Alternative rock performer, storyteller and multi-instrumentalist Primordial Alien reaches the pinnacle of his creative output this year, delivering an album of conceptual weight, musical diversity, skill, playfulness, genre-fusion and cool but cutting narratives, as we dive into the brilliantly eclectic pop-punk and progressive rock vibrancy and shadows of Casus Belli.
We begin with a stunning instrumental rock arrangement that sets the mood beautifully for darkness and hope carefully intertwined. It’s skilful and free-flowing, uninhibited but grounded in its audience awareness. The track’s marching band tempo, the distortion, the riffs, the rising energy, all sets the bar well, for an album that’s clearly the crescendo of a noteworthy indie career.
After this atmospheric instrumental opener, Dancing in The Fallout hits with beautiful impact, blending indie metal vocal melodies and haunting scenes, with a fine balance of neo-classical design and harder rock and punk. The guitars and the arrangement work fiercely together, and the song is incredibly catchy – a sort of dark pop-punk and progressive crossover that’s structured in a way that totally captivates. Primordial Alien’s storytelling and his blend of authentic, honest vocals with the fullness of the musical design here makes for perhaps his finest project yet.
Live Infinitely then brings the pace and optimism up musically, but the subject matter is no less cinematic and dark, with classic rock and roll guitar solos further energising an addictively interesting and anthemic, alluring set-up and song.
Twelve songs make up Casus Belli, and as we move into the piano softness and vulnerability of Synthetic Smiles, the conceptual weight of the album settles in with a little more poignancy and that essential personal touch. It’s a rising arrangement again, MCR-like in composition, but performatively and stylistically more of a blend of indie rock, hard rock and pop-punk. I’d Rather Die For You, Than Live Without You follows on with a similar vein of longing and self-reflection that’s romantic and heartbroken. Contrast is masterful as ever, with ‘My revenge is my retribution’ resounding to re-energise the soundscape.
Black Roses is infectious, high-octane and metal-kissed in its melody to roar ratio. Then for You’re Not a Nobody Anymore, quirky keys add something spacious and colourful back to the chemistry, for another catchy original melodic progression and story that feels theatrical but deep and inspiring all at once.
We then get a fascinating rock arrangement of the infamous Moonlight Sonata, which helps further tighten the cinematic, neo-classical grip of the project, before an emo-indie outpouring from of Aileen adds more of the same performative charm, with that now unmistakable countering force of heartbroken storytelling.
“I could have sworn the sky was much bluer… Now I look in the mirror, counting down the seconds… I’m stuck in this daze.”
Long Gone and Out Of Service is a little more traditionally emo-rock, melodically satisfying and lyrically poetic – something of a personal favourite for its emotional connection and nostalgia, for the impact of such moving melodic, lyrical and musical passion at this stage in the album.
Primordial Alien then brings the pure energy and scene-setting back to the forefront, with the arena-ready explosive highs and lows of a gripping Baptized by a Firing Squad. And to finish, another unexpected cover, and easily another favourite recording from the unpredictable but ever-impressive Primordial Alien.
This hard rock and roll take on Jailhouse Rock is sensational – smile-boosting, distorted and groovy, strangely relevant, and the perfect way to bring this complex but celebratory album to a memorable finish. If you start here and work backwards, it’s a different but equally great experience, but in reality, Casus Belli from start to finish is an outstanding independent album, achieving a hypnotic balance of story, playful structuring, passionate musicianship, and fearless artistic conviction.
Stream Primordial Alien’s Casus Belli on Apple, YouTube, Spotify. Follow Primordial Alien on Instagram.
