Reviews

Prymary are a Progressive Rock/Metal band from Southern California that came together in 2000 and decided from the beginning that they were going to play exactly what they wanted without necessarily fitting within any musical genre. This has allowed them in turn to bring together lots of different styles and they have delivered their own version of prog rock/metal with the emphasis on musicianship, melody, and complex rhythms. Their debut self titled and independently financed album was released in 2003 by the band and to promote it they performed with bands such as Fates Warning, King's X, Spock's Beard, and Enchant. After the success of their second album ‘The Tragedy Of Innocence’ the band turned their attention to this their third, which was released in 2009. What makes this album stand out so much for me is the way that the band are at home whatever they are doing, so if it is gentle keyboards and vocals then it is a masterclass, but it feels the same way if the band are upping the ante and getting much more in your face and it is somewhat surprising that these guys aren’t more well known as they are superb musicians. I hesitate to pick on just one stand out, but there are passages within the five section opening number where guitarist Sean Entrikin shreds in a way that wouldn’t sound out of place with Dragonforce. This is album packed with light and shade, piano over the top of blasting guitars being just one of the highlights, and the feeling throughout is that of a band at the very top of their game – begging the question just why aren’t these guys more well known? A bill of these guys supporting Dream Theater would be a match made in heaven and I strongly urge those who like their metal melodic, or their prog to have balls, to search this out at once if not sooner.
www.therecordlabel.net

Prymary’s new album, the third in their career, was recently released by the home of good progressive rock music, ProgRock Records. Of course the five piece band from Southern California is probably the most ‘metal’ band in the roster of ProgRock Records, without losing anything from their ‘progressiveness’ from their rock counterparts. In fact, in the last song of "The Enemy Inside", the 22 minutes long epic "Trial and Tragedy", they flirt a lot with progressive rock. Back in track, the band has experienced some changes in the line up and in specific now features the talents of Jackson Heskett in vocals, Rob Young in bass and Neil McQueen behind the keyboards. The rest two members Sean Entrikin (guitars) and Chris Quirarte (drums, also in the finest progressive metal band of our times Redemption) are still present leading the band to another concept-framed album. Those who have listened to their previous works, with "The Tragedy of Innocence" being the most notable, will view this album as the logical progression of the band’s sound. The sound is still defined by a mixture of Dream Theater, Redemption and Fates Warning. Of course they have their own mark, but the three aforementioned bands are strongly present in their identity. Thus their sound is compiled by strong melodies, like the chorus of "The Enemy Inside" (parts 2 and 5), extremely technical parts and passages, such the ones you will find in "Edge of Discovery", and powerful structures, like the ones in "Disillusion". Despite the changes in the line up the melancholic and sceptical essence of their lyrics and the mood that the songs transcend is still distinct. Sum all these and you have the best release of Prymary so far. As any other release of the genre needs proper attention and time, but it is true that this album is a very tight exhibition of the modern American progressive metal and I hardly foresee any disappointed face out there.
www.metalperspective.com/reviews/prymary2.php

Prymary from Southern California were formed in 2003 and this is their 3rd record. The first 6 tracks on the CD are all part of the title track, The Enemy Inside and this also features two instrumental tracks, including the opening track. This is a pretty intense instrumental track with a great guitar and keyboard solo in this hard rocking uptempo piece. "Part 2" reminded me of Kansas while "Part 3" starts with a very heavy guitar and is instrumental and takes off where the 1st part left off. "Part 4" is ballad with piano that leads into the next part with which briefly starts with acoustic guitar. This is a dramatic piece with a nice piano solo to balance the hard rock guitars. . I am not really a fan of this white noise like pad synth-keyboard that they use in this track and sometimes on others. It just distracts. "Inflicted" is a great song, reminding me a bit Fates Warning. Heavy stuff but again I don’t care for this keyboard noise. "Disillusion" shows a change in the vocal style and is a more aggressive track. "Edge of Discovery" is a huge change and sort of floats in before the monster riff is laid down and the keys begin to dominate. Later some totally ripping guitar is laid down while still maintaining a great balance between heavy riffs and melody. "Trial and Tragedy" is the 20 min closer and quite an epic piece...
www.lowcut.dk/joomla/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1019:prymary-the-enemy-inside&catid=29:album-reviews&Itemid=54

The prog rock is so brutal and in your face on the opening track, it hits you like King Crimson’s Thrak. With a whack. This five piece’s third album is well produced, and has many more melodic almost acoustic moments, and the heavier moments keep the rhythms and melody too. The vocals have a good range and strong sound, and the music intricate but not anally so, there are classical metal touches. When it gets heavy, it’s about as heavy as prog metal can go and still be interesting, workable, and enjoyable
www.getreadytorock.com/reviews2009/quick_play1209.htm

