Primordial are an Irish

extreme metal Extreme metal is a loosely defined umbrella term for a number of related heavy metal music subgenres that have developed since the early 1980s. It has been defined as a "cluster of metal subgenres characterized by sonic, verbal, and visual tran ...

band from Skerries,

County Dublin "Action to match our speech" , image_map = Island_of_Ireland_location_map_Dublin.svg , map_alt = map showing County Dublin as a small area of darker green on the east coast within the lighter green background of ...

. The band was formed in 1987 by bassist Pól MacAmhlaigh and guitarist Ciarán MacUiliam. Their sound blends

black metal Black metal is an extreme metal, extreme subgenre of heavy metal music. Common traits include Tempo#Beats per minute, fast tempos, a Screaming (music)#Black metal, shrieking vocal style, heavily distorted Electric guitar, guitars played with t ...

and

doom metal Doom metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music that typically uses slower tempos, low-tuned guitars and a much "thicker" or "heavier" sound than other heavy metal genres.K. Kahn-Harris, ''Extreme Metal: Music and Culture on the Edge'' ...

with

Celtic music Celtic music is a broad grouping of music genres that evolved out of the folk music traditions of the Celtic people of Northwestern Europe. It refers to both orally-transmitted traditional music and recorded music and the styles vary considerab ...

History

The band's roots stretch back to 1987 when Pól and Ciarán first began playing together with Pól's brother, Derek. The band (who were called Forsaken for a brief period) initially played a rough, hybrid mix of early, primitive

thrash Thrash may refer to: *Thrashing (computer science), where increasing resources are used to do a decreasing amount of work *Thrash (surname) * Thrash, mascot of the Atlanta Thrashers *'' Thrash Rally'', a top-down perspective rally racing video gam ...

and

death metal Death metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music. It typically employs heavily distorted and low-tuned guitars, played with techniques such as palm muting and tremolo picking; deep growling vocals; aggressive, powerful drumming, feat ...

(playing covers of

Death Death is the irreversible cessation of all biological functions that sustain an organism. For organisms with a brain, death can also be defined as the irreversible cessation of functioning of the whole brain, including brainstem, and brain ...

Sepultura Sepultura (, "grave")Barcinski & Gomes 1999, page 17. is a Brazilian heavy metal band from Belo Horizonte. Formed in 1984 by brothers Max and Igor Cavalera,Barcinski & Gomes 1999, page 16. the band was a major force in the groove metal, thra ...

and the like). Vocalist Nemtheanga joined the band after seeing an advertisement for a singer in Dublin specialist metal store The Sound Cellar in 1991. According to Primordial lore, the ad was pasted over no more than 2 hours after it being put up. Upon Nemtheanga's joining the band, the band started to pursue a darker direction citing influence from Bathory,

Celtic Frost Celtic Frost () was a Swiss extreme metal band from Zürich. They are known for their strong influence on the development of extreme metalBukszpan, Daniel. ''The Encyclopedia of Heavy Metal''. Barnes & Noble Publishing, 2003. p.43 and avant-ga ...

and the emerging Greek and Norwegian

scenes. Primordial was the first black metal styled band to emerge from Ireland with the release of their '' Dark Romanticism'' demo in the early summer of 1993 ( Cruachan were also active at this time combining black metal with

folk music Folk music is a music genre that includes traditional folk music and the contemporary genre that evolved from the former during the 20th-century folk revival. Some types of folk music may be called world music. Traditional folk music has b ...

). The band initially came to the attention of Lee Barrett from the UK label

Candlelight Records Candlelight Records is a British record label based in England and founded by former Extreme Noise Terror bassist Lee Barrett, though it has had a division in the United States since January 2001. Candlelight Records specialises in black metal ...

but he failed to move on signing the band, so after a live

soundboard recording A soundboard recording is a sound recording of a concert taken from a direct connection to the soundboard at the venue. Soundboard recordings are considered to be among the highest quality bootleg recordings of live performances though some soundb ...

from Dublin from 1994 was sent to Cacophonous Records (

Cradle of Filth Cradle of Filth are an English extreme metal band formed in Suffolk in 1991. The band's musical style evolved originally from black metal to a cleaner and more "produced" amalgam of gothic metal, symphonic metal and other metal genres. Their ly ...

, Bal Sagoth, etc.), the band signed with them for the release of their debut album '' Imrama''. Although their debut album, ''Imrama'', was characteristic as being in a more melodic black metal musical direction, they gradually came to refine their sound with '' A Journey's End'', which included the use of

mandolin A mandolin ( it, mandolino ; literally "small mandola") is a stringed musical instrument in the lute family and is generally plucked with a pick. It most commonly has four courses of doubled strings tuned in unison, thus giving a total of 8 ...

s and

whistle A whistle is an instrument which produces sound from a stream of gas, most commonly air. It may be mouth-operated, or powered by air pressure, steam, or other means. Whistles vary in size from a small slide whistle or nose flute type to a larg ...

s and a more epic style. The two subsequent releases, '' The Burning Season'' and '' Spirit the Earth Aflame'', showed the band's reflection of cultural geist and emotion, woven into an amalgam of black,

Celtic Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to: Language and ethnicity *pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia **Celts (modern) *Celtic languages **Proto-Celtic language * Celtic music *Celtic nations Sports Fo ...

