Metal Underground.com

After reviewing Primordial's fantastic "All Empires Fall" DVD it's easy to see where this "Storm Before Calm" reissue fits into the band's "brick by brick" career which prizes them as one of the masters of pagan/folk/celtic/black/highly original metal. Trialled by studio issues, band tension and even cover art, "Storm Before Calm" seems in retrospect a grimly fought victory of song strength.

The key note for those looking to trawl the Primordial back catalog in search of more trail-blazing material is that while this isn't their best release, it does hold a few tracks that are too good to pass up. "Sons of the Morrigan" has a hugely powerful celtic swing to it and sees the band tap into the rolling emotional spirit that carries them so high above imitators. Similar brilliance is found in the unchallenged black metal fury of opener "Heretics Age" and the primal ache of the massive ending to "Cast To The Pyre." Also prominent is the use of ambient build ups and interludes that are sometimes effective and other times not.

The production has taken a backward step towards the band's foggy first efforts and the music overall is in the midst of shedding many of the black metal elements of the past. Nemtheanga's vocals are still firmly rooted in the raspy black metal style and only occasionally break the aggression to belt out a chorus.

In the end "Storm Before Calm" sits strangely between the cult favorite "Spirit the Earth Aflame" and the explosive release of "The Gathering Wilderness." It's an album from a band with great ideas and great songs, but with too much going on to filter that into one focused monolithic vision. However crippled, for a Primordial fan it's well worth the effort to hear the stand out tracks.