PRIMORDIAL — To the Nameless Dead (review)

PRIMORDIAL — To the Nameless Dead album cover Album · 2007 · Folk Metal Buy this album from MMA partners
4/5 ·
Phonebook Eater
8/10

“To The Nameless Dead”’s violent finesse makes it one of the key albums of Folk Metal.

Primordial, after the release of the acclaimed “The Gathering Wilderness”, took a step forward with their following release, “To The Nameless Dead”, thus far the best album that band has put out. Easily definable as a landmark album for Folk Metal, and puts Primordial among the highest names of such genre, along with Moonsorrow, Agalloch, Finntroll, Eluveite, Wuthering Heights, Nokturnal Mortum, and many others.

Like “the Gathering Wilderness”, “To The Nameless Dead finds it’s folkish elements not really in acoustic moments, which is a very common stereotype for Folk Metal, but in the rhythms, the dark, evoking melodies, the Ancient Roman flavored lyrics, the overall visceral and at times bleak atmosphere. However, this last album is more open to explicit Folklore, especially one song in particular, “Heathen Tribes”. The harshness of the guitars have not settled down, but have even more increased in intensity, the vocals by frontman Nemtheanga have got even more powerful and intense, yet always unique, the drums more fat but still great to hear. The atmosphere, like mentioned, is more effective and urgent than the previous albums: the solemnity of these galloping tracks is of an elegance (from the metal point of view, clearly)that rarely I hear in an album, is perfectly combined with a most visceral, crude, and rebellious atmosphere: this mix of almost opposing types of sound gives this album of a sort of violent finesse.

The reason of such a focused and clear atmosphere is also because of the lyrical content, which for the most part consists of Ancient Roman history, Roman Paganism, invasions. There is a more human approach on this one compared to the somewhat feral “The Gathering Wilderness”. However, nature is still of a great presence in this album, lyrically, but it isn’t hard to feel it in the air as well.

The album is the most solid Primordial has ever released, eight mostly long songs starting with“Empire Falls”, the opening track, no doubt one of the very best tracks of the band, with it’s amazing riff, strong vocals, great flow and amazing heaviness, while the surprising “Heathen Tribes” is a almost completely acoustic song that reminds much of Irish Folk music because of it’s andante rhythm. “As Rome Burns”’s nine minutes are another standout point, especially the second half of the song, where you find Primordial that have never been so intense. The Black Metal influences are most noticeable in the finale “No Nation Of This Earth”, which also has a mood and riffs that remind of such dark music.

There is really not one song I can talk badly about, a terrific album that rightfully deserves a place in the great metal efforts of the new millennium. An instant classic.
Share this review
more

Review Comments

Post a public comment below | Send private message to the reviewer
Please login to post a shout
No shouts posted yet. Be the first member to do so above!

Review Index

Member Zone

Username:
Password:
Stay signed in

Metal Subgenres

Artists Alpha-index

MMA TOP 5 Metal ALBUMS

Rating by members, ranked by custom algorithm
Albums with 30 ratings and more
Master of Puppets Thrash Metal
METALLICA
Buy this album from our partners
Paranoid Heavy Metal
BLACK SABBATH
Buy this album from our partners
Moving Pictures Hard Rock
RUSH
Buy this album from our partners
Powerslave NWoBHM
IRON MAIDEN
Buy this album from our partners
Rising Heavy Metal
RAINBOW
Buy this album from our partners

New Metal Artists

New Metal Releases

The Goblin Sessions Heavy Metal
THEM
Buy this album from MMA partners
Tormenta De Arena Metalcore
VORAGO
Buy this album from MMA partners
Infinite Metalcore
FUTURE GHOST
Buy this album from MMA partners
Heretic Melodic Death Metal
SUNCINDER
Buy this album from MMA partners
The Skull Burned Wearing Hell Like A Life Vest As The Night Wept Mathcore
FRONTIERER
Buy this album from MMA partners
More new releases

New Metal Online Videos

Future Ghost - Wolves (Official Music Video)
FUTURE GHOST
Bosh66· 1 day ago
Future Ghost - Nemesis Game (Official Music Video)
FUTURE GHOST
Bosh66· 1 day ago
Harrowed TwentyTenVideo
HARROWED
Bosh66· 3 days ago
Sunmancer - Realms of Dilemma (Official Visualizer)
SUNMANCER
Bosh66· 8 days ago
Sunmancer - Lower Cavalier (Official Visualizer)
SUNMANCER
Bosh66· 8 days ago
More videos

New MMA Metal Forum Topics

More in the forums

New Site interactions

More...

Latest Metal News

members-submitted

More in the forums

Social Media

Follow us
Follow us on Twitter Become a Facebook fan RSS Feed