LIVE REVIEW: Primordial @ The Garage, London
Calling a show Resurgence Ritual carries certain expectations with it and with a bill like tonight’s, featuring extreme metal juggernauts PRIMORDIAL and a supporting cast of SAOR, HELLRIPPER, FEN and THE INFERNAL SEA, it also has to deliver on that promise.
Openers THE INFERNAL SEA don’t quite get the momentum going, their masks, spikes and robes feeling a little gimmicky alongside second wave worship with the odd stomping moment that feels like a retread of old ground. They do rip straight into their second wave worship that occasionally turns into some black’n’roll moments but it feels somehow flat. With a longer set time and chance to lean more into their ritualistic staging, this could’ve been something special, but tonight it sadly does little to begin any kind of resurgence.
Rating: 5/10
Next up is FEN who are ritualist and engaging from the outset. There’s a thick atmosphere and the band are considerably more animated. There’s an earthy, natural tone to their sound and moments of serenity intersperse their howling blasts of wintery fury that are emphasised further by cleanly sung moments. This is black metal in some of its most eclectic and interesting moments, with post-rock and post-metal bleeding into their sound. It might be dense but it’s accessible despite its intensity and has surely won them some new fans tonight.
Rating: 8/10
The third band tonight are Scottish first wave worshippers HELLRIPPER and if there’s one word to describe their set it’s simply this: fun. There’s plenty of VENOM, MOTÖRHEAD and ripping guitar solos and proves that black metal does know what a good time is. While they’re a markedly different prospect to anything else on tonight’s bill, their sheer enthusiasm, seriously fun songs and an appetite for the revival of live music ensures they go down a storm. It’s fairly obvious you’re in for a good time with song titles like Blood Orgy Of The She-Devils and their constant pits throughout their set reflect that. For sheer fun factor tonight, they’re unmatched.
Rating: 8/10
Folky ambience heralds the arrival of tonight’s penultimate band, SAOR. Their self-described ‘Caledonian metal’ harkens back to the early days of folk metal with violin and all. It’s perfectly serviceable and they have a deep belief in their craft but that’s about it; there’s something lacking tonight and it’s not immediately obvious what. Perhaps it’s ring rust or the violin being lost in the mix until right at the end but it feels underwhelming. The violin mixing is certainly odd; it’s far too quiet and often inaudible – the backing tracks are frequently louder – it’s not until their final song that this is rectified and the band actually start to get going but it’s too little, too late. It’s a shame, as on paper their folk-infused black metal should feel far more epic and inspiring than it does.
Rating: 6/10
It’s blindingly obvious who everyone is here to see tonight; the loudest cheer greets PRIMORDIAL who waste no time, declaring “we stand where great men have fallen” before launching into their first song Where Greater Men Have Fallen. They’ve been a band for nearly thirty years but that doesn’t dampen their spirit or enthusiasm and tonight is another lesson in why they’re so revered in the extreme metal community. Their Celtic black metal is captivating and they’re not without a sense of humour either, with deadpan between song patter (“did I mention we’re PRIMORDIAL, from the prison colony of Ireland? Want me to talk about that? Because I won’t” and calling the crowd “colonial cunts” along with an offer to fight disagreers afterwards). A mid-set ballad robs them of their momentum and it does take a couple more songs to get it moving again. There’s the odd moment of crowd-pandering concern; references to not believing propaganda and resisting the 1% are so vague as to be meaningless and it’s odd when so many within black metal – including PRIMORDIAL themselves – have made clear statements in the past. This does rob them again of some momentum when frontman Alan Averill opts to go on more long-winded tangents but at the end of it all, this was a chance to welcome back the return of live music and, for the most part, it’s been a successful outing for tonight’s bands.
Rating: 7/10
Check out our photo gallery from the night’s action in London from Karolina Janikunaite here:
