Primitai have got to be kidding. Through the Gates Of Hell is one of the most brazenly tongue-in-cheek heavy metal albums released since Judas Priest were in their prime.
There’s a possibility they might be deadly serious, but I’m confident I’ve spotted the clues. As if song titles like “Army Of Darkness”, “Deathhammer” and “Rockin’ In Hell” weren’t hint enough, the sleeve art of Through The Gates Of Hell says it all – a demon with a jaunty grin, clad in sleeveless leather jacket and aviator shades, beckoning us into his fiery realm.
Of course, if I’m wrong - and Primitai really are serious - we may want to tip off the mental health services.
The music matches the packaging perfectly. Through The Gates Of Hell is a celebration of every overstated cliché that heavy metal has ever deployed – and credit where it’s due, Primitai have the musicianship to pull it off. Solid drumming and rhythm section is overlaid with some intricate fretboard wizardry, full of rapid hammered and tapped scalar runs and howling tremolo notes.
Bands peddling metal cliches are ten a penny these days, but Primitai have their own angle on the genre. As the song titles and sleeve art hint at, the tunes on Through The Gates Of Hell are about, er, hell. And death. Violence and death. And metal.
It’s here at the lyrical level that Primitai’s humour comes through. Take the chorus of “Destroyers”, for example:
“you made a stand to the devil’s hand, baby / but now you’re gone, ’cause we’re the destroyers / skull crushing, electric shock, yeah / you’re a fool, and we’re metal as f*ck!”
I kid you not. And if you think that’s the apogee of pantomime thuggery, wait until you hear “Lights Out” …
Put it this way – if Dragonforce are what gallant knights and warriors in shining armour listen to before riding in to combat the forces of darkness, then Primitai are what gets cranked out on the other side of the battlefield – the pre-slaughter audio aperitif of all right-minded orcs and zombies.
Through The Gates Of Hell bristles with utterly overstated metal bombast and comedy ultraviolence; in some respects, it’s very very silly indeed. But if you just take Primitai with a pinch of salt, you’ll be laughing – literally.
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Posted in Music reviews |
Tags: classic metal, fun, heavy metal
