Originally released in 1995, I hunted for 'Imrama' since I bought Primordial's second album 'Journey's End' back in 1998. Well, at last I got what I wanted (from United States of America, actually, so I don't know if it is still a bit hard to find it on these shores), thanks to Hammerheart Records for re-releasing it! It is remastered and repackaged with two bonus tracks. The bonuses are strainght from 'The Burning Season' (1999) mini-CD, though... The original demo version of 'Among the Lazarae' would have been more interesting, because I've never heard it (from 1993 demo 'Dark Romanticism').
On 'Imrama', Primordial take a listener on a dark journey. The music is based on black and doom metal, ethnic elements are already a part of the band's sound. A huge part. You'll hear no tinkling folk melodies here but on 'Beneath a Bronze Sky' only, but you'll hear the agrarian history of their homeland converted into the sonical mould. Think about invaders, contrived religions, Black Death, famine, civil war... It simply cannot sound happy, huh?! The playing is characteristic from every member and the band have created their own unique style. The rhythm section lays the heavy foundation, with tribal-esque drumming mixing with metal drumming courtesy of Derek MacAmlaigh. The guitars (played by Ciáran MacUiliam) are heavily strumming and tremolo picking, but with the unique trait to them. 'Imrama' is clearly the ancestor for all the following material, because it is more primitive. Here, the songs are shorter (the longest one lasting for about 6 minutes) and they might not branch as much as on the newer releases, but still the band took a huge step from the second wave black metal style towards their own sound. The song material is varying and very much in vein of the newer songs; from the beginning Primordial were about sombre, eerie, aggressive and epic moments, but nothing too catchy for a casual listener. It is all more about feelings, not melodies. A.A.N. Nemtheanga's vocals nod towards blackish outlet, with shrieking and screams. The clean vocals are okay, but later on he has bettered them a lot. In a way they remind of My Dying Bride's Aaron Stainthorpe, but only superficially. Thankfully there's no crying stuff here! Lyrically Primordial are about their country's arduous history and pagan beliefs, with some satanic overtones in a few songs, and the opener is fully in Irish Gaelic.
The sound is heavy, leaning towards the lower end. At the heaviest point it gets a bit muddy and crackling. On the other hand, it is very organic and this makes the band sound, hmmm... Earthly. One clear problem are the faster blasting parts, because the snare drum is buried under everything else. Originally recorded with a lot of fault, eg. things in mono, some drums missing, it was destined to sound limp. But I'm happy how this sounds. This release is remastered, but the only thing that was done with it was the sound boost (the volume level up, as well as the bass [played by Pól MacAmlaigh]), nothing else. And I believe the boosting was a meaningful thing, although I've never heard the original release.
As a re-release this is good, simply because I never found the original version, which was released by Cacophonous Records. The bonuses are a bit lame, because they're nothing new! The original cover artwork is included, but I don't know about the booklet's other pages. A dark journey, which every Primordial fan must own. I really courage you all the check the band out, because they are very individual. A too rare occurence in nowadays metal scene. Despite the uniqueness, the album still isn't the best from the band and doesn't deserve the classic accolade, although it is exactly that to some people I believe.
The score is for 'Imrama' itself, because the bonus stuff is totally unnecessary for Primordial fans anyways.
Rating: 7+ (out of 10) ratings explained
Reviewed by Lane
09/02/2002 14:23
