Vocalist Ralf Scheepers left Gamma Ray in 1995, got together with members of Sinner and started a project, which, for all intents and purposes, became a Judas Priest clone, albeit with a specifically German sound. Not to take anything from Ripper Owens, but in the late 90s-early 2000s, Primal Fear was more Priest than Priest, vocally and otherwise. Other musicians in Primal Fear at time of the debut album (1998) were: Tom Naumann (guitars, keyboards), Mat Sinner (bass, keyboards), and Klaus Sperling (drums). The debut received wide critical and fan acclaim, followed by the agreeable "Jaws Of Death" (1999). The band has been going strong since, releasing four more albums, the last of which, "New Religion," should be out in January 2008.
PRIMAL FEAR (1998)
BEST SONGS: "Chainbreaker," "Promised Land," "Nine Lives"
This album received tremendous hype, and it's indeed superb. People all over the world who did not like Priest's latest work, Jugulator, were telling me: "Listen to Primal Fear! This is the real Priest! They do what Priest should have done." Well, this is not quite on the leve of Priest's classics, but it's excellent and should please all fans of Painkiller. "Chainbreaker" sounds a lot like Painkiller material (its main riff resembles the title track, and the bridge is nearly identical to the one in "Hell Patrol"). "Silver And Gold" and "Promised Land" are both more Gamma Ray-ish and quite good. Ralf attempts to imitate Rob Halford to the best of his ability, probably trying to demonstrate to KK Downing and Glenn Tipton that they made a mistake of not selecting him for the position of Priest frontman. I think he's got the potential, but he is still not Rob. "Formula One" and "Dollars," two songs that everybody hates, I actually enjoy. Yes, they are stupid and everything, but the chorus in the former and main riff in the latter are too catchy for me to resist. Oh yeah, speaking of stupid lyrics: they are all over. For "Dollars" (the song makes no sense at all, but it rocks greatly), "Tears Of Rage" (it's both slow and stupid; the only reason for it to be there is the assumption that every metal album has to have at least one slow song), and "Battalions of Hate" (rework of Priest's 1976 tune, "Genocide," filled with platitudes and imitations), you better restrain from reading the lyrics sheet. Although some Priest rip-offs are quite good ("Running In The Dirt" and a terrific rocker "Thunderdome"), my favorites would be the songs where Ralf does not copy Priest, but sticks to what he knows best: German power metal ("Promised Land," "Nine Lives"). Conclusion: Judas Priest is irreplaceable (even Priest themselves cannot replace Priest), but this album comes awfully close. I only wish a cover of Deep Purple "Speed King" haven't been on it. Oh yeah, one more thing: Kai Hansen plays on several tracks, and being a guitar god he is, adds icing to this cake.
JAWS OF DEATH (1999)
RATING: ****
BEST SONGS: "Final Embrace," "Church Of Blood," "Play To Kill"
Chapter 2 of the same book (or, if you're taking Sinner into account, Chapter 15 or so). Good classic and crunchy heavy/speed metal, the way it was supposed to be. It starts out with two superfast tracks: "Final Embrace" and "Save A Prayer" (check out Ralf's yell at the end of 2nd chorus!), are both great power metal pieces. "Church Of Blood" (heavy as hell), "Into The Future," and are mid-tempo rockers. "Nation In Fear" got a little bit of both: excellent song. "When The Night Comes" got some of that Accept feel. My favorite song on the album is "Play To Kill": the main riff is terrific, and the overall feeling is undescribable. Guitar duo of Tom Naumann and Stefan Leibing simply shreds! The lyrics have a slight edge over s/t, but I'm not sure why it's called "Jaws Of Death," especially with eagles on the cover: it would be more fitting to call it "Beaks of Death." One thing that I absolutely hate is the packaging: damn digipack doesn't fit into a CD column! What were they thinking?! Aside from that, a rocking sequel to the debut.
