Primordial – Redemption at the Puritan’s Hand (2011)

Delivering their 7th full-length album in over 20 years of existence, Primordial reminds us why they are one of the greatest Celtic/Folk Black Metal bands of all time. With powerful guitars driven songs and intricate drum patterns, the band provides over 60 minutes of brilliant music that is up to par with their greatest albums of the 90’s.

Pounding away with “No Grave Deep Enough”, the band provides their signature guitar work that becomes outstanding when paired with A.A. Nemtheanga vocals. This song has all the ‘classical’ Primordial elements and works wonderfully as an opening track. “Lain with the Wolf” provides the typical build-up sections that the band is known for, and the drum patterns in this song make it very diverse and interesting to listen to.

The emotional track “Bloodied Yet Unbowed” takes a slower pace than the previous ones, but the melodic aspect of it is magical. Once the song kicks into ‘full gear’, the guitars get aggressive but very melodic and Nemtheanga’s vocals emotionally carry them through the song. The real Black Metal side of things begins with the ritualistic anthem “God’s Old Snake”. Here Nemtheanga shows his shrieks and delivers another brilliant performance when changing to clean vocal sections after the middle of the song.

“The Moth of Judas” has a weird hypnotic feeling to it, probably due to the Rock/Folk-ier aspect of the song, but is still very well crafted. “The Puritan’s Hand” and “The Black Hundred” deliver more powerful riffs and well crafted vocal sections, but the overall dense atmosphere is what makes them very effective in this release. The nine minute epic “Death of the Gods” closes down this release, and does it in a very crushing fashion. Mixing emotional vocals and monumental guitar riffs, this song nicely summarizes the band’s efforts in this very entertaining release.

As you can expect, Primordial has delivered another outstanding release. With “Redemption at the Puritan’s Hand”, they have again proved that they are a timeless band and with each release they keep improving their already near perfect sound. This album is a must buy for all fans of the band, and people looking for powerful Celtic/Folk/Pagan Metal releases.

Release: April 23rd, 2011

Country: Ireland