Author: Aleš Podbrežnik
Artist: Primal Fear
Label: Nuclear Blast
Release: 2004
Length: 60:23
Rating: 4/5
Plainly and without mincing words, the fifth album from German heavy metal champions Primal Fear is their best studio achievement to date. Primal Fear have served up their most polished record, built from the classic ingredients of their sound. From aggressive, linear riffing with always sharply defined edges, through twin harmonized guitar picking over the riffs, to the steel-forged wail of the phenomenal Ralf Scheppers, recognizable from a mile away. They’ve put it all together perfectly.
The first thing that thrilled me while listening to “Devil’s Ground” is the backing vocal lines, which Primal Fear have never blended so tastefully with Ralf’s main screaming. Together with the other factors, they now truly work as a team to build the outstanding atmosphere of the new record. The second big thing Primal Fear pulled off is writing songs that flow better than ever before. Colorful motifs slide seamlessly into one another, offering great jumps between captured moods. In the production, Primal Fear cranked up the guitar riffing, and it now sits in perfect balance with Ralf’s screaming. So Ralf’s figure no longer plays the role of the band’s one obvious center. Those are the most noticeable things that build on “Black Sun” (2002), which simply can’t match the consistency of the new record.
We’re back with the hellishly alive production of Mat Sinner. He always cleverly makes sure that the magic between the guys in the studio vibrates just as convincingly on the recording. What matters hugely here are the line-up changes. New drummer Randy Black (ex-Annihilator), who replaced founding member Klaus Sperling, has brought some much-needed freshness into the band and, with his mischievous tricks, more liveliness into the rhythm section itself. That’s especially obvious in the much more expressive dynamics of the varied transitions, which are now far bigger, and you can feel the new guy’s work enthusiasm through the intense approach alone, which is way more convincing than his predecessor’s. I’m not saying Randy is a better drummer than Klaus, but the latter was clearly emotionally burned out and no longer breathed together with the band for the cause, so bringing Randy in was a necessary and at the same time excellent move, securing open doors to constantly perfecting the mission of the musical phenomenon known as Primal Fear. The second, less noticeable change happened on one of the two guitar spots. The experienced Tom Nauman has returned to the band and replaced Henny Wolter, which doesn’t mean Tom and Henrik don’t rub guitars together in some other band. They’re both guitarists in Sinner. The Leibing/Nauman guitar duo now works even tighter. A few years away from the stage has clearly done Tom a world of good, because along with his experience he’s brought an extra dose of wit to the guitar work, which sparkles most beautifully in the atmospheric beauty Visions Of Fate. The revamped Primal Fear radiate incredible solidity and seem even more self-confident, because you can feel that all the guys in the band are once again breathing for the same cause.
The contrasts on the record are outstanding, thanks to the variety of songs and the mood that constantly ebbs and flows. The first atmospheric peak comes in the mid-tempo Visions Of Fate, with one of the finest guitar conversations around. But The Healer is without a doubt the song that marks the epic, atmospheric high point of the record, on the level of Church Of Blood, especially thanks to the grandiose chorus, where the band creates incredibly contrasting magic through their massive sound, added keyboard arrangements and Ralf’s heartfelt performance, nicely complemented by the backing vocal lines. Randy’s drumming also adds a great contrast to this song, punching holes in the basic mid-tempo beat with fills crashing through the toms. The song is perfect. The mood hits another such peak near the end of the record with Wings Of Desire.
Lyrically, Primal Fear have also grown up compared to their earlier albums. The opener Metal Is Forever can be read as a dedication to the fans, as it radiates incredibly positive energy and faith in the cause, rooted in the strength the band draws from the mutual trust between its fans and itself. With the second track, Suicide & Mania, Primal Fear nail us to the floor as they start digging into the questions of the little man of today. The Healer is the peak of the new album’s poetry and offers a strong beam of positive light against the mostly dark lyrics of the other songs. The Healer is about the total renewal of the individual, in a preaching manner that has never been typical of the band. You have to lose fear, and the love that has finally found room to flood you now self-generates a purification of the human soul, which grows into an impenetrable fortress of steely faith that it’s worth fighting for good in this world, because once good fills your heart, there’s no way you’d ever wish anyone anything bad. Sacred Illusion beautifully calls for ignoring the power of the big eye. Sticking to your own path is a freedom nobody can take from you, but there’s no victory without sacrifice (“there will be no triumph without loss” – a line taken from the closing narrative of Devil’s Ground), and Primal Fear are deeply aware of that.
Let’s walk through the smashers too. Sea Of Flames carries a main riff written in the spirit of what Sinner offered, for example, on “There Will Be Execution” (2003), which only proves that Mat Sinner hasn’t focused all his will on his original band Sinner for a long time, channeling his creative ideas exclusively into the musical body of Primal Fear. You’ll find similar escapes to Sinner in the lead-in to the chorus of Heart Of The Brave and in the chorus of Colony 13. That’s where you feel most that Mat had a hand in it. With his sharp command of English, Mat Sinner is also a big support to Scheppers in picking the right lines for the vocal parts, so they sound tasteful and expressive. Otherwise, the songs that stand out for their excellent combination of hellish speed, uncompromising sharpness and a perfect measure of melody are Suicide & Mania, the mid-tempo metal anthem In Metal, the fastest song on the record Sacred Illusion, and of course Soulchaser, which, with its guitar picking over the riffs and Ralf’s vocal lines, even veers toward Gamma Ray, the older kind, of course, from when Ralf was still singing for them.
I’m sure you all know Primal Fear very well. “Devil’s Ground” is their typical record. Some of the hard-hitting guitar riffs sound downright exciting and “thrashy”. They’ve mastered every attribute that has always adorned their music, in the best possible way. That is, an aggressive linear stance, perfectly seasoned with big melodies and flawless vocal performance. When you hit, you hit with full force. Uniquely “Fear-ish”. Typical Primal Fear, but this time with an outstanding ambient atmosphere that only boosts the record’s huge energy and dynamics. Alongside the new Exodus record “Tempo Of The Damned”, “Devil’s Ground” is without a doubt one of the early candidates for best heavy metal album of 2004. Anyone picking it up should go for the limited digipack edition, which includes two video clips and an excellent Black Sabbath cover, Die Young. I hope Ronnie James Dio heard it. Once more: “Devil’s Ground” is the band’s most accomplished album so far, which only proves that Primal Fear are a truly great heavy metal band that, with its big heart, simply can’t disappoint.
Line-up
Ralf Scheppers – vocals
Tom Naumann – guitar
Stefan Leibing – guitar
Mat Sinner – bass
Randy Black – drums
Production
Mat Sinner
Track list
1. Metal Is Forever
2. Suicide And Mania
3. Visions Of Fate
4. Sea Of Flames
5. The Healer
6. Sacred Illusion
7. In Metal
8. Soul Chaser
9. Colony 13
10. Wings Of Desire
11. Heart Of A Brave
12. Devil’s Ground
13. Die Young (bonus track)
