On September 29th, Dublin-based pagan metallers Primordial will release their tenth full-length, How It Ends, via Metal Blade Records. This week, they have unleashed the album’s first single and video, its closing track “Victory Has 1000 Fathers, Defeat Is An Orphan.” The Irish band also ride out on the Ultima Ratio Fest European tour later this year, supporting Paradise Lost. Head into the article below to see the video, and for more from Primordial.
Find pre-orders at: www.metalblade.com/primordial
“The title is a question – is this how it ends? How it all goes down: culture, language, history, society – humanity – who knows?,“ says vocalist A. A. Nemtheanga. “Regardless of who you are or were, you get one chance at all of this, and it’s asking is this the end of your town, state, nation? Myths, traditions, relationships, and I suppose it asks the question, who reacts, who rebels – how does it end now for them?“
Working alongside founding members Pól MacAmlaigh (bass) and Ciáran MacUilliam (guitar) and longtime drummer Simon O’Laoghaire, the band started writing in earnest in the Fall of 2022, having lit a fire under themselves to work hastily and productively. Primordial never plans out a record beforehand, letting them come together naturally, though Nemtheanga knew he wanted something with a bigger, more open sound, and something more aggressive, which is exactly what they achieved. “How It Ends is a very angry, defiant, visceral, and rebellious album, and as we worked it all began to take more shape and form itself. It may be the note we go out on but it will be a note of resistance, in musical terms. I think it’s also more metal! And more epic!“
It only takes one listen for these claims to be proven true, whether it’s the surging, gruff, dark “Ploughs To Rust, Swords To Dust,” the moody, desperate “Pilgrimage To The World’s End,” or the sprawling “All Against All,” which is drenched in a sinister air and driven by pounding rhythms, wielding a towering climax. “It certainly sounds like Primordial, there is no doubt about that, we have our own style and this is a new chapter of the same book. If we have done anything new it’s really to work with more conviction than ever, and trust more than ever our instincts.”
Drawing lyrical influence both from modern and historical ideas, Nemtheanga always gives the listener something to think about. How It Ends is no exception. “If, for example, To The Nameless Dead (2007) was about the movement of borders, building of nations and those sent to war who gave their lives forming them, then this is the album more about resisting those empires, the freedom fighters, the outlaws, the people who made suicidal stands for freedom of speech, or independence – or for the most important word in the English language: liberty. It’s not hard to see why the album is inspired by this considering where we are right now in the world.”
Primordial has nothing to prove. Having lasted thirty-two years and now returning with their devastating new studio offering, the Irish band has made it clear they are a primal force who consistently lay it all on the line. The follow-up to 2018’s critically lauded Exile Amongst The Ruins, How It Ends sees them delivering more of their seminal blend of Celtic and black metal, with an extra added urgency, and staring down the apocalypse.
How It Ends was tracked at Hellfire Studios on the outskirts of Dublin, produced by the band, and engineered by previous collaborator Chris Fielding. The record will be released in the following formats:
(Worldwide) – Digital
(US) – Jewel Case CD
(Worldwide) 2xLP in Gatefold, with insert and downloadcard
(EU) – 2xDigipak CD (6-panel digi w/ 12-page booklet) w/ 6-bonus tracks
(EU) 2xLP Special Edition in Gatefold, with insert and downloadcard in slipcase with tote bag, slipmat, double-sided poster (ltd. to 1000 copies)
How It Ends tracklisting:
01 How It Ends
02 Ploughs To Rust, Swords To Dust
03 We Shall Not Serve
04 Traidisiúnta
05 Pilgrimage To The World’s End
06 Nothing New Under The Sun
07 Call To Cernunnos
08 All Against All
09 Death Holy Death
10 Victory Has 1000 Fathers, Defeat Is An Orphan
Coinciding with the release of How It Ends, Primordial will serve as direct support to Paradise Lost on the Ultima Ratio Fest European Tour. Additional support will be provided by Omnium Gatherum and Harakiri For The Sky. Find tickets at this location.
Primordial w/ Paradise Lost, Omnium Gatherum, Harakiri For The Sky:
September 28: Substage – Karlsruhe DE
September 29: Komplex – Zurich CZ
September 30: Kaminwerk – Memmingen DE
October 01: Schlachthof – Wiesbaden DE
October 02: Löwensaal – Nuremberg DE
October 04: Trix – Antwerp BE
October 05: Garage – Saarbrücken DE
October 06: MeetFactory – Prague CZ
October 07: Vienna Metal Meeting – Vienna AT
October 08: Barba Negra – Budapest HU
October 10: A2 – Wroclaw PL
October 11: Capitol – Hanover DE
October 12: Kronensaal – Hamburg DE
October 13: Hellraiser – Leipzig DE
October 14: Turbinenhalle 2 – Oberhausen DE
October 15: Roanda – Utrecht NL
PRIMORDIAL:
A.A. Nemtheanga – vocals
Ciarán MacUilliam – guitar
Michael O’Floinn – guitar
Pól MacAmlaigh – bass
Simon O’Laoghaire – drums
Follow Primordial:
https://www.primordialofficial.com
https://www.facebook.com/primordialofficial
https://www.instagram.com/primordial_official