Spain is a place not really known for its black metal. One of the few exceptions is Madrid's PRIMIGENIUM. Formed in 1992, Primigenium is perhaps the most known of all Spanish second-wave black metal bands.
Founded by Smaug and Alhaz, Primigenium cites Bathory as its driving influence. With the release of early demos like 1993's rehearsal Infernal and 1994's As Eternal As the Night, the influence of the Norwegian scene could be heard as well. Their 1994 demo caught the ear of various record labels, and a new version of it was released by Wild Rags in 1996 with an additional song and an outro on it.
This is the complete As Eternal As the Night demo
Primigenium soon entered the studio to record their first full-length album. While the Greek label Unisound initially expressed interest in putting out this album, it was eventually released on Full Moon Productions. Art of War hit shelves in 1997.
From Art of War, this is "Black Sword of Vengeance"
As you can hear from "Black Sword of Vengeance," Primigenium had an aggressive take on the Norwegian style on their first full-length. Some have compared their style to Carpathian Forest, and that's a fairly apt comparison for some of the riffs. That said, I do think Primigenium were building a sound all their own.
Art of War was well-received. By 1997, black metal was enough of a worldwide phenomenon that metalheads knew to be on the lookout for great bands from places that they ordinarily would not expect. Primigenium used this momentum to release an EP in 2000 and their second full-length album (Intolerance) in 2002.
All Your Tears Will Be Ours is their 7-inch from 2000
Here's the title track from Intolerance
An album of aggressive, no-frills black metal, Intolerance helped cement Primigenium's status as Spain's premier black metal band. After Intolerance, the band went on hold for a while, but they are active now and still putting out quality black metal.
No comments:
Post a Comment