This is album number twelve for the German heavy metal powerhouse, and was released in 2018. It is somewhat ironic that Primal Fear only came into being after Ralf Scheepers did not get the gig to replace Rob Halford in Judas Priest, as their output has been more Priest than the original. There should be no lack in ideas for riffs as Alex Beyrodt and Magnus Karlsson are two of the best players out there.
After the title track, New Rise rips your face off immediately as the pace is barely autobahn legal. Monster tune! The Ritual sees the groove slow somewhat and Scheepers is singing in a lower register, but the riff and groove are killer. Love the build up to King Of Madness, it really creates that anticipation and it’s the most melodic track so far. Maximum chugga riffage and double kicks all the way for Blood Sweat & Fear. That main riff is a sped up Priest one, see if you can make it out. This is a killer tune and my favourite. We close out Side 1 with Supernova, a huge sounding metallic ballad and Ralph’s voice is sounding awesome.
Hail To The Fear kicks Side 2 into gear and the mid-paced chugga groove is so infectious. The chugga’s keep on comin’ as Hounds Of Justice keeps your head bobbin. The Beast follows and the intro is pure Iron Maiden with the duel melodic guitars, and that chorus. Eye Of The Storm is next and the military sounding intro is so dramatic. The middle section complete with strings, mixes the metal with the classical so well. It’s last track time with Cannonball, and yes we are going out the way we came in: double kicks pounding and maximum chug. Yes, they employ every metal cliche in the patented metal handbook, but who cares when they produce albums of such high quality?
What’s the problem with Frontiers records’ quality control? This is another record that’s been exchanged three times because of the bad pressing. The album is great and very deserving of…
9/10 from The Grooveman.
