Twilight of the Gods – Fire on the Mountain
As “This is a Heathen metal call to arms” Spills from the lips of Primordial’s Alan Averill aka Nemtheanga, I am snapped out of the illusion that this supergroup band isn’t going to be in the vein of their Bathory worshiping inception as I hoped they would be. That’s ok. It is. I can still soldier on and preview Fire on the Mountain objectively. What Twilight of the Idols has become is a collective outpouring of classic metal appreciation, yes with all of it’s cliché and pensive fist banging at the heavens glory, from Nemtheanga, Patrik Lindgren from THYRFING, Rune Eriksen of AURA NOIR, ex-AVA INFERI and ex-MAYHEM, EINHERJER mastermind Frode Glesnes on bass and drum tormentor Nick Barker (LOCKUP, ex-CRADLE OF FILTH, ex-DIMMU BORGIR, ex-TESTAMENT).
Where the leadoff track, Destiny Forged in Blood fires off this slab with well crafted solo work and a riff gallop that puts one in mind of classic era Judas Priest, Twilight of the Gods effortlessly demonstrates where their inspiration is gleaned from, and I could look past the cheesiness of metal superiority lyrics thanks to the smartness of the riffs and the passion in which the lyrics are sung, but this band moves into far greater atmospheres and majesty on the following track, Children of Cain. It’s simply a great song and the music unveils itself from lofty heights thanks to a driving verse riff and a soaring harmony that brings the listener along on wings of a fiery phoenix. Nemtheanga sings his ass of on this track in particular, hitting a much higher pitch than ever explored in the audio history of Primordial and it is this soulful display that really highlights this music perfectly. He sounds like no other crooner out there and Twilight of the Gods is all the stronger for it. As Fire on the Mountain progresses, the simplistic lines and airy feel of the song structures and riffs themselves are a welcomed inclusion to my weekly listening quest. I can go into this album without needing to over think the meaning or unravel each nebulous strand as I strain to comprehend something complex. There is a time and a place for that yes, but as tracks like Preacher Man give a spirited pounding metal nod to Manowar lyrically and musically, Twilight of the Gods have transferred their “Tribute band” away from the Viking era of Bathory, to eclipse a wider swath of artists and the entire classic metal genre. The bottom line is it works.
There is no denying the fact that Fire on the Mountain may be chock full of riffs and other musical ideas that sound strangely familiar to the lot of us that have our roots still firmly planted in the old metal spectrum of expression, but Twilight of the Gods thankfully spin these ideas with just enough of their own fire to steer away from blatant plagiarism, leaving this album to stand on its own as a strong debut worth investigating further. Yes I would have enjoyed hearing the depth found on Children of Cain to spread throughout the majority of this album, but Twilight of the Gods, should they choose to continue on with this project, will hopefully find the time and inspiration to build upon the strong suits of their creation further next time around. –Marty
Season of Mist
Worm Gear 
In the category “they don’t make ’em like this anymore”… Fucking awesome! \m/
Here’s a lengthy video regarding the Bathory tribute. They sound pretty damn good!
Cool! 14 verses of Blood Fire Death hahaha… Watching this makes me realize two things:
Father to Son gives me the shivers even when it’s played by another band.
I don’t own a single Primordial album which is insane!
I’m not much of a fan of super groups and even less so of lyric videos, but this song struck me as pretty good. Interesting…
It is a damn good album. Going to spin it further and see if it goes the long haul enough to pick it up on vinyl.
I wonder if they covered The Woodwoman or The Lake. 2 eternal classics in my book. Blood on Ice for me all the way! Stranded on a tropical island with one album deal for me!
Alan’s vocals really sold me on this album. Refreshing.