On Gods To The Godless, the first song proper on their third album Spirit The Earth Aflame, Ireland’s Primordial nail the unique pagan metal style they will become renowned for: weighty black metal with rolling, folky rhythms and A.A. Nemtheanga’s impassioned vocals. Gods To The Godless is similar in topic to Bathory’s seminal One Rode To Asa Bay but where that song depicted a subjugated, converted Norse community with sympathy, Gods To The Godless takes the viewpoint of the oppressor. And Nemtheanga spits outs threatening declarations with spine-chilling intensity.
Gary Moore had a good voice but never quite at the same level as his fiery guitar playing so on 1985’s Run For Cover he enlists two legendary, but troubled, vocalists to help out. “Voice Of Rock” Glenn Hughes lends his powerful, soulful singing to four songs, most notably the classy Reach For The Sky which could have fit right in on his superb 1982 album Hughes/Thrall. And then Moore’s old Lizzy pal Phil Lynott basically steals the show with his larger-than-life presence: duetting on bullet-strewn hit Out In The Fields and contributing his own thumpingly macho, but characteristically vulnerable, Military Man. I enjoy the whole album but it’s these guest appearances that make Run For Cover a favourite.
My copy is from this box set. Good music, crappy packaging!
They’d go on to be one of the most definitive, life-affirming rock acts of the 70s but on their 1971 debut, Thin Lizzy seemed more nostalgic for the 60s. Lizzy mainstays Phil Lynott and Brian Downey together with original guitarist Eric Bell formed a power trio in the mould of Hendrix, Cream and The Jeff Beck Group and played an eclectic mix of folky, funky and soulful hippy rock. Honesty Is No Excuse is a sophisticated string-laden ballad, Look What The Wind Blew In has a carefree chorus and wonderful stuttering riff, Eire is a beautiful Celtic ode and Return Of The Farmer’s Son has hints of future glories in its jousting guitar and rolling drums. But many of the songs here, like the endless Diddy Levine, prove forgettable and even the album’s rockiest moments have a maudlin, nostalgic mood. All this makes Thin Lizzy a decent choice for hungover Sunday afternoons. But you know what Lizzy albums you were listening to on the Saturday and this wasn’t one of them.
Here’s a rousing track from Primordial’s new live album Gods to the Godless (Live at Bang Your Head Festival Germany 2015). I always feel like live shows are defined by the inclusion of new tracks. My memories of live performances usually revolve around the new songs that were played. For better or worse, bands seem to put extra welly into the new stuff: meaning that brilliant new songs make for an unforgettable show but weak ones will likely mar my recollections, no matter how classics-laden the show might have been. The former is definitely the case with Primordial. Four of the eleven songs here are taken from their last album Where Greater Men Have Fallen and here’s an amazing version of the title track: a burly and martial take that surpasses the studio version. Alan Nemtheanga proves himself, once again, the consummate metal frontman, and the band’s chemistry and the skill of their arrangements are even more evident in the live setting: every instrument occupying a unique space to create a massive wall of sound. Primordial, over twenty years into their career, sound like they’re determined to remain impassioned and vital until the bitter end.
[To hear the Song of the Week, click track three on the YouTube screen below. And then listen to the whole thing, you won’t regret it]
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