Primal Fear and Riot V on a joint tour! Salzburg, Ljubljana, Graz! For Slovenian fans of the bands, a seriously handy setup that’s well worth taking advantage of. After the Ljubljana show on October 21, 2018, came a day off, then the move to Austrian Styria and Graz, which we all love and where we’ve seen countless excellent gigs. In Graz, though, both Primal Fear and Riot V were playing for the very first time in their careers. The Explosiv club. Maybe 500 people when it’s packed to the rafters. This time the bands got a smaller turnout, I’d even say an unsatisfying one, with barely 200 people watching, closer to fewer than more.
But Existance, the French heavy metal revivalists, didn’t lose any sleep over the sorry reception. When they hit the stage, there were maybe 40 people in the hall. Then again, Existance are at the stage where they still have to bite their way to a more visible name on the metal map. And unbelievably, even Existance cut two tracks from the set list this time: their own Steel Alive and the closing Gwendoline, which is a cover. The original belongs to the old French heavy metal outfit H-Bomb, and we got to hear it in Ljubljana. As always, Existance were solid and full of spark. The band also made use of the riser that already held the drum kits of Riot V and Primal Fear, adding even more dynamics to the show. The sound was solid throughout. Just like in Salzburg and Ljubljana, Existance won people over in Graz and made it clear that this band deserves very close attention in the future.
Riot V came on stage with a sort of mandatory minimum. Basically the regular set list (minus Swords And Tequila). That means they, too, shortened the set and played the favorites from the classic repertoire plus a few of the newest songs from the current album “Armor Of Light”. Among the classics, the album “Thundersteel” predictably took the lead, with Flight of the Warrior, Johnny’s Back, Bloodstreets and the closing Thundersteel. Just nine songs in all, which means Riot V cut three from the program, from the concert repertoire of the current tour. The tour is heading into its final stretch, you can feel a mild tiredness, and the band members’ health is a bit worn down and frayed. Everyone has the trip home on their minds. But that doesn’t mean Riot V cut their professionalism from the program along with those songs. They’ve got plenty of it. Once again they floored us with outstanding tightness, incredible agility, routine and experience. Things you only get through years of grinding and sacrifice. Superb individual players and incredible chemistry between them. Let’s just hope that one day there’s a chance for the band to show up for a headline gig and play a two-hour set. The Riot opus is magnificent and, whenever there’s a concert opportunity, deserves a proper revival.
Primal Fear, as the main drivers of the tour and the stars of the night, played exactly the same set list as two days earlier in Ljubljana. Compared to the one in Šiška, the stage this time was considerably smaller, and the turnout was considerably worse too, although that shouldn’t have been the main reason for the band’s slight reserve. The guys probably started conserving their energy because the tour is nearing its end, and Ralf Scheppers in particular shows some tiredness. This time Ralf worked the crowd in (logically) German. Even so, he didn’t manage to coax out of the audience any wild, delirious reactions like the ones two days earlier in Ljubljana. Simple as that. There were too few people in the venue. On top of that, it hardly needs mentioning that our northern neighbors have a reputation for being a more reserved crowd, and they’re also a lot more spoiled. The band played in their usual manner. Backed by music full of outstanding guitar phrases that skin you alive and the high-flying chorus melodies of the one and only Ralf Scheppers. Especially if you love the classic approach to German heavy metal and the music of Judas Priest, you’re bound to get your money’s worth with Primal Fear. True, the set list was bloody short on classics from the band’s earlier era, but Primal Fear proved with a string of excellent later-era releases that it’s no big deal to skip the iron-age classics once in a while. Even with releases under the Frontiers Records banner, like the latest “Apocalypse”, Primal Fear kept all the quality, and there’s a noticeable artistic expansion too, which for the hardline, strict fans of the band’s old era is practically blasphemy.
Anyway, I don’t want to philosophize too much. Primal Fear are an extremely experienced crew of five outstanding musicians who have lived and breathed heavy metal together for years. Not only in Primal Fear but in other projects and bands too (Voodoo Circle, Sinner, Rock Meets Classics, Jorn,…). The bonds between them are remarkable, and you feel it most in the razor-sharp guitar passages and the shared solos of the superb guitarists Alex Beyrodt and Tom Naumann. Fighting the Darkness killed again! During the show, someone from the crowd, way at the back of the club, threw a glass of beer onto the stage, which especially fired up the old man Mat Sinner, who made no secret of his fury. He stepped up to the edge of the stage and glared out in front of him, barked something, and you could make out the word “scheisse”, then walked over to a curious Naumann and explained what had happened. There are bands that, after something like that, would calmly end the show and say goodnight.
At last, a Primal Fear tour that came to Slovenia and to a few concerts a stone’s throw from our border. We made the most of it and were richly rewarded for it. If you’re a fan of old-school heavy metal, there’s simply no other way. The feelings are intense and haven’t settled yet, while we’re already looking ahead to the next live acts from both Primal Fear and Riot V.
author: Aleš Podbrežnik
photos: Aleš Podbrežnik
PRIMAL FEAR:
1. Apocalypse (recorded intro)
2. Final Embrace
3. Blood, Sweat & Fear
4. Face The Emptiness
5. Hounds of Justice
6. The Ritual
7. drum solo
8. Nuclear Fire
9. Eye of the Storm
10. King of Madness
11. The End Is Near
12. When Death Comes Knocking
13. Metal Is Forever
—encore—
14. Fighting The Darkness
15. In Metal We Trust
RIOT V:
1. Victory
2. Flight of the Warrior
3. Johnny’s Back
4. Heart of the Lion
5. Bloodstreets
6. Take Me Back
7. Angel’s Thunder Devil’s Reign
8. Warrior
9. Thundersteel
EXISTANCE:
1. Heavy Metal Fury
2. Legends Never Die
3. Dead Or Alive
4. We Are Restless
5. Breaking the Rock
6. From Hell
