TX2 is a label that originated from Scandinavia, but relocated to the Netherlands recently. To present themselves to the public they released this compilation cd. Primal Rock is a double cd with a very wide range of rock and metal. The music ranges from black metal (Dimmu Borgir, Satyricon), death metal (Sinister), poser metal (Hammerfall, Helloween) to gothic metal (The Sins Of Thy Beloved, Siebenburgen, Trail Of Tears) and even nu-metal (Dreadlock Pussy, Gazzoleen).

This broad range is the strength and also the weakness of Primal Rock, on one hand you get a wide introduction to various styles and genres, on the other hand for most people there will only be a handful of good songs to be found.

The price of 20 Euro is a bit too steep for me personally, but then again it is a double cd with nearly two and a half hour of music.

The one thing I found really annoying is the fact that, although there’s room for 10 more minutes on cd 1, Opeth’s “Deliverance” is faded away after a mere three and a half minutes. Blasphemy!

Primal Rock is the perfect introduction for anyone who recently discovered metal through MTV and wants to know more metal bands and various styles and genres. If you`re a seasoned metal veteran this compilation is not interesting due to the abundance of unreleased or bonus tracks. All tracks are regular album tracks and most people will already have them in their collection. All in all, Primal Rock is a superficial but pleasant introduction to the more extreme forms of music.