Primordial

Released too late in 2007 to make most best-of lists, this sixth offering by Irish epic metallers Primordial is something special. A concept album of sorts dedicated to "the nameless dead” — those that lost their lives for the betterment of mankind — it’s also the group’s most cohesive release to date. With a sound that mixes the epic nature of mid-period Bathory with the experimentalist edge of Celtic Frost and more than a smidgen of traditional Irish influences, the band create a sound all their own. Heartfelt and earnest, but also extreme, the band have the ability to turn on a dime from passionate to pummelling and do so with ease. You can call it Viking metal, folk metal or even black metal. But it doesn’t matter the classification you want to dump on it because there’s no denying that this time the Dublin quintet have outdone even themselves.