Primitive Man
– Scorn (2013)
Throatruiner/Mordgrimm
Review by
Jude Felton
Extreme music
has always been on the darker side of things, whether it be lyrically,
musically or visually, but little will prepare you for the debut offering from
Denver, Colorado’s Primitive Man. The album, Scorn, as if the cover artwork isn’t
warning enough, will send less hardy folk running, screaming for cover as its
musical menace escapes from the speakers.
Blackened
Doom Sludge could be a simplistic way of describing the musical output here.
Personally, I would prefer to say that if you imagined William Lustig’s Maniac
and Lucio Fulci’s The New York Ripper in a fist fight with the darkest moments
from The Deer Hunter, set to music, you might just be getting close to the
depths of darkness and despair that Scorn spews forward.
Opening with
the 11 minute title track, it is clear that Primitive Man isn’t fucking about.
Heavy as hell riffing, with vocals that are quite simply terrifying, the
initial tempo is a slow grinding assault. This tempo does pick up on occasion,
but to be quite honest this album makes other doom metal seem positively jovial
in comparison. I’ve not heard anything quite this nihilistically downbeat and
brutal in many a year. In fact the last album that stunned the senses in the
way that Scorn does was probably Anaal Nathrahk’s debut album The Codex Necro,
which was incidentally also released by Mordgrimm back in 2001. Musically
different, but the sentiment was very much the same.
By the time
you make your way through the 7 tracks here, which vary in length from 3
minutes through to a couple of epics, you’ll want a shower, forgiveness from a
priest and quite possibly an exorcism. You think I am joking? I’m not. Scorn is
pure evil, and an absolutely fantastic album. The combined sounds and atmosphere
that are evident here just ooze spite, hatred and a vitriolic bleakness that
has to be heard.
It’s still
early days yet, but I will be quite honestly surprised if Scorn does not make
it into my top 5 albums of the year. Approach with caution, because Primitive
Man will scar you.
Track list:
1. Scorn
2. Rags
3. I Can't Forget
4. Antietam
5. Black Smoke
6. Stretched Thin
7. Astral Sleep
Scorn is released by Throatruiner and Morgrimm on 12" Vinyl LP (w/ Digital Download) and is available now.
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