Primitive Man Isn’t Afraid of Harsh Truths

Primitive Man is evolving.

The Denver doom lords are preparing to release a double LP, Observance, on Halloween via Relapse Records, and the latest death-sludge tome is unlike anything the trio’s done in the past thirteen years — musically and conceptually. In short, this is a more melancholic look at Primitive Man than the unfettered scratch-your-eyes-out rage that’s become the group’s calling card since 2012.

“There’s definitely some angry shit on there, but it is a depressing record,” says vocalist-guitarist Ethan Lee McCarthy.

Diving a little deeper, he explains that Observance reflects what he’s seeing and experiencing in the world around him, internally and externally. Like most of us, he’s not immune to all the savagery and division being sowed.

“The overall concept is, while you’re dealing with your own problems at home or in your own world, we also have a lot of problems going on in our country and abroad. There’s a lot to think about,” McCarthy says.

“It’s fucked up having to continue to live a life while things are so messed up. That’s what I’m touching on,” he continues. “I’m talking about each individual problem, but that’s the overarching theme there. Trying to keep your head above water when the world becomes unrecognizable and your own personal problems grind at you as well.”

Taking it all in at once, and seemingly all the time, is overwhelming, especially when solutions don’t seem so cut-and-dry anymore and everything seems interconnected in an ever more sinister way. As the main creator and lyricist behind Primitive Man, McCarthy, 41, doesn’t believe he has it all figured out, but he’s not afraid to opine on such issues. From feelings of slipping into an inevitable techno dystopia to global conflicts and poisonous politics, Observance is a caustic howl, a harrowing response, against the collective ailing, from the opener, “Seer,” to the fourteen-minute shout into the void, “Natural Law.” Collectively, the six songs are indicative of a more complex, fully realized Primitive Man; the band is stronger in all areas.

“It’s social commentary, but I’m super aware that I’m not a political scientist and I am just a man. I’m a regular-ass dude who has some ideas and a perspective on life. I don’t ever claim to have the answers, and I could be wrong about everything I’m saying,” he says.

“Now, I think we’re moving toward two classes of people. I think that one class of people are feeling the effects of all of these global and domestic events than others,” he adds. “I think a lot of the technology that we use every day and the convenience in the things that we love are looped into this shit, so we’re unwilling participants in all sorts of things. It sucks to be somebody who is a part of making the world run, but not making any fucking decisions at all. The illusion is over.”

The rise of AI, in particular, isn’t helping. To McCarthy, it’s further destroying creativity and, in the process, people’s well-being.

“It’s like, what the fuck? All of these people in these positions of tech running the world with this artificial intelligence and ruining art and music, the arts in general. I see the use of them for practical things, but the cost on the environment is too great,” McCarthy says. “It’s also a job-stealer. Fuck this. No one is benefiting from this. Everything looks like shit. People aren’t learning anything. They’re just investing money in this shit that’s only helping the people who created it. It’s making people mentally ill, and all sorts of shit. It’s like, ‘What is this thing?’ So we’re definitely talking about stuff like that.”

And it’s happening in our own backyard, as Software company Palantir Technologies is headquartered in Denver. “These ghouls fucking live in our state. If you read the things that Peter [Thiel, Palantir co-founder] says, it is insane,” he adds. “Now what we’re learning is that you can say or do any fucking crazy thing that you want as long as you have the money to back it up. It doesn’t matter. No one gives a shit about what’s right for society or most people or morally correct.”

That’s a lot to unpack. And while reading McCarthy’s words might come off as vexation and vitriol, in listening to him, it’s evident that he’s speaking from a place of pure passion, a person who cares deeply about community and humanity.

The same can be said for where Primitive Man is currently at creatively. The band is hitting the road for a headlining tour in late November, including a spot on this year’s Decibel Magazine Metal & Beer Fest at the Fillmore Auditorium on December 6.

On the surface, Observance contains everything you’d come to expect from McCarthy, drummer Joe Linden and bassist Jon Campos — scathing, harsh noise; descents into insanity; a full-blown assault on the senses. But aside from including different musical deviations — psych, new-wave — throughout, there is one thing in particular that separates it from predecessors, something that hasn’t always been present when McCarthy put Primitive Man together over a decade ago as a vehicle to vent his frustrations: hope.

“I’m talking about this real dismal stuff, but the thing that makes this record different from previous Primitive Man is that I’m acknowledging that things are bad, in my personal life and in the world,” explains McCarthy, who’s been booking and promoting shows locally for just as long. “But I am not laying down and dying. I’m ready to fight for this shit. I think we should be ready to fight. Laying down and dying is not it. That is what makes this record very different.

“As I’ve gotten older, you have to have hope or the world is going to eat you up,” he adds. “Shit is really bad, but don’t give up the fight. We haven’t completely lost yet. We lose when we give up.”

There is optimism within that, and it’s why McCarthy calls the recent writing process more freeing than its felt before, allowing for more exploration.

“I know it’s easy to say that we always sounded like Primitive Man, but as one of the people involved in doing it, the whole time it was like, ‘This is weird. Is this what we want to do? Is this how we want our band to sound?’” he shares. “And now it’s just what we sound like now thirteen years later. But it was really a journey to get there.”

The progression of Primitive Man, the consciousness and self-awareness displayed on Observance, is reminiscent of a famous Friedrich Nietzsche line: “Whoever battles monsters should see to it that in the process he does not become a monster himself. And when you look long into an abyss, the abyss also looks into you.”

Even in a genre that glorifies horror, Primitive Man, often considered the heaviest band on the planet, refuses to become a monster, a miserable byproduct of its environment. Instead, up from the underground it springs forth, a beacon of perseverance, against insurmountable odds. And when things seem so upside-down, an unlikely inspiration for others.

“I want people to feel empowered, to feel strength when they listen to it, to feel the urge to keep going,” McCarthy concludes. “You can acknowledge miserable shit and still be resigned to continue.”

Observance is available on all streaming platforms on Friday, October 31.