathers, Defeat Is an Orphan, where A.A. kicks some ass with his deep, anguished vocals supported by the thunderous kitchen by Pól and Simon in a lecture in Folk Metal.

“How It Ends is a very angry, defiant, visceral, and rebellious album, and as we worked it all began to take more shape and form itself. It may be the note we go out on but it will be a note of resistance, in musical terms. I think it’s also more metal! And more epic!” And the band complemented by saying that “it certainly sounds like Primordial, there is no doubt about that, we have our own style and this is a new chapter of the same book. If we have done anything new it’s really to work with more conviction than ever, and trust more than ever our instincts.” Hence, you can enjoy such multi-layered album in its entirety on YouTube and on Spotify, grab a copy of it from the band’s own BandCamp page or from Metal Blade Records (by clicking HERE, HERE, or HERE), and don’t forget to also check what the band is up to on Facebook and on Instagram. Primordial have been blasting our ears with their Celtic sounds for decades, and based on what they have to offer in How It Ends we can rest assured the band will keep on embellishing the airwaves with their undisputed music for a few more.

Best moments of the album: Ploughs to Rust, Swords to Dust, We Shall Not Serve and Victory Has 1000 Fathers, Defeat Is an Orphan.

Worst moments of the album: All Against All.

Released in 2023 Metal Blade Records

Track listing
1. How It Ends 7:50
2. Ploughs to Rust, Swords to Dust 7:35
3. We Shall Not Serve 7:18
4. Traidisiúnta 2:12
5. Pilgrimage to the World’s End 7:07
6. Nothing New Under the Sun 7:11
7. Call to Cernunnos 5:59
8. All Against All 8:48
9. Death Holy Death 5:40
10. Victory Has 1000 Fathers, Defeat Is an Orphan 6:14

Band members
A.A. Nemtheanga – vocals
Ciarán MacUilliam – guitar
Pól MacAmlaigh – bass
Simon O’Laoghaire – drums

Album Review – Alunah / Violet Hour (2019)

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The Stygian clouds of doom are coming to darken the skies to the sound of the newborn spawn by a fantastic UK-based Hard Rock and Doom Metal unity.

Brace yourselves, my dear metalheads, as the Stygian clouds of doom are coming to darken the skies to the sound of Violet Hour, the brand new album by UK-based Hard Rock/Doom Metal frontrunners Alunah, one of the best albums of 2019 from the underground and independent scene without a shadow of a doubt. Founded in 2006 in “Sabbath City”, usually referred to as Birmingham, the band comprised of the enchantress Siân Greenaway on vocals, the talented Dean Ashton (bassist for UK’s Hard Rock institution Diamond Head) on the guitar, the unstoppable Daniel Burchmore on bass and founding member Jake Mason on drums is ready to strike once again harder than ever, bringing more riffs, more swagger and more groove to our avid ears with their newborn opus.

Recorded at Wales’ historic Foel Studio, produced by Chris Fielding (Skyhammer Studio), and featuring a beyond obscure and captivating artwork by Brazilian artist Felipe Froeder (Arcano XV), Violent Hour offers the listener a searing combination of intoxicating melodies and riffs on top of a high-class songwriting. “Alunah are very happy and excited to release Violet Hour to the world. It has been so enjoyable to write and record this album during an energetic and focused period for the band. Having it released on Heavy Psych Sounds is a great feeling and we cannot wait for people to hear it. The time to fear is now!”, commented the band about the album, inviting all of us to join them in their quest for old school doom.

Siân and the boys don’t give us a single second to breathe in the amazing opening track Trapped & Bound, spearheaded by Dean’s heavy-as-hell riffs and Jake’s pounding drums. I dare you to not bang your head to the song’s hypnotizing rhythm, a perfect fusion of the doomed music by Black Sabbath with the badass Sludge Metal played by Crowbar, and to show you how awesome this song is, it’s also featured on the 2019 compilation Doomed & Stoned in England, just like another crushing song by their countrymen Warcrab. And the somber, deep and addictive vocals by Siân add an extra touch of evil to the dark and sluggish Dance of Deceit, where Dean and Daniel are merciless with their stringed weapons, not to mention Dean’s amazing solo as the icing on the cake.

Then we’re treated to Hunt, a lesson in Doom Metal by Alunah sounding slow and enthralling form start to finish, with Jake’s beats bringing nuances of melancholy to the music while Siân beautifully declaims the song’s devilish lyrics. Put differently, it reminds me of some of the best tracks from Heaven & Hell’s classic The Devil You Know, and if you like that album you know what I’m talking about. In Hypnotised the name of the song says it all, with Dean being on fire with his demonic riffage and solos while Daniel couldn’t sound more thunderous on bass. Hence, it keeps the album at a high level of heaviness and darkness, being therefore recommended for all your beer-drinking, headbanging moments in life, whereas the title-track Violet Hour is just as mesmerizing and delicious as its predecessors, with Siân’s vocals sounding so powerful it’s hard to describe them in just a few words, and with Dean slashing our ears and minds with his grim guitar lines.

Jake smashes his drums fiercely in the also obscure and sexy Unholy Disease, one of those Doom Metal songs that will put you in a trance, or in other words, your soul belongs solely to Siân during the song’s five minutes of razor-edged riffs, low-tuned bass punches and an endless amount of electricity. Velvet sounds as delicate but at the same time as hot and striking as velvet itself, being the perfect soundtrack for a movie scene at an obscure pub somewhere in the middle of England, while Jake keeps hammering his drums slowly and steady just the way we like it, nicely boosted by Daniel’s metallic, rumbling bass. And crisp guitar lines and an enfolding atmosphere are the main ingredients in Lake of Fire, a dark and serene composition showcasing another flawless vocal performance by Siân supported by the thunderous sounds blasted by her bandmates, making you want to walk into a real lake of fire with her until the song’s ethereal finale.

This precious gem of classic Doom Metal made in the UK is already on pre-sale on the Heavy Psych Sounds Records’ BandCamp and webstore, as well as on several other locations such as the All That Is Heavy webstore, the Season of Mist webstore, the Shiny Beast music mailorder, and Amazon. Having said that, simply let your mind be enfolded by the spellbinding Doom Metal delivered by Alunah in Violet Hour, and may your damned soul forever be comfortable in darkness, exactly how we expect it to be in first-class Doom Metal from the always somber and charming United Kingdom.

Best moments of the album: Trapped & Bound, Hunt and Unholy Disease.

Worst moments of the album: None.

Released in 2019 Heavy Psych Sounds Records

Track listing
1. Trapped & Bound 4:58
2. Dance of Deceit 3:54
3. Hunt 5:38
4. Hypnotised 6:11
5. Violet Hour 4:24
6. Unholy Disease 4:55
7. Velvet 6:22
8. Lake of Fire 6:33

Band members
Siân Greenaway – vocals
Dean Ashton – guitar
Daniel Burchmore – bass
Jake Mason – drums