Dublin-based pagan metal masters Primordial surprised us by announcing their new album, How It Ends, just over a month before its release. The anticipation for its arrival was sudden but exciting, especially after enduring five long years since 2018’s Exile Amongst the Ruins. To say we were ecstatic to hear the new album is an understatement. The tenth full-length offering explores themes that one could say, lingers within the collective subconscious mind. After experiencing a global pandemic, divisions, unusual weather disturbances, the war in Ukraine, and UFOs breaking mainstream news headlines, one can’t help but wonder if this is the beginning of the end, the apocalypse.
Primordial’s unique blend of Celtic and black metal creates a musical unease that transports anxieties and emotions, making us question if our society is facing the dawn of its collapse. The record delves deeper into these scenarios, examining the fate of human life, from history and traditions to significant cities. Is everything morphing into decay? Will everything we know become a myth, a lost city, a forgotten world? The record explores these subjects with intense, soothing chaos.
Unlike their previous efforts, such as Exile Amongst the Ruins (2018), To The Nameless Dead (2007), and A Journey’s End (1998), this record may appear more challenging to grasp at first listen. Despite a initial minor disappointment for potentially missing the sound from their 2018 creation, it took the magic three listens to reach that “ah-ha” moment. The realization dawned that this is a true masterpiece, a scripture to the end of times. While there doesn’t seem to be any filler or dull tracks, some highlighted songs include “How It Ends,” “Ploughs to Rust, Swords to Dust,” “Pilgrimage to the World’s End,” “Nothing New Under the Sun,” “All Against All,” and “Victory Has 1000 Fathers, Defeat Is an Orphan.”
For a full appreciation, this record is best listened to from beginning to end, whether driving on the road, traveling, or completely zoning out. It deserves your full attention, so lock yourself in a room, turn off the lights, close your eyes, and let this incredible record take the driving seat. Well done, Primordial. You continue to amaze us.
Primordial’s new album, How It Ends is available now via Metal Blade Records. Watch the new video for the title track below.