, and

folk metal Folk metal is a fusion genre of heavy metal music and traditional folk music that developed in Europe during the 1990s. It is characterised by the widespread use of folk instruments and, to a lesser extent, traditional singing styles (for exampl ...

musical styles. They have toured with various metal bands in the extreme metal genre, including Norwegian black metal band

Immortal Immortality is the ability to live forever, or eternal life. Immortal or Immortality may also refer to: Film * ''The Immortals'' (1995 film), an American crime film * ''Immortality'', an alternate title for the 1998 British film '' The Wisdom of ...

. They released their dark fourth studio album '' Storm Before Calm'' in 2002, but the band's fifth album ''

The Gathering Wilderness ''The Gathering Wilderness'' is the fifth studio album by Primordial, released in 2005. It was their debut for the Metal Blade label. The digipak comes with a bonus DVD featuring a documentary detailing the making of the album. The album is in ...

'' turned out to be a much darker and bleaker record than any Primordial had made before, providing the listener with a rawer sound as well. It was chosen as album of the month in ''Terrorizer'' magazine and appeared in many top lists of the year 2005. In January 2006, the band played their first US show alongside

Thyrfing Thyrfing is a viking metal band from Sweden. The band is named after the royal sword Tyrfing from Norse mythology. History Thyrfing was formed in 1995 by Patrik Lindgren (guitar), Jocke Kristensson (drums), Peter Löf (keyboard) and Kimmy ...

and

Moonsorrow Moonsorrow is a Finnish pagan metal band formed in Helsinki in 1995. Musically, the band incorporates elements of black metal and folk metal in their sound. The band call their sound "epic heathen metal" and try to distance themselves from th ...

at the Heathen Crusade metalfest in

Columbia Heights, Minnesota Columbia Heights is a city in Anoka County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 19,496 at the 2010 census. Minnesota State Highways 47 (University Avenue) and 65 (Central Avenue) are two of the main routes in the city. Columbia H ...

. The band's sixth album, ''

To the Nameless Dead ''To the Nameless Dead'' is the sixth studio album by the Irish black metal Black metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music. Common traits include fast tempos, a shrieking vocal style, heavily distorted guitars played with tr ...

'', was released on 16 November 2007 with universal praise for its raw sound used from the first or second recordings. In November and December 2010, the band entered Foel Studio in Wales to work with producer Chris Fielding once again. The resulting album, ''

Redemption at the Puritan's Hand ''Redemption at the Puritan's Hand'' is the seventh studio album by the Irish pagan metal band Primordial, recorded at Foel Studio, Wales, with producer Chris Fielding and released on April 26, 2011. The album charted in Finland (#23), Germa ...

'', was released via

Metal Blade Metal Blade Records is an American independent record label founded by Brian Slagel in 1982. The US office for Metal Blade is located in Agoura Hills, California. It also has offices in Germany, Japan, Canada, and the UK. The label is distri ...

on 22 April 2011. In July 2014, Primordial announced their eighth studio album under the working title ''

Where Greater Men Have Fallen ''Where Greater Men Have Fallen'' is the eighth full-length album by Irish metal band Primordial. The album was released on November 25, 2014, through Metal Blade Records. A music video for the track 'Babel's Tower' was released on November 24, ...

''. It was released 25 November 2014 in the US and 24 November elsewhere. On 18 April 2018, their ninth studio album ''

Exile Amongst the Ruins ''Exile Amongst the Ruins'' is the ninth full-length album by Irish metal band Primordial. The album was released on March 30, 2018 through Metal Blade Records Metal Blade Records is an American independent record label founded by Brian S ...

'' was released.

Members

Current

Alan Averill Alan Averill (a.k.a. A.A. Nemtheanga; born 26 August 1975) is an Irish musician most notable for his vocal duties for the folk metal, folk/black metal band Primordial (band), Primordial. He has also participated in several side projects, includ ...

"Nemtheanga" – vocals (1991–present) * Ciáran MacUiliam – guitars (1987–present) * Micheál Ó Floinn – guitars (2001–present) * Pól MacAmhlaigh – bass (1987–present) * Simon Ó Laoghaire – drums (1997–present)

Former

*Feargal Flannery – live guitar (1997–2001) *Derek MacAmhlaigh – drums (1987–1997)

Session members

* Gerry Clince (

Mael Mórdha Mael Mórdha ( , ) are an Irish doom metal band from Dublin, Ireland. Its name can also be written in traditional Irish typography, as Mael Mórḋa. The band's music melds doom metal with Irish folk music to create what has been referred to ...

) – guitar, bass * Feargal Flannery – guitar, bass *

Steve Hughes Steve Hughes is an Australian-born thrash metal drummer, comedian and actor. Hughes has embraced the title "heavy metal humourist", as it aligns with his approach to comedy, music and life; the press have referred to this title and similar var ...

(Slaughter Lord,

Nazxul Nazxul are an Australian black metal band which formed in 1993. They issued two studio albums, ''Totem'' (March 1995) and ''Iconoclast'' (July 2009). In March 2021, their most recent studio album titled ''Irkalla'' was released with the lineup ...

, Apocalypse Command) – drums * Dave McMahon – bass * Gareth Averill – drums * Cathal Murphy – drums * Dave Murphy – bass