Together since 2003, Primitai hail from the UK, chugging along for over a decade on a DIY basis through this fourth full-length Night Brings Insanity. You can tell right away that there’s a wealth of seasoning in terms of the abilities of the players on hand – this isn’t their first go around, as a result giving the listener a professional all around effort that makes for a 9-song album very pleasurable to spin incessantly. We have a strong 80’s metal foundation at the core – especially with the riffing and attention to hooks/ choruses – but also adding in a lot of modern explosiveness in terms of the double kicks and vocal delivery from Guy Miller to skew things slightly in favor of today’s new wave of traditional metal.
Raising the eyebrows and fists high right away would be the fiery riffing and exemplary lead play from guitarists Srdjan Bilic and Tom Draper. These gentlemen have studied their Maiden/Saxon twin tower work just as much as In Flames and Kiss to be honest when you look at the catchy rhythms and proper pacing/transitions throughout highlights such as the sleazy anthem “My Last Escape” or towering, semi-gallop oriented title cut – where a lot of the pull offs carry vestiges of Randy Rhoads meets Alexi Laiho trademarks. The rhythm section keeps Primitai in a solid pocket – allowing the energetic material to carry itself, as “Falling Embers” and the bluesy semi-power ballad “Conclusion Forgone” illustrate (the latter channeling a lot of long-lost affinity for Gary Moore).
Where Primitai separate themselves from the younger generation of upstarts is in the confident, melodic meets modern rock range of Guy Miller. He has this AOR meets Sebastian Bach edge to add to an obvious metal wheelhouse upper register that make the material that much more memorable, ready to lift the songs across 10,000 seaters worldwide in a just marketplace. Check out “Black Rider” and the Primal Fear/ Judas Priest-ish “Night Hunter” for two clinics in proper metal singing. The cover could be a little confusing to some – as it certainly speaks to their multi-genre synthesis stylistically between the swords, skull, horns, and blonde glam hair.
In the end, Night Brings Insanity has broad appeal and worthy songwriting to garner much more attention. Those who love the work of Striker would be well advised to add Primitai to their collection.