Review Summary: Let us make rivers of their blood
Throughout their career, Primordial have released an extremely consistent and rich discography enabling them to carve out a unique sound to call their own. They are an enigmatic band from Ireland who for many years have been performing quality music in order to prove their worth on the international metal scene, which is not very common for the Irish. Their first two full-length albums focused more on a black metal approach, before entering a phase of maturation and working to pursue a more folk/doom oriented sound. This new phase in Primordial's development took a great leap forward with Spirit The World Aflame, which is arguably their greatest work to date.
The steady drums of Simon O'Laoghaire kick off Spirit The Earth Aflame with an instrumental track containing spoken words explaining the turbulent state of the Irish kingdom. Throughout the album we learn this is a result of religion, which is seen as an invading entity to their land. The title "Spirit the World Aflame" explains, in Primoridal's eyes, the results of a foreign religion's emergence in their country and the conflicts which surface as a result. To them, following any religious practices results in a world engulfed in flames and neverending strife due to the struggle of beliefs and the inherant hate groups of people develop towards others. This is the main theme throughout the album and is delivered in convincing fashion by frontman A.A. Nemtheanga, who captures the tumultuous imagery of his homeland with strong emotion in his voice and especially in the lyrics.
"We'll drown the newborn like unwanted dogs
and condemn them to their desperate gods"
The above lyric is a clear example that from one song to another, Primodial are out for the "righteous". "The Burning Season" is an all out hunt for them, hunting the women and children in an attempt to stop the spread of their enemy and showing they will make no exceptions for anyone. This leads to the next track, "The Glorious Dawn"; where the beasts may now emerge to claim the lives of these hapless individuals. A sense of pride and patriotism is prevelant from beginning to end, with phrases describing the rock (being their fortress) and the anvil (upon which their will was forged). This helps enhance the story and thickens the quality of the album as a whole.
In terms of musicality, Primordial showcase a mixed black and doom metal sound on the album; with more of a focus on the latter. Its a good mix of what once was and what is to come as we see Primordial's progression as a band through the utilization of many doom elements such as long, drawn out sections and a stronger clean vocal line throughout. To top it off, folk and Celtic passages weave their way in and out, creating many more nuances one can pick up on upon repeated listens. It is a perfect example of the band's work ethic as each band member carries their respective instrument with a sense of maturity and professionalism as they strive to better their sound.
Mixing these two sounds seamlessly dislays Primordial as masters of their craft as everything is played the way it should be and the layering on each song is brilliant. This is an extremely powerful recording, which mixes the tragedy and adversity of Ireland's history with a sense of strength and power, as well as sorrow and defeat. Overall, it showcases a band who are not only passionate about their music, but their beliefs as well. While their first two albums already showed them testing the typical black metal sound by throwing in suprises, it's on Spirit The Earth Aflame where the pieces truely begin fitting together for Primodial. It is one of their heavier outings but has more than enough variation for it to be lauded by many as their quintessential album. The darkness, melancholy and sadness is portrayed in such convincing fashion that you feel yourself drifting along with them on their journey of leaving this world behind in search of another, in a different place and time.
"Yet my fathers are long since dead and gone
And I with heart so heavy
And limbs so weary
It seems our sun is all but dimmed"
