The cod mythology that is so often attached to computer games is often hilarious to the uninitiated (ie. me) and Primal is about a young woman who goes to rescue her boyfriend from a fantasy realm, during a conflict between Order and Chaos. OK then. As befits a digital epic, a score for orchestra and chorus was commissioned, although unlike the Medal of Honour series, the music here is mainly intended to cover the cinematic sequences and not to underscore the actual game play. Music from the rock group 16 Volt was used for the actual game, apart from the climactic show downs where orchestral music was deemed more appropriate. I can't say I've heard of Bob & Barn (Paul Arnold and Andrew Barnabas), but they are evidently computer game music gentry. Fantasy epics are always a good source of inspiration to composers, the options are almost limitless and Bob & Barn don't hide their intentions, with plenty of writing for choir, a solo voice as the nominal main theme and plenty of strident, orchestral passages.
The game and music are divided into five distinct sections, each of which is briefly described in the liner notes. Nexus covers the opening five tracks and is based around the vocal theme first heard in the end credits and a second theme for Arella. Unfortunately, the latter is strikingly similar to Howard Shore's theme for the Elves in Lord of the Rings, which actually turns out to be quite distracting, nice though the melody sounds here. Solum opens with one of the three action cues, Raum & Empusa, which starts of as a touch generic, but a surprising fiddle melody is added, giving it the stroke originality it needs, otherwise the results are a little simplistic. A World of Water sets the tone for Aquis, with gentle choir and harps, nothing that hasn't been done before - a distant cousin to the more gentle sections of James Newton Howard's scores Atlantis and Waterworld - but that is not to say it isn't very pleasing, perhaps constituting the most memorable section and best use of the choir.
A solo fiddler once again appears for Aetha, in the Mountain of Suffering, it just seems disappointing that the surrounding material doesn't stick with the quasi peasant sound and instead sticks to the tried and tested orchestral pondering. However, The Devil's Waltz is amusingly macabre and a pleasing change of pace and mood. Temple of Flame and Hall of Gods are meant to evoke Egypt, which they do by way of a hint of both Goldsmith's and Silvestri's Mummy scores, plus the obligatory rattling percussion. Journey's End is rather too brief as a finale and their is little sense of a satisfactory conclusion. While there are some fine moments and plenty of good ideas, there isn't quite enough to make it stand out above any number of fantasy scores. In fairness, its quite a crowded market and the best entries stand as some of the finest scores ever written. However, Bob & Barn clearly have the right idea and for a fairly long album, there is rarely a weak moment, it's just that exceptional moments are somewhat thin on the ground.
Rating ~ 
Total Time ~ 61:34