Primordial are a Celtic Folk Metal band from Dublin, Ireland. Known for their epic, atmospheric sound with long-form lyrics about Celtic mythology and the darkest epochs of Irish history, they started out playing pretty straightforward Death Metal before taking influence from early Black Metal groups like Bathory and Celtic Frost with vocalist Nemtheanga.
Current Lineup:
- Alan Averill "Nemtheanga" – vocals (1991–present)
- Ciáran MacUiliam – guitars (1987–present)
- Micheál Ó Floinn - guitars (2001-present)
- Simon Ó Laoghaire - drums (1997-present)
- Pól MacAmhlaigh - bass (1987-present)
Discography:
- Imrama (1995)
- A Journey's End (1998)
- Spirit the Earth Aflame (2000)
- Storm Before Calm (2002)
- The Gathering Wilderness (2005)
- To the Nameless Dead (2007)
- Redemption at the Puritan's Hand (2011)
- Where Greater Men Have Fallen (2014)
- Exile Among the Ruins (2018)
- How It Ends (2023)
This band contains examples of the following tropes:
- Black Metal: The foundation of their sound, later combined with Folk Metal and Doom Metal.
- Doom Metal: Many of their songs are long, slow, and mournful, befitting this genre.
- Epic Rocking: It'd be easier to list their songs that are less than 6 minutes long.
- Folk Metal: They combine Black Metal and Doom Metal with Irish folk music and instrumentation.
- Harsh Vocals: Barring their very early material, Nemtheanga rarely does this, unusually for Black Metal. His delivery is almost always crystal clear with a hint of snarl.
- Heavy Mithril: With a focus on Celtic Mythology in particular.
- Horrible History Metal: Many of their lyrics are about the plight of the Irish people under a near-millennium of colonial rule, the Catholic church, and their own government.
- In a similar vein, "The Black Hundred" is about the forced industrialization of the Soviet Union under Stalin.
- Metal Scream: Nemethaga mainly uses Type 4 screams given that most of the band's vocals are comprised of clean singing, though Black Metal-style Type 3's are occasionally included in some songs, with one example being "The Black Hundred."
- Pedophile Priest: "Ghosts of the Charnel House" is about sexual abuse at the hands of Catholic priests and the ensuing cover up by the Church.
- Religion Rant Song: Nemtheanga is open about his contempt for organized religion, and this is reflected in his lyrics. "Seeds of Tyrants" gives a clear example:
If the church had one neck
I would wring it
I would wring it