...Heavier than ever, Prymary has chosen another concept approach, again dealing with the description of desperate states of mind. And vocally, the task is well succeed again, as the singing here is perfectly entwined with the emotional portrait that the lyrics are trying to transmit. And this continues being one of the greatest achievements by this band. The music is, like said, heavier than in their previous albums, but always perfectly listenable by those who, without entering the realms of death, thrash or black metal, like the metalized prog rock. Complex and thoughtful, melodic and aggressive, Prymary’s music is always a challenge and a joy to discover. And this band is no longer a promise, but a competent and enthusiastic certainty amongst the best bands of the genre. Thumbs way way up!
www.proggnosis.com/PGRelease.asp?RID=29868

Kicking things off is the title track. It's been split up into five bite-sized chapters, two of them instrumental. The pieces all go hand in hand, sharing the same moods, referencing each other in both melody and lyrics (the pre-chorus of "now I find myself on the precipice of a broken dream[...]" is especially haunting), before eventually coming full circle. "The Enemy Inside"-suite is a great introduction to the album--and, in my case, the band. Following that is a spurt of standalone songs. They're high-energy, heavy, and fairly straightforward (relatively speaking, of course) tracks. Personally, I rarely find myself going back to these types of aggro-prog tunes after I've listened to them a couple of times--they always seem to be rushing toward the instrumental section. Maybe these will surprise me by ending up on future playlists of mine, but even if they don't, there is no denying Prymary's craftsmanship. There're some astounding things going on; the latter half of "Disillusion" especially features some absolute blowaway drums and synths. It is however with "Trial and Tragedy", the twenty-minute closer, that The Enemy Inside truly shows its worth. A legitimate mastodon of songwriting and instrumental prowess, it is the highlight of the album and one of the more memorable songs I've had the pleasure of listening to in recent times. Fans of the Pain of Salvations and Dream Theaters of the world--keep an eye out for Prymary. Their under-the-radar status does them no justice whatsoever.
www.metal-revolution.com/plugins/content/content.php?content.2765

...Prymary, a rather new prog metal band from the USA, proved to be able to make that difference on their second album The Tragedy Of Innocence. This album made a great impression on me when I heard it in 2006. The true story about a raped girl combined with the compositions immediately grabbed me by the throat. I was very curious to find out if the band’s latest record The Enemy Inside would have the same effect on me. On this album, Prymary’s transcending their past achievements by creating a collage of stories that are independent and yet united in the themes of self-destruction and dreams unfulfilled. From the line-up of their previous album only drummer Chris Quirarte and guitarist Sean Entrikin remained. However, keyboard player Smiley Sean who had left the band, played all the keyboard parts except for some additional solos on Trial And Tragedy done by new member Neal McQueen. I wondered if the chemistry between the old and new band members would result in a strong release. Well, it did. On the opening track The Enemy Inside, part 1 all musicians show to be excellent on their instruments. This instrumental piece is a real showcase of their talents. Dream Theater eats its heart out! On the second part of The Enemy Inside, we hear the strong voice of new lead singer Jackson Haskett. On part two and part three Prymary plays in a high gear. Thank God, they slow down a bit on part four so we can enjoy a fantastic guitar solo by Sean Entrikin who’s experienced in playing acoustic guitar as well...
www.backgroundmagazine.nl/CDreviews/PrymaryEnemy.html

Californian band Prymary are back with their third album, and it's an excellent release of top quality prog-metal. If I were to tell you that they've opened for bands like Fates Warning, Kamelot and King's X, since their debut album came out back in 2003, then you wouldn't need a genius IQ to have a stab at what they sound like. However, they do veer towards the melodic side of things, even when the riffs are a-flying! Die-hard progsters will be delighted to know that the opening, title track, comes in five parts and is a hard-hitting, intricate, dark and dense epic. And it's a suite you really need to set some time aside for, so intricate is it in places. They're at their most metallic on stand alone numbers like 'Inflicted' and 'Disillusion', but it's the closing 'Trial And Tragedy' which, for me, seals their place as a major talent, as it twists and turns its way through your head.
www.the-rocker.co.uk

