Primal Fear
Devil’s Ground
Nuclear Blast
2004
The German group is a special case indeed. In a way when it released its first album everyone believed that we would see the new Judas Priest, something that was unrealistic anyway (there will never be new Judas Priest). However the first two albums have been really good and interesting, with refreshing pure heavy metal. The previous album was rather crap and now this... which is not bad at all.
The band seems to have returned to the usual paths: Judas Priest, meets Iron Maiden, meets Saxon. We are talking about pure metal meltdown with fury riffs and thunderous rhythm section. Of course Ralf Sheepers glows here with his performances, which are on top standards (although I’ve always preferred he had stayed with Gamma Ray).
There are some really good songs like “Visions of Fate” and “Soulchaser” for instance. However the problem concerns basically the time of the release. If a band keeps playing in the same way it used to play in its first albums, which means in the same way that Priest played in the 80s and early 90s, then there is a problem. And this is what decreases the final grade. However no one can ever blame a band, which delivers pure fury heavy metal.
The band seems to have returned to the usual paths: Judas Priest, meets Iron Maiden, meets Saxon. We are talking about pure metal meltdown with fury riffs and thunderous rhythm section. Of course Ralf Sheepers glows here with his performances, which are on top standards (although I’ve always preferred he had stayed with Gamma Ray).
There are some really good songs like “Visions of Fate” and “Soulchaser” for instance. However the problem concerns basically the time of the release. If a band keeps playing in the same way it used to play in its first albums, which means in the same way that Priest played in the 80s and early 90s, then there is a problem. And this is what decreases the final grade. However no one can ever blame a band, which delivers pure fury heavy metal.