Label: Metal Heaven
Release date: 22.06.2012
Production: Herman Frank
Album length: 53.58 min
Genre: Heavy Metal
Herman Frank is the legendary German guitarist who’s burned into all our memories as one half of the hard-to-separate guitar duo of the legendary German heavy metal institution Accept. Frank put out his solo studio debut back in 2009. For every Accept fan who was (and still is) dying for the return of the veterans of the Teutonic school of metal, that was a real little revelation. “Loyal To None” confirmed all of Herman Frank’s great strengths as a riff-maker/riffologist and guitarist.
Herman Frank is, after all, that tall, lanky old fella you see at Accept shows. A man who doesn’t need much room to strut around the stage. He’d rather hang out in a quiet corner. In the band, the job of being the center of attention on stage goes to bassist Peter Baltes, and especially guitarist Wolf Hofmann. The latter also plays most of the solos at Accept shows. That’s why the solo dimension Frank has been claiming in recent years matters all the more to him, as a way to establish himself as a musician in the fullest sense. A musician who has outstanding guitar talent.
“Right in The Guts” is a step up from its predecessor “Loyal To None”. That means Herman Frank keeps gnawing relentlessly at the very essence of heavy metal, which defines all the key points of Accept’s musical career, as well as the other band Herman Frank plays in, Victory. So: a “riff hook straight to the forehead” and a double-bass-drum stampede march! Throw a stiff, soaring vocal over that, one that has to clear plenty of high-pitched milestones, and success is more than guaranteed!
Rick Altzi is the key to fully cashing in on Herman Frank’s new ideas. The man who was forged in At Vance, the German power metallers, has replaced the debut’s vocalist Jiotis Parachidis. On a casual listen it’s clear that Altzi is a worthy replacement and that his voice fits like a glove into the production sound of Herman’s school of music and riffology. Listen to the vocals more closely, though, and it becomes obvious that Altzi isn’t just a successful stand-in for Parachidis, but a huge vocal upgrade in terms of the expressive range of “Loyal To None”. That’s why every single one of the new songs, already well fed with a fresh creative breath and a barrage of biting riffs from master Frank, is a proper firecracker that grabs you by the throat from the first listen more intensely than it would with an average vocalist. Altzi is simply outstanding. He adapts brilliantly. He can sing aggressively, with an exceptional torrent of aggression, building up a purely authoritative vocal power aimed at a barrage of cheeky anthemic chorus melodies that add that spark to heavy metal, so it takes hold in all its magic and mission. Be it the fast-rolling Roaring Thunder, Ivory Gate, Waiting, the almost Running Wild-style So They Run at the close, or the mid-tempo, almost rockish Falling To Pieces. That last one is the more interesting moment on the album, as Altzi pulls out a throaty, raspy tone that leans toward Samson singer Nicky Moore on one side, and even toward Jorn Lande himself on the other when Altzi climbs up into the vocal heights with that grit. In the cleaner melodic registers his voice leans toward Harry Conklin (Jag Panzer). Altzi really is the best possible solution for Herman Frank right now, and let’s hope he sticks around for this fine guitarist’s future solo studio ventures.
Anyway, there’s no point in picking apart the contents of this release. Over 50 minutes of the finest, most primal Teutonic metal, “the German way”, that will make your carotid artery burst. Accept fans absolutely have to check this out, you’ll fall for it instantly and irreversibly. Victory fans too, no question! Herman is clearly on a full creative run. Hanging out with Accept, in the studio and on tour, does him a world of good, and the solo releases are the cherry on top of everything he can’t pull off while playing by the rules of Accept. The soloing is divine. Just take the solo in Ivory Gate, where Herman Frank never, ever runs out of explosive dynamite for his unbridled kneading of tonalities. The solo feels like it goes on to infinity, like it knows no limits at all.
“Right In The Guts” is an album of brilliant playing. From head to toe. The production kept an outstanding raw liveliness, and the album comes across as the purest-blooded live document of primordial heavy metal stock.
author: Aleš Podbrežnik
rating: 8.5 / 10
Track list:
1. Roaring Thunder (03:32)
2. Right in Your Guts (04:27)
3. Ivory Gate (03:48)
4. Vengeance (04:42)
5. Starlight (03:42)
6. Falling to Pieces (04:32)
7. Raise Your Hand (03:57)
8. Waiting (03:49)
9. Hell Isn’t Far (03:48)
10. Kings Call (04:01)
11. Lights Are Out (04:15)
12. Black Star (04:34)
13. So They Run (04:43)
Lineup:
Rick Altzi – vocals
Herman Frank – vocals
Mamalitsidis Cristos – guitar
Peter Pichl – bass guitar
Michael Wolpers – drums
