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Rating:
8.5 |
Primitive Graven Image - Celebrating Impending Chaos
5 April 2010
01. Into The Godless Chambers
02. The March Of The Cattle
03. Kings Of Infinite Space
04. Towards Infinite Planes
05. War 'Til Death
06. March Onward/Celebrating Impending Chaos
07. Wandering Through The Wood
08. A Gruesome Relic Of Death And Decay
Release dates:
April 5 - UK/Europe
May 4 - USA/Canada
Written and recorded at The Metal Farm by Primitive Graven Image.
Additional writing and recording at Heavy Lehane Studios 1 and 2 by Ljosalfur and Dokkalfur.
Post curry prog outs and spoken word recorded at Parlour Sound Studios by Russ Russell.
Mixed and mastered by Russ Russell at Parlour Sound Studios in January 2009.
Cover artwork by Matt Vickerstaff for Darkwave Art.
Cover concept by Matt Vickerstaff and Ljosalfur.
Original album concept by Ljosalfur.
Photography by Kylie Richardson.
Additional photography by Ljosalfur, Jess Timms, and Sarah Turner.
All music by Primitive Graven Image.
All lyrics by Ljosalfur and Dokkalfur.
Written and recorded between 2007 and 2009.
Black metal
United Kingdom
Envenomation Records
Line-up on the CD:
Rob "Dokkalfur" Lehane - vocals, guitars
Luke "Ljosalfur" Lehane - guitars, synthesizer, vocals
Joshua "Mjolnir" Langford Coxon - bass
Matt "Vordhr" Platts - drums, guitar
Rick Wrong - keyboards (session)
Primitive Graven Image have been given the honor of releasing rookie record label Envenomation Records' first ever album, Celebrating Impending Chaos. Drummer Vordhr formed the label in 2009 "to promote cutting edge extreme metal music", and that's exactly what you'll find on this sophomore release.
The technical aspect of the musicianship and the groove-influenced riffs bring up comparisons to Down-Under demolition experts Deströyer 666, while the straightforward chaos is eerily reminiscent of early Mayhem and of course fellow country mates Anaal Nathrakh. There is obviously an apparent lack of originality when name-dropping comes this easy, but the execution on this album alone makes Primitive Graven Image stand out above most other modern black metal artists. While they don't push any boundaries, they are cutting edge in that they enhance a genre suffering from dozens of unremarkable bands forming each year.
The album is very well produced (thanks in part to Russ Russell - responsible for notable Dimmu Borgir and Napalm Death releases), but not so much so that it loses its "true" credibility. The old school black metal influence is very much alive, which should please the crusaders against [insert melodic metal genre here], though there are some progressive elements to the band's sound that keep the album from sounding banal. Dokkalfur's prudent guitar solos polish off the album rather well, while Vordhr exchanges his blastbeats for some catchy beats and impressive cymbal work intermittently, again focusing on maintaining that "cutting edge" approach. The duo manage to create some incredibly catchy sections that burrow deep into the listener's brain, much like epic death metallers Nile.
Primitive Graven Image managed to condense all of their ideas into a brief 40-minute recording, making Celebrating Impending Chaos an easy pill to swallow - and a memorable one at that.
Website: http://www.myspace.com/primitivegravenimage
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Performance:
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9 |
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Songwriting:
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9 |
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Originality:
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6 |
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Production:
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8 |
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Written on 29.08.2010 by
Troy Killjoy
A Metal Storm Staff member and official reviewer since 2011, Troy is well-trained in the art of black metal and mockery.
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Comments
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7
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Users visited:
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119 |
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 vezzy - 29.08.2010 at 20:33
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| This sounds like something I *might* like, not very sure, I'll give it a listen. |
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Written by vezzy on 29.08.2010 at 20:33
This sounds like something I *might* like, not very sure, I'll give it a listen.
It's a really nice mixture of black/death/thrash with a major emphasis on the black. Basically the result of combining a lot of the bands I name-dropped in the review.  |
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vezzy - 29.08.2010 at 20:42
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Just heard two tracks on their MySpace (parts of them, at least).
Troy, I am disappoint. Seriously, I just had an awful case of "I've heard this many times before syndrome". |
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Written by vezzy on 29.08.2010 at 20:42
I just had an awful case of "I've heard this many times before syndrome".
Can't say I didn't warn you. |
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Daydream Nation - 30.08.2010 at 04:12
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I agree with VezzyRattlehead. I'm disappointed with the selection, especially given the rating.
Oh, and do you think you could review things other than black metal as well? It seems like all you've been doing for the past few weeks and I'd certainly appreciate your wise reviews for other genres! Thanks! |
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Written by Guest on 30.08.2010 at 04:12
I agree with VezzyRattlehead. I'm disappointed with the selection, especially given the rating.
Oh, and do you think you could review things other than black metal as well? It seems like all you've been doing for the past few weeks and I'd certainly appreciate your wise reviews for other genres! Thanks!
The rating was given for the simple fact that the album reminded me of so many other albums I really like, so it's kind of biased in that regard. 
I could review other things than black metal, but that would mean ignoring the requests from my label contacts. I work primarily with extreme metal labels, most of which cater to black metal fans. One of the two band requests I have is a thrash metal EP from a Canadian band, and the other a hardcore/groove metal album, but they'll have to wait until I'm finished moving into my new apartment September 1st.  |
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I've made it my mission to hear every UKBM outfit there is but for some reason I've always deliberately evaded/avoided this band. Not really sure why, I think it's because they've never been regarded as particularly great or interesting (despite them being one of the better known bm bands from the UK).
You make a compelling point, I may check them out at some point. |
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