Primordial Serpent – The Winter Warrior

Here we have The Winter Warrior, Primordial Serpent’s third album and it does not disappoint. Dark Souls inspired Black Metal; unrelenting, raw, and as dark as a night in the Kingdom of Lordran. I am a fan of Geoff Coran, main man of Primordial Serpent and Kalameet, in general. But The Winter Warrior is my favourite Primordial Serpent release yet. The previous releases are great; however, this album is several steps further in the right direction. Noticeable growth in the song writing and overall sound of this album, but I must repeat that the early work from the project is also well written and awesome overall. The Winter Warrior just puts Primordial Serpent a few notches higher in my mind. Let us get into it.

The song writing is a few notches more complex on this release. The riffing is cold, brutal and savage, but there is a catchy element to everything Coran is laying down on this album. I find every song and every riff to sound well thought out and everything fits together perfectly. The Winter Warrior has both aggressiveness and cold, melancholy melodies throughout. Coran balances what we want as Black Metal fans but does it in a way that sounds like he really knows what he is doing, and it is clear that he does. The mix and overall sound of this album is quite excellent, every aspect is methodical and presented elegantly in terms of Black Metal standards. The Winter Warrior is both rawer than the previous releases, more melodic as well, but also more quintessential for lovers of old school Black Metal. It is a fine line to walk between doing your own thing and utilizing influences in a non-derivative way, but Primordial Serpent not only walks that line but does a malevolent, diabolical dance  while looking down on an ocean of posers, copycats, and unworthy. Extremely solid release from Primordial Serpent. (Fetid Priest of Pestilence)