by Devon Chodzin (@bigugly)
As accustomed to extreme sonic textures as the average metalhead may be, Primitive Man’s concoction of funeral doom, black metal, and noisy death paired with their oppressive lyrics can be a bit much for casual listening. Over ten years, the Ethan Lee McCarthy-led trio has proven extremely prolific in addition to extremely extreme. With eight splits, three LPs, three EPs, and two demo tapes under their belt, one has to wonder just how much gloom they can muster, project, and endure. The latest of their releases, the EP Insurmountable, builds on their brutal foundation over four tracks spread out over forty minutes. At no point does the EP prove to be an easy listen, but inflections of groove and harmony offer a little bait-and-switch that leads listeners right back into the pit of chaos that the band curates so well.
Insurmountable’s opener, “This Life,” possesses all the hallmarks of an ideal Primitive Man track. The tempo is achingly slow, McCarthy’s growling roar communicates his agony, and reverb is generous. The sheer terror McCarthy confronts emanates with sincerity. Metal as extreme as this often slides into campy territory to keep the mood somewhere down the middle, but Primitive Man has no time to mince words. To say “This Life” betrays legitimate existential dread is an understatement. Interestingly, around the 4-and-a-half minute mark, the semi-coherent noise is suddenly rooted in a groove one might consider uptempo for the band. It leads the listener right back to Hell.
The second track, “Boiled,” tremors with peril. The guitar noise howls like hellfire, suggesting the experience of submergence into eternal damnation. Any optimism melts away in the chasm of harsh ambiance. By the time listeners grow accustomed to “Boiled,” equilibrium is disturbed by a piercing screech announcing the arrival of “Cage Intimacy,” the EPs sole single. The song commences with prototypical death sludge before erupting into a pounding old-school black metal overture. It’s designed for flailing in the pit before the tempo freezes again, spelunking right back into frigid, pummeling doom.
Insurmountable closes with perhaps the most brutal The Smashing Pumpkins cover in existence. Primitive Man takes the track “Quiet,” one of the sleeper hits from the legendary album Siamese Dream, and embalms it in their signature death sludge sound. “Quiet” is one of The Smashing Pumpkins’ most intimate tracks, charting the relationship between Billy Corgan and his parents. The song is rife with frustration and angst that suits grungy rock, and under a doom lens, the manifestation of the relationship is even more odious. The track is an effective homage that breathes fresh interpretive opportunities into the classic.
Insurmountable will present ample challenges for any listener, but any appreciator of doom or black metal will find plenty of high points during which they can submit to their base emotions. Primitive Man, with their confrontational, affect-forward approach, invites listeners to channel the extreme emotions we may not even realize we possess. Just maybe, we can learn something transformative or even liberatory through this exercise.