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Primordial - Exile Amongst The Ruins



8.1 | 258 votes |
Release date: 30 March 2018
Style: Black metal, Celtic folk metal

Owners:

175 have it
25 want it


Disc I
01. Nail Their Tongues
02. To Hell Or The Hangman
03. Where Lie The Gods
04. Exile Amongst The Ruins
05. Upon Our Spiritual Deathbed
06. Stolen Years
07. Sunken Lungs
08. Last Call

Disc II [Limited Digibook]
01. Stolen Years [Instrumental version]
02. Dark Horse On The Wind
03. The Foggy Dew
04. Babel's Tower [Rehearsal Demo]
05. Come To The Flood [Rehearsal Demo]
06. Ghosts Of The Charnel House [Rehearsal Demo]

The Best Folk / Pagan / Viking Metal Album Of 2018

Additional info
Produced, engineered and mixed by Ola Ersfjord.

Staff review by
ScreamingSteelUS
Rating:
7.8
The low-key, reflective "Stolen Years" and suspiciously danceable "To Hell Or The Hangman" painted Exile Amongst The Ruins as an unusual progression for Primordial, but in truth the band's typically bleak and battering black metal remains largely intact. Rather than the stylistic approach, it is the band's ineluctable presence that has shifted gears, diminishing somewhat from the overwhelming aura Primordial has always projected.

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published 18.03.2018 | Comments (24)

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Comments

Comments: 35   Visited by: 784 users
18.01.2018 - 18:35
3rdWorld
China was a neat
"YEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEES."

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29.01.2018 - 08:09
Maco
Pvt Funderground
I think I also love this song.
----
Crackhead Megadeth reigns supreme.
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22.02.2018 - 02:02
solar

"To Hell or the Hangman" - really nice song. I need the full album asap. I'm craving some good old Primordial. I like how they seem to have been consistent. Hopefully the full album is gonna be like this, or even better.
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30.03.2018 - 22:18
Zap
Guest
Dat opening track doe.
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30.03.2018 - 23:17
Zap
Guest
Dat closing track doe.
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31.03.2018 - 22:57
Rating: 9
Dark Cornatus
Powerslave
I really like this album - no filler tracks. Solid Primordial from start to finish! So far the first 3 songs are my favourites.
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01.04.2018 - 01:05
Vombatus
Potorro
Overall very good album. Best songs are the previews though, which maybe undermined my initial impression.
Should really stop listening to previews, as it sometimes creates too much hype if they happen to be the best stuff.
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01.04.2018 - 14:01
Fallen Ghost
Craft Beer Geek
I think this is a pretty nice album, seeing many sites are bashing this (angry metal guy with a 2/5) I'm quite surprised and positive to this. Good review man
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01.04.2018 - 14:20
Marcel Hubregtse
Grumpy Old Fuck
Really good album, a step up from their disappointing previous two.
----
Member of the true crusade against European Flower Metal

Yesterday is dead and gone, tomorrow is out of sight
Dawn Crosby (r.i.p.)
05.04.1963 - 15.12.1996

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03.04.2018 - 21:26
Bad English
Tage Westerlund
Like I told in last one maybe not, I don't recall, but when I did listen previous and that before(boat are great albums as some tries to deny) , I did not like non of them, but then after 4 times of spinning, they became great and you can understand concept and meaning. Same goes now whit this one, its great after time and even as 1th song that promoted was suxer, in album it fits well, its like each song are different orientated, ----to hell or the hangman ---
----
Life is to short for LOVE, there is many great things to do online !!!

Stormtroopers of Death - ''Speak English or Die''
apos;'
[image]
I better die, because I never will learn speek english, so I choose dieing
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05.04.2018 - 22:37
Rating: 10
arj

Fucking love it! Need to hear some of the new tunes live.
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15.04.2018 - 01:20
Rating: 8
Redel

Written by Dark Cornatus on 31.03.2018 at 22:57

So far the first 3 songs are my favourites.

That is interesting.
Five to six spins up to now. The only songs that I did not find particularly appealing so far where the first three tracks.
All the rest (songs 4 to 8) on the contratry is pretty decent stuff, canonical Primordial formula.
They can certainly keep up with the two predecessors (which I enjoyed quite a lot, by the way).
In how far this album as a whole is a step up from their previous work I cant say yet for sure.
I certainly did not detect a "dip in quality suffered by the middle of the record".
I rather have my favorites so far with the title track and Upon our spiritual deathbed.
How you can enjoy To hell or the hangman is beyond me.
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15.04.2018 - 03:41
Marcel Hubregtse
Grumpy Old Fuck
To Hell Or Yhe Hangman is soooooooo good live. Instant live classic.
----
Member of the true crusade against European Flower Metal

Yesterday is dead and gone, tomorrow is out of sight
Dawn Crosby (r.i.p.)
05.04.1963 - 15.12.1996

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15.04.2018 - 04:24
Darkside Momo
Retired
Written by Marcel Hubregtse on 15.04.2018 at 03:41

To Hell Or Yhe Hangman is soooooooo good live. Instant live classic.

You lucky bastard I can only imagine, with its danceable Killing Joke vibe it must have been awesome...
----
My Author's Blog (in French)


"You must stay drunk on writing so reality cannot destroy you"

"I've lost too many years now
I'm stealing back my soul
I am awake"
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15.04.2018 - 23:07
Rating: 8
Redel

Written by Marcel Hubregtse on 15.04.2018 at 03:41

To Hell Or Yhe Hangman is soooooooo good live. Instant live classic.