NUCLEAR FIRE (2001)
RATING: ***
BEST SONGS: title track, "Red Rain," "Iron Fist In The Velvet Glove"
After listening to this last work from Primal Fear, I thought this was a joke. Then I thanked God Almighty that Priest did what they did, changing their style around, and NOT RELEASING THE SAME DAMN ALBUM THREE TIMES IN A ROW! People who yearn for "Painkiller 2001": for all that is worth, look at Nuclear Fire and praise Glenn Tipton! This is most redundant, repetitive, unoriginal album I have heard last year! I cannot even call it "secondary." It's tertiary, quartenary, and quintinary. Every riff, melody line, vocal line, rhyme, and even word is stolen from somewhere else (80% being Priest and 20% being other Deutsch bands). I mean, not one word combination that hasn't just been used somewhere else, no! Not one word combination that hasn't been hung, drawn, quartered, mutilated, chewed upon, and beaten into the ground with rusty shovels! Even the fact that there was a TWO YEAR break between this one and their previous "original release," didn't save Ralf from putting out this monster of a moldy bread. So little songwriting effort went into this album, that it makes Britney Spears sound like Martin Walkyier. If they don't pay royalties to Priest for "Kiss Of Death" (see "Hell Patrol") and title track (for its verse, see "Metal Meltdown"), then I don't understand why Kid Rock does just that for Metallica. Song titles: aforementioned "Kiss Of Death," "Back From Hell," "Now Or Never," "Fight The Fire," "Fire On The Horizon," and, above and beyond, "Living For Metal." Tell me, can't we all just imagine what this album sounds like WITHOUT hearing it? You bet we can! Also... whatever you do: DO NOT READ THE LYRICS! Once I mentioned Kid Rock: he probably wrote better lyrics when he was 12 years old, trying to be the next Vanilla Ice. Well, not quite as bad. "See the reckless tyrant that reigns with the iron fist! No chance for him to break you, cause you're a liberalist!" It's like Kai Hansen gave Ralf some leftover lines that couldn't fit on either Powerplant or No World Order, due to their excessive simplicity and overall lameness. By the way, Ralf, what's with the hair? Do you really want to be Halford's identical twin? If so, just join the local gay scene in Hamburg! By god, you already look and sound like him, only, for some reason, I really don't dig Germans who shave their heads... Anyway, back to the album. Some songs are quite catchy in places (I mean just that: very sparce), especially that same damn "Kiss Of Death," "Fight Fire With Fire" (ah, whattafuck), "Nuclear Fire" (it sounds more like Gamma Ray), "Red Rain" (the chorus sounds JUST LIKE Sinner's "The End Of Sanctuary"), and my favorite song that, for some reason, is a hidden track (it's Track 10), "Iron Fist In The Velvet Glove." This last one is very cool, due to the one demi-original (about half-an-inch thick) second vocal line in the chorus. I guess if this is your first exposure to Primal Fear, you might enjoy this album. It also helps if you've never heard of certain Judas Priest. Oh, and their new album is now on the way, I think it's gonna be called "Black Sun" (I can already see the cover with the eclipsed sun with eagles flying around). Give us a break already!
BLACK SUN (2002)
BEST SONGS: "Revolution," "Magic Eye," "Mind Control"
Well, so this is the fourth time Primal Fear demonstrates that they are not likely to strand away from their beaten path. Only this time, the album is actually good. Hell, it's excellent! This is their best effort, in terms of songwriting, since the debut. The sound remains virtually the same, but interesting melodies pack more punch then before, and most songs are rather memorable, instead of blending into a general mish-mash of riffs as was the case with the predecessor. Sweet harmonies from the guitarists (I especially dig the one in "Magic Eye"; it's similar to "Iron Fist In The Velvet Glove," the lone highlight of the previous album). The lyrics don't insult my intelligence quite as much either, although Ralf still writes in cliches: "Metal eagles, flying side by side," "The soldiers of the holy war are bringing hell to you," "We feel what they feel, wherever we may roam, we live in fear and we're light years from home," "So many heads will roll, the final curtain falls, it's mind control," "I see the truth behind the lie, because I own the magic eye," and so on and so forth. I'd love to ask the man what does he mean by the line "fear is a four-letter word." It's not like it's a big secret, ya know? Anyway, many songs relate to the terrorism and the current sad state of affairs in the world ("Armageddon," "Fear," "Revolution," etc.), which is kinda nice. There is a mandatory useless instrumental intro, Ralf now boasts a goatie (next step is tattooing Rob's face on his shaven head), and the booklet has a very nice layout, with groovy semi-stylish pictures. Overall, it's just very well done, energetic, and not boring at all. It also has some significant staying power, because almost a year (and all other good albums) later I still pop it in every now and then.
NEW RELIGION (2007/2008)
RATING: ***1/2
BEST SONGS: “Face The Emptiness,” “Blood On Your Hands,” “Too Much Time”
Those who worried about the title indicating a change in direction and departure from the Priest-worshipping: worry not! Ralf is a more Halford clone now than ever. In fact, PF's latest installment sounds more like Fight / Halford than Priest. His screams in the opener, “State Of Fear,” should tell you everything you need to know. Most of the material follows suit (title track, “Psycho,” etc.). The only aspect that’s different is a more “in your face” production. “Face The Emptiness” is a very straight-forward power metal piece, similar to their early “happy” material (“Formula One”). But there is also some diversity here. “Everytime It Rains,” featuring Simone Simons of Epica, is a direct Evanescence tribute; like it or hate it. Album’s centerpiece, “Fighting The Darkness,” split into three parts for reasons unclear, is extremely commercial, screaming for the mainstream recognition. The instrumental part is pretty cool, actually, because of the neat keyboards, but overall I can't stand it. The music doesn't fit the lyrics in the least (where is this "darkness" you're fighting, Ralf? Not in the music, for sure). “Blood On Your Hands” is a direct attack on Bush, and the chorus is really nice, reminding me of Slayer’s “Behind The Crooked Cross.” I’m very happy that there are no “Metal is forever!!!” chest-beating silliness here; at this point in my life I find them fairly annoying, and occasionally cumbersome lyrics and pronunciations only contribute to the fun (“Psycho in the air” sounds like “psycho millionaire,” real funny). A good album, but I’m afraid has very little staying power.
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