Ελληνικά
Genre: Black / Celtic Folk Metal
Country: Ireland
Label: Metal Blade Records
Year: 2018
A month prior to the release of Primordial’s ninth album “Exile Amongst the Ruins”, the band put out an EP named “Heathen Legacy” for free with that time’s issue of Legacy Magazine. This EP contained five tracks: the first two were taken this latest record, the next two were taken from their very first demo “Dark Romanticism” from 1993, and there was a live cover of Slayer’s “The Antichrist” in the end. And out of nowhere, the starting and current point in Primordial’s journey was more evident and compact than ever, since the songs are musically, vastly different from each other.
This made the diversity of the latest album even broader and the apparent change towards a more listen-friendly sound has caused serious discussion within the scene. We are now, four years after a well remarked release, in front of a record with known Primordial elements, hand in hand with new surprises that many fans of the band would not expect to hear from them. From the first singles already, it sounds as if by first listen, the group has embraced slight rock elements in parts of their music and in overall, “Exile Amongst the Ruins” is nowhere near as hard-hitting as previous endeavors.
I was a bit baffled when I didn’t find any dynamic breakthrough somewhere in the album, which appears as a more esoteric and melancholic work, with mostly middle-paced lines throughout its tracks. It is somehow clearer to listen to and that’s why it will possibly attract negative comments, but don’t forget to always listen to records with a clear mind and multiple times.
The energy of Primordial is present everywhere with vibrant moments, full of emotions and built upon wonderful conceptual ideas, as they have repeatedly done in the past (this is one of the bands with the most interesting lyrics in the whole genre of metal). Nemtheanga’s vocal work is also magnificent, with less pure screams but more of his unique, raspy and heavy sound that fits Primordial’s instrumentation perfectly. The last track titled “Last Call” is very ominous and powerful, while the challenge of “To Hell or the Hangman” is the definition of a memorable track and different than the rest of their material. It’s a custom to open their records with pompous tracks that fit in blasting loud or in live shows, and while “Nail their Tongues” includes some of the harsher moments in the record, and it is one of the better tracks, I can’t think it can be compared with previous openers,which were gargantuan anthems to deal with.
Moreover, I believe they aimed for a heavily emotional track with “Stolen Years” but it doesn’t achieve that, instead it comes out as a rather mellow ballad and it was my least favorite track in the record.The production cuts off all edges and provides fine sound,but it also steals from the albums intensity a bit and I’m missing the faster and more aggressive parts that could be included, just a little bit more.
Not all of their albums are easily accessible but it’s safe to say that “Exile Amongst the Ruins” might be the most accessible of them all. With repetitive patterns and catchy choruses, I think it would serve even a non-metaller well to get into the band with this album. I don’t believe it goes as far as masterpieces like “The Gathering Wilderness” (arguably their best) or “To the Nameless Dead”, but one needs to take some steps first in order to reach a certain destination when getting into Primordial’s discography. In a way, I’m satisfied with this release even if I won’t be listening to it a lot and I don’t consider it one of the band’s higher attempts. We have every right not to like this album, but a strict look at it shows how it possesses the true spirit of Primordial, which is always head and shoulders above the mediocrity of the whole scene.
3,5/6
