for Dark Romanticism were:

C. MacUiliam - guitars

Nemtheanga - vocals

P. MacAmlaigh - bass

D.MacAmlaigh - drums

 distributed in Switzerland by Irascible Distribution    

review by dalia "gryphon_spirit" di giacomo____   

review -  

CD

Dark Romanticism, CD + DVD is the reissue of Primordial's demo (called Dark Romanticism indeed) enhanced by a collection of live tracks taken from a tape of Primordial, when  playing in a small pub of Dublin the day before "Samhain 1993". The music is a mixture between Doom Death with original Britannic mark and old-school Black. The music, both considering the demo part and the live one, is enthralling, the vocals raw, rasping and evil, the way of playing is the mirror of that legendary period and delivers essence of not adulterating metal and lots of heaviness, reached without the help of bombastic production. The booklet is enriched by personal thoughts and explanations written by Nemtheanga, which reveals also many inspiring triggers which aimed the tracks. For example he tells us how  the lyrics of the opener "To enter pagan" were inspired by Lovecraftian visions too. Or that The darkest Flame, conceived without be inspired by my Dying Bride, it is defined by Frank from Enthroned as the first ever Black Metal love song... Very attractive is the story of Among the Lazarae, Nemtheanga says much about and finally:  "for me at least this was one of the most Black Metal tracks we ever made....The lyrics and title were some sort of play on biblical tale of Lazarus rising from the dead and us being reborn to reject the pious and holy." 

This is a album to discover as well as the words of vocalist Alan Nemtheanga indeed. 
Therefore this reissue of Dark Romanticism  gifts us with   the taste of an awesome  era.
Yes, because the first decade of the 90's was a unique and golden period for the extreme metal. A period of incredible innovation and transformation. "Afflicted" by strokes of genius coming from the enlightened minds of some bands, that metal was so superlative and so advanced, so farsighted, that still today many schemes are based on it. And still today many tracks of that time could be presented in each and every extreme metal festival headlining the orchestra without fearing ANY competition. 

Primordial represent another great aspect in this everlasting monumental picture of the first 90's : its Dark Romanticism , 11 years after the release, seems born today concerning the inner strong verve and the tendency to a well conceived hybridization between Doom Death and Black, also concerning the dark-inspired themes and concerning the vocals. I will be very honest if i say that i listen to Dark Romanticism only now, but i have lived those mythical years  listening to other bands. We didn't fully understand the level of richness of the revolution we witnessed , we clearly understood only later how much intense and spectacular that new extreme metal was. Now we fully measure the significance of that event. Every time i listen to the top music of that period i cannot help saying: "ehi it's valid today too, and maybe today more than yesterday". Exceptional musical results were achieved without all that engineering techniques available nowadays. In spite of all the few means that music goes to lay down the law. Dark Romanticism is another proof : 9 tracks able to deliver a) underground feeling b) atmosphere, heaviness evilness and darkness c) mighty double bass drums and snare assaults d) enthralling, aggressive and/or hypnotic riffs e) that way of playing guitars so unique in the doom and death of that era f) evil feelings of Black g) even shadows of visions treated by Modern . Among the live tracks, one can enjoy 2 ones originally recorded by Bathory and Darkthrone.

The final greeting from Nemtheanga is for those who have stuck with the band, for those who didn't forget, 
"however there are some people who've stuck with us through thick and thin over the years. This one's for you.. Have a drink on us"! But even if Nemtheanga hardly thinks that this release can break Primordial to new people, you clearly can identify a hope surfacing his words...the hope that the new generations can learn and "inherit" . It's not up to them, it's up to us. In the meanwhile, good to know that Irish Primordial work on their fifth studio album  (maybe called "The Gathering Wilderness" - working title) is tentatively due in early 2005. For everyone.

bonus DVD

01 Fallen to Ruins 
02 Gods to the Godless 
03 Cast to the Pyre 
04 The Burning Season 
05 Sons of Morrigan 
06 To Enter Pagan 

The dvd portrays around 40 min live performance and was recorded at the party san 2003. The photographic quality is  not the best, but everything is clear and the sound good. Short and effective presentation with the shouted title of the first track "Fallen to ruins!" Good records of stage and crowd put in evidence the histrionic style of Alan “Nemtheanga” Averill ,its wide and potent vocal range, the alternation between faster aggression and doom slow hypnotism and heaviness and the good response from the audience. The shots involve all musicians, drummer too , to whom is dedicated much time during the track Cast of the Pyre for example. 

"We are all Gods to the godless!  let me see your hands! come'on everyone ! " a wave of horns up, ready to keep alive the pagan flame.

rating: 8.9/10

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