Spirit the Earth Aflame

Occupation

• Vocals: A. A. Nemtheanga
• Guitar: Ciaran MacUiliam
• Bass: Pól MacAmlaigh
• Drums: Simon O'Laoghaire

Spirit the Earth Aflame is the third studio album by the Irish pagan metal band Primordial. It appeared in 2000 at Hammerheart Records.

Creation and publication

After the release of the EP The Burning Season Primordial toured in 1999 with Hades Almighty and Mayhem in Belgium and the Netherlands and with Sacred Sin and Masque of Innocence in Portugal and Spain. End of the year, the band began working on new songs and went in January or February 2000 to the studio. Spirit the Earth Aflame appeared on CD, LP and limited edition digipak with bonus tracks; for the tenth anniversary of the first edition brought Metal Blade Records a remastered version with bonus CD on the market.

Title list

Style

Primordial continue on the chosen path of The Burning Season difficult to categorize blend of Pagan Metal, Black Metal, Folk Metal and Doom Metal. In the foreground are A. A. Nemtheangas insistent and varied vocals and Ciaran MacUiliams heavy riffs. The melancholy, anthemic or melodic pieces are usually relatively long and slow or medium tempo. The Cruel Sea is based on a traditional Irish piece for the lyrics of The Soul Must Sleep a passage from Jean -Paul Sartre's Nausea was used.

Reception

The album was well received by the press. Although Andrew Wood of Vampster criticized the absence of thrilling melodies, but Spirit the Earth Aflame attests a special " solemn and melancholy atmosphere ." Alex Henderson of Allmusic praised the musicianship, complexity and aggressiveness of the album; in Rock Hard it was referred to as a "masterpiece " and " incredibly beautiful disc, which is interesting for all that is fed up with feeling played, anthemic Metal [ ... ] ".