Primal Fear review 4

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Primal Fear review 4

The Metal commando Portal

from Metal reviews
Primal Fear--Primal Fear (1998)
Rating--9.3

No-frills, power metal bliss. This Ralf Scheepers-led project (along with Matt Sinner of Sinner) is a mix of many styles-- 'Painkiller'-era Priest (with the distortion clarity of 'Defenders' and muscle of 'Jugulator'); the heavy precision of Rage; and the melodies and inventiveness of a heavier Gamma Ray or Helloween. Makes sense, though, as Scheepers and guest guitarist Kai Hansen have pulled stints with some of the above. Showcased are massive double-bass drums, solos that soar, splendid guitar fills, harmonics and pull-offs, and Scheepers at his vocal Halford-esque best. "Chainbreaker" is a sharp and brutal opener, with an angry and powerful chorus. A bludgeoning main riff and soaring chorus vocals bolster "Promised Land," and the heaviness is matched in "Silver & Gold". "Formula One" starts out with a high-pitched engine along with Scheepers, before a face-smashing guitar crunch descends... Excellent melodic work in the solo and latter stages of the song, and heavy post chorus and verse work! "Dollars" is a tremendous power groove mover... Concrete, methodical, and mesmerizing. Check out the double-time riffs in the verses! "Battalions of Hate" and "Running in the Dust" are simply superb---perhaps the top two songs on the disc. The first features biting guitar fills in the second verses, a bruising chorus, and Ralf getting up! The latter is pure head-moving power, with caustic stop-and-go pulls in the verses. The post-chorus procession is a tremendous melodic movement, ala a very heavy Helloween, which rolls around the 3:05 mark. Excellent. Both "Nine Lives" and "Thunderdome" are fast and heavy, though inevitably will be slightly overshadowed on this opus of gems. And that, my friends, is a compliment.