Primal Rite are a crossover outfit comprising current and former members of some of the Bay Area's most respected metal and hardcore bands, including Scalped, Yadokai, Face the Rail, Profile and others. The six-piece have clearly studied up on their thrash history (as they should; by most heavy-metal historical accounts, the genre was born in their backyard), nodding to pioneers like Exodus with wailing solos and cavernous echo effects. But despite their reverence for the canon, Primal Rite ultimately seek to challenge heavy music's status quo, rather than blindly honor it. Frontwoman Lucy Xavier, who is openly queer, writes lyrics focusing on mental health and gender identity as opposed to the usual generic bloodlust, swapping see-you-in-the-pit machismo for stark emotional honesty.
Since forming last year, Primal Rite have more or less been on a marathon, dropping three excellent 7-inches and touring with the likes of Power Trip, Destruction Unit and Trapped Under Ice (who released one of Primal Rite's cassettes via their Pop Wig label). Now, the group is gearing up to release its debut LP, Dirge of Escapism, on January 26th via Revelation. The record includes the previously-shared tracks "Sensory Link to Pain" and "Antivenom," as well as "Demon," a new ripper we're premiering today.
Vocalist Lucy Xavier describes the searing track as "a step towards what we hope to become: a fully-realized Primal Rite record to explore extreme power, darkness and the extrasensory self." Listen now, and scroll down to view Dirge of Escapism's artwork and tracklisting
Primal Rite - Dirge of Escapism track listing:
1. "Chapter Zero"
2. "Akumajō (Blood)"
3. "Antivenom"
4. "Interference"
5. "Demon"
6. "Sensory Link To Pain"
7. "Bu Zhi Chun"
8. "Persona"
9. "Ecstatic Agony"
10. "Immutable Law"
