Primal

What an easy job the band has set up for me. Straight from the dictionary, “primal” is defined as first; original; of first importance; fundamental – also a pretty good description of this latest effort from Holocaust. There’s just something so primal about the sounds and emotions emitting from this album. There’s a great deal of anger, hate and a lingering sadness but also, emerging from the shadows, a beautiful strain of hope. The pace is constant and rather slow - driven by relentless guitar work - which isn’t a bad thing since Primal is about atmosphere more than anything else. No, there are no ballads, not even any fast parts, just a crushing methodical pace. Sounds boring on paper, but John Mortimer has learned something during his 20-year career, namely how to write songs that are consistent and varied and most of all, intelligent. These may be some of the best lyrics Mortimer has written as well. They deal with life and paint a not so positive imagery. Some would call them depressing; I call them fitting for the album’s dark atmosphere and angry sounds. The vocal duties are carried by John Mortimer whose voice is integral to the band’s sound. To some, his harsh singing may come across as limited, but the magic of his voice lies in the small nuances. To my ears, he’s an expressive vocalist whose voice perfectly underlines the lyrical theme in a subliminal and profound way.

The guitar-sound is reminiscent of perhaps 90s Black Sabbath, but somewhat rawer, dirtier and darker in its tone. The rhythm guitar-work by John McCullim is methodical and catchy, rarely melodic but never boring either. It is clearly the constructive instrument here, but the band makes diligent use of the second guitar in the form of solos, a couple of intros and (most importantly) mood-setting background melodies as demonstrated on ‘Black Box’, ‘Colossus’ and ‘Lost Horizons’. Solos are carefully used, few and far between, and pretty short. Some of them are beautiful in a melancholic way, which makes them worthy of attention, for example the 2:30 solo on ‘Hell on Earth’.

Every song is a standout in its own way but ‘Transcendence’ deserves special mention. Not because it’s better than the rest but because it’s pretty much the only song driven by a true guitar melody as well as the only song along with ‘Lost Horizons’ that begins with something that could be called an intro. It makes for an unexpected turn of events, but it works and doesn’t feel out of place. The aforementioned ‘Lost Horizons’ is a wonderful song, beautiful and epic – it’s simply the perfect finish to the album and evens things out masterfully. The solemn guitar-playing situated in the background is woefully effective as an atmospheric tool and is essentially what gives the song its character.

The magic of Primal lies in how the band mixes up their music. Although brutal and methodical riffs are the mainstay of the album, there’s a certain beauty to it all, and some surreal qualities. Melodies that seemingly come out of nowhere, the soaring solos, the wonderful backing guitars and Mortimer’s expressive voice are undeniably responsible for that. Holocaust have indeed crafted something here that is truly unique. The sounds… the outstanding blend of emotions… the artistic style… it’s all so beyond this world and such an unwavering product of a vision intact that I’m left speechless by it all.

Regrettably, I haven’t heard their earlier albums, but if the band used to play NWOBHM as the Metal Archives state, they must have gone through quite the transformation because this sounds nothing like the new wave. I have actually no idea what style of metal this is. You’d think there’s only so much you can do with a pair of guitars, a bass and drums, but apparently the musical boundaries are not as narrow as I once thought. In my reviews I make it a habit to draw comparisons to other bands and it’s usually an easy thing to do, but not so this time. Hence, the only other bands I’m going to mention in this review are Alchemist and Therion. Not because there are similarities to Holocaust – there aren’t – but because those bands defy attempts to categorize their music too. However, unlike Therion’s sometimes misguided cross-genre expeditions, Holocaust’s sound can’t be described as anything but tried and true metal.

Holocaust’s Primal may be an acquired taste. I remember listening to it some time ago and just not getting it. Two years later and voila – my eyes (or ears) open and everything becomes clear. Such is the way of master songwriters and their sometimes not so accessible creations. I will probably never give out a perfect score of 100% but this comes damn close, 98%!