Album Review: Primordial - 'Where Greater Men Have Fallen'

3 December 2014 | 11:47 am | Staff Writer
Originally Appeared In

A more aggressive, yet still classic sounding Primordial.

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Primordial had become a legendary figure in the metal scene and, up until 2008, saw themselves topping charts, playing many festivals and growing a large fan base. However, 2011 saw their album, ‘Redemption at the Puritan’s Hand,’ released and, put simply, it didn’t impress at all. Now they have shot back with latest record,Where Greater Men Have Fallen,’ which offers redemption with both skill and production.

Starting off with the title track, the musical elements work in accord to build suspense. The lyrical content is heavy, in true metal fashion, and executed with both deep growls and higher howls that show off a range of vocal skills.

Primordial created their legacy in the black metal scene but have since drifted further and further away from those sounds. This full-length has hints of their older black metal style though with track such as ‘The Seed of Tyrants’. Through the agency of blast beats and powerful riffs, the blueprint is established, while ‘The Alchemists Head’ brings back the blackened, raspy vocals.

Unlike some of their previous work, this album employs a strong focus on the guitar work and the guitar leads throughout. Moments like ‘Ghosts of the Charnel House’ show a lot of emphasis and skill in the guitar work, with slower grooves as well as the classic heavy stuff.

Ending with ‘Wield Lightning to Split the Sun’, which holds a lot of influence from Irish Folk music, it makes for a fitting conclusion.

While Primordial have usually been a band that has a formula and sticks to it, the smallest changes on Where Greater Men Have Fallen’ have made it an engaging and fresh work while still sounding like the band's classic music.

  1. Where Greater Men Have Fallen
  2. Babel's Tower
  3. Come the Flood
  4. The Seed of Tyrants
  5. Ghosts of the Charnel House
  6. The Alchemist's Head
  7. Born to Night
  8. Wield Lightning to Split the Sun