PRIMORDIAL - How It Ends 2LP (Beige Marbled)

Primordial really do have nothing to prove. Having lasted 32 years and now returning with their tenth devastating full-length, the Irish band have made it clear they are a primal force who consistently lay it all on the line. The follow up to 2018's 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. Working alongside founding members P?l MacAmlaigh (bass) and Ci?ran 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 plan 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. The album was tracked at Hellfire Studios on the outskirts of Dublin, produced by the band and engineered by previous collaborator Chris Fielding, and while the making of Exile Amongst The Ruins was like pulling teeth, How It Ends was a positive experience for the band, "calm, but with a really strong work ethic and intensity". There was also a lot of room for improvisation once in the studio, the demos the "bones" of the songs, and they were open to changing structures and tempos, doing what it took to make the songs as good as possible. The result is certainly a fine way to celebrate 30-plus years of Primordial, and this milestone resonates with Nemtheanga. "It makes me proud to think we've lasted so long. It feels like so long ago but yet also I have memories that seem like last week - youth is wasted on the young, huh? Blink and you miss it, but in the grand scheme to be able to make music, have someone give a fuck about it, travel, and perform it, was what you would have wanted when you were 16 and here we are."