As the world ‘progresses’ by the nanosecond with man succumbing to the tyranny of technology, soothsayers and fortune-tellers have prophesized about the apocalypse and questioned the possibilities of a post-apocalyptic world, as well as the state of affairs of the civilized homo sapien. Will there be any survivors? And will those ‘chosen few’ degenerate back in time and re-embrace the rudimentary instincts of food and water after being consumed by the decadence of luxury? Will the world witness the advent of a new type of species affected by the perils of nuclear war, that will subsequently dominate the world? Or will the robots rise and rule over their ‘masters’?
Hailing from Mumbai, Primitiv is a band that consists of Nitin Rajan (vocals), Rajarshi Bhattacharya (guitars), Kiron Kumar (guitars), Riju Dasgupta (bass) and Pushkar Joshi (drums), and plays ‘stone-age metal’. They have released their first album, which is their thesis on a post-apocalyptic world, entitled ‘Immortal and Vile’.
‘Immortal and Vile’ opens with “Clash Of The Gods” which has a lot of Hans Zimmer-ish overtones, and is kaleidoscopically anthemic and eerie with its incorporation of strings. ” Clash Of The Gods” is followed by “World War Zero” which initially starts with a slow doom-influenced riff structure with a slight tinge of blues, and then progresses into full-blown doom that gives the listeners a sense of foreboding. ”The Demon Of Science” is again, extremely haunting, and along with “Lake Rancid” stands as one of the more ferocious tracks of the album with Pushkar using hammer blast beats towards the end. Riju’s bass lines during the intro of “Dead Man’s Desert” are commendable as well, with the song having a short break down in the middle.
“Taurus”, which is one of the first tracks (I think the very first) that the band released, starts with an extremely bass-heavy pattern with a tad bit of clean guitars. The song shifts between the quintessential stomp of doom and a simple bass-heavy structure. ”Lords Of Primitiv” is a complete change in texture from its predecessors, being a very stoner-doom influenced track. The track is magnificent and is a sheer treat for the listener, but I have not quite understood the presence of this track in an album that is infused with an impending sense of doom. Nevertheless, it stands out as my favourite tracks of the album.
Consisting of members of heavy metal heavyweights like Albatross, Hellwind and Morticide, the band has successfully found its way through the claustrophobic canopy of monotony which a lot of doom metal bands are still under. ‘Immortal and Vile’ is an interesting listen from start to finish, and the quintet – spearheaded by Riju Dasgupta’s lyrical leanings towards post-apocalyptic fiction – appropriately combines the dark elements of grotesqueness and putridity to form the perfection of hideousness. Supplemented by the artwork of Rahul Chacko, the slime that the album exudes is nothing short of magnetic.
Aside from the length of the album, which is too short to give the listeners their idea of a post-apocalyptic world, ‘Immortal and Vile’ is a ‘Bolt Thrower meets Black Sabbath and Trouble’ masterpiece. With this album, Primitiv is poised to join the likes of fellow Indian doom metallers Djinn and Miskatonic as purveyors of the weird and unnamable. The band has incorporated a beautiful sense of barbaric degeneracy in their debut album, and we all lie in wait for their next effort.