Rulebreaker

Germany’s power metal army is anchored – in my opinion – by the veteran triad of Helloween, Blind Guardian and Accept. Despite age, line-up changes and a morphing metal world these bands have carried the torch for decades. But every great army needs a savvy and aggressive cavalry filled with younger soldiers who are the eyes and ears of the greater force. Enter Primal Fear. No, they haven’t been around as long as those progenitors of the scene, but Scheepers and company have proven that they possess the conviction and skill to not only spar with the best of them, but to carry the battle onward once the veteran forces retire. For the past few years they have been delivering the metal with an increased fervor – their last two albums (Unbreakable and Delivering The Black) right up there with some of the best power metal the world has to offer. And despite the departure of drummer Randy Black, they have not lost any momentum in the rolling out of Rulebreaker, an album which shares much in common with its stellar predecessor. The dynamic duo of Sinner and Hansen has perfected the art of producing/recording classic metal as these songs have plenty of punch, crunch and shred.For me, Scheepers remains one of the top 5 metal singers out there right now – his vocal style absolutely perfect for this metal. Beyrodt, Naumann and Karlsson drive the leads while Sinner anchors this “wall of guitars” with his staunch bass. Francesco Jovino rounds out the 6 man ensemble – his drumming perfectly complimenting the band’s Priest meets Accept style rhythm approach. Songwise, its all good, and it’s all metal but the highlights for me this time around would definitely be “In Metal We Trust” (the perfect metal anthem!), “Rulebreaker” and the absolutely killer epic track “We Walk Without Fear,” which reminds me a lot of “One Night In December” but even better, even more passionate and brutal. Consistently great, the Fear have once again delivered the metal with pace, power and pride.

Primal Fear has always produced very solid Power Metal, with skilled band members throughout their career. Ralf Scheepers powerful and wide-ranging vocals have always driven the show, backed by excellent guitar work, heavy bass lines, and great drumming. I was introduced to this band late in the game, by taking a chance on "Delivering The Black" in January of 2014. After having been a longtime fan of Gamma Ray, Primal Fear seemed like the next logical step after I'd devoured every Gamma Ray CD they released.And I was not disappointed. "Delivering The Black", while mostly following the template Primal Fear had established up to that point, took a gamble and made one major change with that album that turned me into a fan; Ralf Scheepers decided to deliberately tone back his high vocal range. Instead of having his amazing high range showcased on nearly every track, he chose to explore more of his baritone range, which worked astoundingly well, which also resulted in this album having a different feel than all those that preceded it. It also showed me that this man's vocals are excellent at any range he chooses to sing at.I was eager to find out if the band would continue this trend with this new album, "Rulebreaker". And they have. And the result is an album that is just as good as "Delivering The Black", and may be possibly better. Scheepers' exploration of his lower registers have added orders of magnitudes to these recent albums. In my mind, saving the high notes for dramatic effect was a shrewd strategic decision, as it greatly increases emotional impact when the time comes to use it.Don't get me wrong: Scheepers still uses his high registers a good deal here, and in that regard, he only seems to be getting better with age. It's just that I appreciate that he doesn't use it all the damn time, which is a problem a lot of singers capable of such a range have; they don't know when to shut it off, and they therefore appear to be showing off. Listening to high vocals on a constant basis, no matter how good they are, is fatiguing to the ears. So I'm thrilled that Scheepers is one of those singers who appears to be embracing his full range, and using it to maximum effect. He has a wonderful baritone, and the emotion he is capable of delivering with it are most evident on tracks like "We Walk Without Fear" and "The Sky Is Burning".The entire album highlights the talents of every band member in an understated way. The guitar solos and harmonizing are intricate and creative and easy to follow, and have a purpose, rather than being put there just for a chance to show off. In fact, nothing about this album is about showing off. Everything is done in service to creating a good song, which is refreshing these days, when a lot of artists are just plain showing off their talents, and the actual songs are taking a back seat. I'm pleased to report that this is not the case here. This is a great album, with really good songs, performed really well by everyone involved. If you're a fan of Power Metal, I highly recommend picking it up.

How do these guys keep making such great CD's? It's just a ruthless dedication to quality, these boys ALWAYS deliver the goods, year after year, and you have to say that greatness seems to follow MATT SINNER around, I cannot say that anything he's involved in is anything less than top notch, very MUCH like EDGUY/AVANTASIA honcho TOBY SAMMETT. And just as TOBY has his foil in the brilliant SASHA PAETH, MATT has the truly fantastic Mr. SCHEEPERS on vocals, and like almost ALL great German acts, the SOUND just RULES, for drums and voice, the Germans write the rule book, it's THEIR world, the rest of us luckily get to share it with them, so once again, thanks to MATT and the guys, take it from somebody who has been into this style of music since the 60's, PRIMAL FEAR are right THERE among the top 5% of folks doing this, long have they set the pace, long may they continue, thanks guys, you've gotten 2016 off to a bang!

Bone Crushing - modern / traditional Heavy Metal from the German Masters - PRIMAL FEAR. Vocalist Ralf Scheepers is at the top of his game... still... and he delivers a gritty, grinding, howling, screaming turbo-powered voice to a 3 guitar onslaught that moves about the metal landscape mulching up the fainthearted and making believers of those willing to accept that Metal Is Forever! Great string of tunes, from straight ahead hard rocking Rulebreaker & Don't Say You've Never Been Warned to the epic We Live Without Fear, and on to the "ballad" The Sky Is Burning (not an 80s ballad!), this is an awesome collection of 13 songs. Get the Bonus version. The guitars are forged in the same cauldron as the steel of Accept. The entire band is great - the new drummer anchors this piece of artillery with deadly precision. If you're new to Primal Fear - get Jaws Of Death too.