Ok, I t think I can imagine that. I didnt see it live yet.
Maybe I was a bit harsh. I do see how you can enjoy this song.
I just do not enjoy it myself.
Too monotonous and too "danceable" for me.
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16.04.2018 - 09:19
Rating: 10
daemonic7

This album becomes better and better after each listening!
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22.04.2018 - 07:54
Maco
Pvt Funderground
Written by daemonic7 on 16.04.2018 at 09:19

This album becomes better and better after each listening!

Fucking true
----
Crackhead Megadeth reigns supreme.
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26.04.2018 - 11:14
Rating: 8
boo-boo

Though not their best, a solid one and definitely a grower sort of album.
----
World won't end today - it's already tomorrow in Australia.
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11.05.2018 - 19:47
Rating: 8
metalbrat

The whole 8/10 for To Hell or The Hangman.
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In the beginning I was made of clay. Then I bit the apple and they changed me to metal 🤘
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17.05.2018 - 03:54
Rating: 6
DeathMetal

Meh. Besides To Hell Or The Hangman, this was a snooozer.
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01.06.2018 - 13:30
Rating: 7
Sojgenske

Agreed. To Hell or The Hangman is fantastic !
Also Upon Our Spiritual Deathbed is great.
The rest is a bit anecdotic...
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10.11.2018 - 20:37
Maco
Pvt Funderground
Yeah just take my 9
----
Crackhead Megadeth reigns supreme.
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26.03.2019 - 04:18
Rating: 7
tintinb

Listened to Primordial for the first time. Absolutely love Nail Their Tongues.
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Leeches everywhere.
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29.04.2019 - 13:39
Rating: 7
panths

The cover is from a greek statue.even though i am a random Greek man.i really don't like it.
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18.08.2019 - 03:30
Rating: 8
Pelcu

Same as me... Listened for the first time and Nail Their Tongues made me nailed! Love that song. Want more like that...
----
Don't look for solution - look for EXIT!
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23.08.2019 - 10:44
Troy Killjoy
perfunctionist
The worst part about trying to score or rate an album is when there's this really good track, that standout single, that immense personal favorite adding it to all of my playlists for the rest of time kind of song, and then there's the rest of the album.

And the rest of the album doesn't even have to be bad. It's just that one song is so good. It goes beyond the typical rating scale. It leaves you confused, questioning your very existence. What the hell am I supposed to do?

To Hell or the Hangman. It's just 7 minutes of pure bliss. It's clearly a folk-inspired black metal sing-along, the kind of song that gets fans pumping fists in the air and drunkenly attempting to shout the 20 or so words they remember back at the band on stage during the one performance they'll be lucky enough to see them at in a proper venue. And they'll be all out of tune and shit and ruin it for everyone who's there to actually see the band, but that won't stop the phenomenon anyway. Fuckers.

It's songs like this that both make and break an album. What do you even call the rest of the songs? Filler? Trash? Mere distractions from the inevitability of the end of ourselves, our friends, and our loved ones over an immeasurable and variable walk towards the finish line of life while we navigate how to love ourselves enough to become one whole in hopes of meeting another whole to spend our dying days with?

Who can say.

Pretty good album though. Phenomenal fucking song. Don't ask me how to handle the rating. Just kill yourself and save the manic panic frustration.
----
"Wise men talk because they have something to say; fools because they have to say something."
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30.08.2019 - 13:10
nikarg

I agree with Troy and pretty much everyone else for that matter. "To Hell Or The Hangman" is so outstandingly perfect that I find it very hard to listen to any other song in the album and it's not like the other tracks are bad, it's just that they can't hold a candle to that precious one. Can't wait to hear it live in a few days.
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11.12.2019 - 16:36
Bad English
Tage Westerlund
Written by nikarg on 30.08.2019 at 13:10

I agree with Troy and pretty much everyone else for that matter. "To Hell Or The Hangman" is so outstandingly perfect that I find it very hard to listen to any other song in the album and it's not like the other tracks are bad, it's just that they can't hold a candle to that precious one. Can't wait to hear it live in a few days.

I listened it today , I enjooyed it actually, maybe whne it was out it was over react feelings?
----
Life is to short for LOVE, there is many great things to do online !!!

Stormtroopers of Death - ''Speak English or Die''
apos;'
[image]
I better die, because I never will learn speek english, so I choose dieing
Loading...
29.02.2020 - 15:16
Zap
Guest
Written by Troy Killjoy on 23.08.2019 at 10:44

Who can say.

I love this comment and I totally understand how you feel. I have had similar experiences with other albums and To Hell Or The Hangman is just a fantastic song. Yes, I've seen them play it live and it was exactly as you described.

But...
It saddens me somewhat that you think so lowly of the rest of the album, comparatively. For me, To Hell Or The Hangman is not even the best track here, although I find it extremely hard to pick a favourite.
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29.02.2020 - 22:59
Rating: 8
Redel

Written by Zap on 29.02.2020 at 15:16

But...
It saddens me somewhat that you think so lowly of the rest of the album, comparatively. For me, To Hell Or The Hangman is not even the best track here, although I find it extremely hard to pick a favourite.


I second that.
Actually, I find it incredible that everbody posting in this thread absolutely hails To hell or the hangman (except for me).
IMO this is a pretty monotonous song, which exhibits the characteristic feature that it is quite "danceable".
I dont claim that this makes the song boring, or even bad in any sense. I find it quite decent. But soooo much praise...?
Can someone please explain to me why the MS crowd so much hails a monotonous song that on top is danceable?
My favourite song here easily is Upon our spiritual deathbed.
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