Although seemingly spread across nine tracks, Prymary’s second album is is really just give, bookended by two huge epics. The first, the title track, is divided into five only-marginally distinct sections while the second, Trial And Tragedy, is a single twenty-minute track. The ground they cover, from a progressive music point of view, on some of the shorter songs, particularly Disillusion, is remarkable, but the tracks do sound a little too similar, despite all of the intricacies. The best riff is reserved for Edge of Discover, and some of the solos, again especially on Disillusion and The Enemy Inside (Part 1), which is an instrumental, are breathtaking..
www.jukeboxmetal.com/2010/prymary-the-enemy-inside

...To the course of the album, from the brilliant and expansive opening instrumental, which begins the five part title song, Prymary develops the depth of their composition and musical skill. Across this quintet, the band moves effortlessly between subtle, moving melody and profound tapestries of sound that echo the despair of its subject; parts four and five are stand outs. The following four tracks continue to explore the lyrical theme with more vigorous exercises in creative and vibrant arrangements with my favorits being the last two, Edge of Discovery, a mixture a genius and entertainment, and Trial and Tragedy, a showcase of Prymary's maturing talent. The Enemy Inside is all good: an exceptional piece of progressive metal which fans of the genre should dive straight into with sonic abandon.
www.dangerdog.com/reviews_2009/prymary-the-enemy-inside-review.php

...Prymary are probably most in their element on the lengthier epics such as the five-part title track and the epic closer Trial Of Tragedy, as these allow the band space to stretch out and develop musical themes – shorter tracks such as Inflicted and the more modern flavoured Disillusion aren’t in any way bad, but the band do seem to be trying to cramming too many ideas in to these songs sometimes. The various band members’ technical prowess – particularly that of Entrikin and Quirarte – is never in doubt, although for the most part they manage to avoid ramming their undoubted abilities down the listener’s throat. More problematic at times are the rather abrupt changes from one section of a song to another, completely different part – these often serve to disrupt the flow of the material...
www.dprp.net/reviews/201011.php#prymary

The United States, not traditionally considered a progressive-metal powerhouse, has taken big strides in recent years — thanks, at least in part, to U.S.-based labels like ProgRock Records and Nightmare Records giving American bands the opportunity to compete internationally. Take California’s Prymary, a former Dream Theater clone that self-released its eponymous first album and then was picked up by ProgRock for The Tragedy of Innocence, a heartbreaking concept album about child abuse. Far removed from its early Dream Theater tendencies, Prymary wraps multiple stories around unifying themes of self-destruction and unfulfilled dreams on its third release, The Enemy Within. The disc opens with the mighty five-part, 18-minute title suite, which overflows with grandiose musical statements, melodies to die for and lyrical imagery that Dream Theater has yet to touch. Four other tracks — equally moody, aggressive and monumental — round out the album. The sprawling “Trial and Tragedy” may be a bit too monumental, but this nevertheless is an example of American prog-metal done right.
www.goldminemag.com/article/Album_Reviews_King_Crimson_Elvis_The_Cult_The_Monkees_Jan_Dean_and_more

...The opening five-part title suite draws you right in from the start, as the first section is a monstrous instrumental with plenty of jaw-dropping musicianship. The band takes the listener through a near 20-minute epic here with no shortage of twists and turns, yet it's all very melodic and powerful. Lead singer Jackson Haskett sounds quite a bit like Redemption/Fates Warning vocalist Ray Alder, especially on the softer sections, and thankfully he stays clear of the high pitched wailings so commong with prog metal singers these days. "Inflicted" is a high-powered crusher complete with fat, beefy guitar riffs, symphonic keyboards, and the always intricate drum work of Chris Quirarte (who also drums for the already mentioned Redemption.) There's some terrific solo trade-offs on this one from guitarist Sean Entrikin, bassist Rob Young, and keyboard player Smiley Sean, which make for a thrilling ride into prog-metal heaven. Things don't let up on "Disillusion" either, an even more aggressive tune with an equal helping of crazy chops, and the massive riffage from Entrikin is just off the charts on the intelligent number "Edge of Discovery". Of course, what prog-metal CD would be complete without a closing 20+ minute epic? Here, that comes in the form of "Trial and Tragedy", an adventurous saga of epic proportions. Heskett is in fine form on this one, displaying plenty of emotions and tones, while the rest of the band just deliver one killer passage after another. Sean's Hammond and synth textures are just heavenly, and he trades plenty of roaring leads with Entrikin & Young. Every year it seems that there's an album that I wind up hearing just a bit too late to add to my Best of the Year list, and this year The Enemy Inside is that album. Sure, there's been a lot of very good progressive metal releases this year, but you owe it to yourself not to overlook this late 2009 release from Prymary, which stacks up quite well to a lot of the competition...
www.seaoftranquility.org/reviews.php?op=showcontent&id=8682