Primordial - To The Nameless dead (CD)

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PRIMORDIAL is the first band, that has been around for a while, in a really long time that I am doing an album review based on hear say of what they sound like. Normally I am pretty good about going back and researching about bands that are older since I got into Metal way later then most people my age. What I was expecting was something dripping with Folk influences, but what I got was something far different except for one track.

They began in 1987 with Pol and his brother making music then Ciaran joined shortly after. They tried various singers throughout the early years without one really sticking. In 1991 A.A joined the band and was their first permanent vocalist. In 1992 they began writing some of their now live staples To Enter Pagan and others; they also officially named themselves PRIMORDIAL. Their first demo was recorded in 1993 called Dark Romanticism. Imrama was recorded almost a year before it was released via Cacophonous Records in 1995.  They would also open for CRADLE OF FILTH and  GORGOROTH in the same year. 1996 would see the release of a split with KATATONIA, followed by the dismissal of Pol's brother from drums as well as the introduction of Simon in 1997. They released several albums over the course of the next 10 years as well as tour all over Europe, and finally made an US appearance in 2006 at Heathen Crusade.

On the first track, I thought the musical part could have been a wee bit shorter a little too much on repetition. The vocalists approach is an interesting half yell and half sing kind of thing about 98% of the time with an occasional black metal scream. The music was very engulfing; I was nodding my head without even realizing it. The beginning of the second reminds me of something from ISIS very doomy and down tuned. The song picks up a little at 1:45 and sets a nice pace with an entrancing guitar riff. The double bass only adds to totally entrancing guitar riff. There is definitely a lot of power behind the singer's words and you can hear it most significantly towards the end of the song. Now that I have gotten into the third PRIMORDIAL track I have ever listened to and one thing that I have certainly noticed is that lack a lot of variation in their music. The songs seem structured very similarly and the vocalist while he has mountains of power behind his voice it lacks the range that I need in my music. The quiet build to the climax seems very ISIS and NEUROSIS influenced along with a god portion of the rest of their music. Initially when I came into this record I was told they were like a Celtic/Folk Black Metal, which is definitely not what my ears hear. Though I do find the music enjoyable.
Failures Burden is the track thus far that I hear the most Folk influence in and it is my favorite overall. While there are more Folk elements to the song it still contains a vast majority more of the previous mentioned influences. Heathen Tribes officially kicks my previous statement within the first 90 seconds, and is easily the best track on the album. It's the guitars that really set off the song and give it that perfect vibe, but A.A.'s vocals sound the most like what I was expecting. Traitor's Gate is the first and only sign of Black Metal that my ears hear. I am not the most inept Black Metal fan though, so I could be wrong about that.
This record was a big surprise to me, but not by talent or something along those lines; just by how they sounded.  I had heard about how awesome these guys were and were all about Folk sounds, but I guess that has left their music almost entirely; though the band is good at what they do.  I would recommend this to fans of TYR and MOONSORROW.