Primordial — The Gathering Wilderness

Traditional Irish music always seems in danger of either becoming horribly sentimental New Agery or the opposite end: equally shallow drinking anthems for hooligans. Primordial managed to distill the melancholic and dramatic aspects and keep away from both of those interpretations.

The Irish pagans of Primordial have created a rather unique sound over the years with singer Nemtheanga as a prominent force. His delivery may not be everyone’s thing, as some (like my collegue Duncan) would say he’s overly dramatic. Personally I feel the guy and after the intense Void Of Silence album of last year he once again steals the show on his own band’s fifth album.

The grey artwork gives a perfect idea of what kind of trip you’re about to take with The Gathering Wilderness: dark and brooding, dramatic and melancholic. Rhythms obviously based on the galloping bodhrán-beat and guitarriffs that remind of jigs and reels without sounding too happy for a proper pagan metalband. The songs are long, they take their time to grow into hypnotizing cadenzas. Nemtheanga spews, moans, screams and wails over lost spirituality and the darkness of our (end) times.

The band have created their strongest album to date. Particularly The Coffin Ships makes my stomach turn, this is what Irish music always seems to promise but seldomly delivers. The production by Billy Anderson is an excellent move, the roughness and natural sound (mic-ed drums!) works great on Primordial’s music. As it should, given the themes of pagan metal alltogether.