Primordial - To The Nameless Dead

Now its albums like this that make the continuous search for new music worthwhile. Once again, we have a band here that has been kicking it since the early 90s that I am just now hearing for the first time. Or maybe I've heard these guys before and didn't like their previous work... I've been reading hype about this album for a bit. It's made numerous best of 2007 lists: here, here, and here. (I must note that I always take metal-rules.com reviews with a grain of salt, because they are in love with power metal, 7 out of their top 10 is power metal...)

This album is heavy folk metal done absolutely right. A thick wall of guitars continues a relentless pace accompanied by vocals with incredible emotion. My favorite thing in a vocalist is emotion. I want to hear the guy singing his heart out. He doesn't have to be the most talented vocalist, which Primordial's vocalist isn't, but To The Nameless Dead is sung with such passion that you are absorbed into the music. I usually don't care about lyrics, but this album makes me want to read along to the songs.

This album makes me think of Enslaved's masterpiece, Below The Lights, though more uplifting than the blackness of the Enslaved album. It has a similar driving pace as Below The Lights; all the songs flow together into one magnificent piece. It's really something special when a band puts together an ALBUM, and not just a bunch of great songs on 1 disc.

10/10 Definitely on my best of 2007 list.