Primordial
Interview by Albena & Negru (November 2003 - web only!).
Just a small preview for the gigs to come upon you on November 14 & 15 (in Bulgaria & Romania)! Read a more detailed and conceptual interview with Primordial on Negura #4, which will be officially released at the concerts!




First time ever the last survived true black metal band from Ireland will visit this part of Europe! Do you know anything about Bulgaria and Romania?
Yeah we are the longest serving Irish band around I guess and it’s a great honour to be coming over to play in both Bulgaria and Romania. Of course I know some history relating to both countries concerning recent wars and more ancient and even medieval history. And also positive tales from my friends from Rotting Christ about Bulgaria and also my good friend Duncan who used to be in anathema back when they played some shows in Romania in 1994 I think?

Is there any particular stuff you expect to see or experience here in Sofia, Bulgaria? How about Timisoara, Romania?
Well if the emails we have been receiving are anything to go by I think we are going to meet some cool and friendly people. The same thing I always look for when I travel and play somewhere... to meet passionate and cool people, experience some of the local culture and lifestyle and hopefully to see something of the local cities, architecture, landscapes, nature and hopefully to just experience another culture in as many ways as possible.

What sentence would you personally use so to announce/promote the live of Primordial?
I guess it would go something like passion, sweat, blood and fucking tears! Nothing less then total commitment.

How long is it since you played for the first time? Do you know how many gigs have you performed so far?
The first time? I think it was in Dublin in October 1991 and I guess we have played perhaps 120 or more gigs? ...perhaps more I don’t know. In 1997 we played one for example but this year we have played about 35-40.

What was the most unusual place you played at so far? And what would be the most intriguing place you'd like to play in one day?
Unusual? ...we've played some odd places but we played a show once with Ancient Rites in some guys basement in Holland in the middle of a housing estate which was weird. Some strange places in Portugal in the middle of nowhere in 99. Everywhere I haven’t been intrigues me to play! I would like to play up in Scandinavia, Russia, America, Australia... everywhere my friend!

When you are on the road is there a special team of make up artist, sound and light engineer traveling with you?
Make up artist!! ...no man, it’s just the 5 of us. If we had some more money we would bring a friend of ours who is a good sound engineer but we never really have the money you know! It can be very expensive to go round on tour in Europe. A tour bus to sleep 16 people can cost 800 euro a day! ...we don’t pay this of course but there is a lot of expense so for us to have extra crew is fuckin hard! Well, some costs do come out of our (non-existant) royalties.

What would you advice people to be ware of for the Primordial live show?
That magical and even mystical connection between the audience and the band is what we strive for, those 90 minutes when the songs come alive. It’s always 100% commitment, total energy, total adrenaline, total passion, you will see.

What will be the line-up of the band for the concerts in that two shows?
It will be the exact same as on the albums except for a friend of ours who helps on bass when our bassist cannot play.

How long play list you are going to have for the concerts in Sofia & Timisoara?
We are working on that right now, I would hope perhaps 90 minutes, we shall see it depends on time restrictions, right now we are arguing over what to play from our first album Imrama.

Are you preparing anything special for your live performance here?
I’m considering some new special backdrops, some new stage wear... you will just have to see my friend!

Is there any cheating curve between music company-artists-fans?
Totally, generally record labels are full of shit, making money off artists and never paying a fuckin penny. There are some exceptions but more often then not they are a bunch of money grabbing bastards. Art and business don’t mix. There is very little honor in this industry my friend, but when we get on stage its between us and the audience and the men in suits don’t matter a fuckin bit...

Will you ROCK & party around the night Sofia & Timisoara?
We are Irish... does that answer your question? Hilsa!