Label: AFM Records
Release date: 11/18/2016
Production: Charlie Bauerfiend
Album length: 52.05 min
Genre: Heavy Metal
Herman Frank is a renowned and highly respected German guitarist. His name has been written into the book of metal in golden letters for ages, since his guitar rings out on the most iconic albums in the discography of German metal giants Accept. At the same time, Herman Frank is known as the leader of the cult German heavy metal stronghold Victory. Now Herman Frank is back with his third solo studio album, »The Devil Rides Out«. It took him four years to follow up its predecessor »Right in the Guts« (2012). In that time, Herman Frank decided to leave Accept. Actually, he and drummer Stefan Schwarzmann quit Accept at the same time, and that duo later teamed up with Destruction frontman Marcel Schirmer “Schmier” and put out an excellent album under the Panzer project banner.
As Herman Frank said himself in an interview, he’s free of all the creative shackles that tied him to Accept. As is well known, he always had to play a subordinate role there. Not only was he not allowed to contribute ideas to the songs, but at gigs Hofffmann let him solo, if at all, at one point at most during an Accept show. Herman Frank is no worse a guitarist, though; he’s a full equal to Wolf Hoffmann. Anyone who knows the Victory discography, and of course both of Herman’s previous solo studio albums, can tell you that.
For the new album, Herman Frank kept reliable American vocalist Rick Altzi, also a member of Masterplan, on board, and he brought in Michael Müller, a seasoned member of German hard rockers Jaded Heart, on bass. Behind the kit this time sits one of the best German drummers around right now, who was left without any serious gig. That’s Andre Hilgers (ex-Rage). So what we have here is an album put together by a venomous quartet, led by head captain Herman Frank, of course.
And the new album? Pure poetry of primal, old-school heavy metal in its purest Teutonic form. It doesn’t get more German than this. Right down to the bone. If you like Accept or Victory, »The Devil Rides Out« is already yours before you’ve even picked it up.
The material on it knows only one gear. The highest. Sixth. Full-throttle energy and playing, no letting up whatsoever, and the album won’t let you catch your breath. At the same time, between the direct riffs that kick you straight in the teeth, there’s a hefty dose of highly musical seasoning, where Altzi always squeezes out super catchy vocal lines that bring just the right moment of bombast into the very nature of the moods. On the slightly slower tracks (Stone Cold), that musicality naturally goes up a notch.
Otherwise, the bulk of the album pretty much rides on the extreme pounding of the double bass drum pedals, over which uncompromising, uncompromising guitar riffs roll and, together with the outstanding rhythmic kinetics, truly shine in full! From first track to last. There’s no dip in quality between them. There are as many as twelve songs on the album and every one of them is equal in what it says. Equal in songwriting. Frank implements intros and outros with extra atmospheric harmonies on the guitars, then in the “mid eight” passages he explodes in full swing and doesn’t hold back for a second in the harmonious solo adventures. Every song is packed with detail, and wherever the man finds room for a guitar ornament that fires up the venomous riffing, he artfully tucks it in, and the song gains expressive character as a result. Frank is an incredibly experienced songwriter, and this time he’s found an outstanding crew beside him that perfectly complements everything about this excellent product.
You’ll pick your favorites yourself, but the ones that win you over “on first listen” are the opener Runnig Back, then Balhog Zone, No Tears In Heaven, Thunder of Madness, the wild and especially sharp Dead Or Alive, or the no less sinful I Want It All, which closes out the album. This is an album of the old metal school, the kind only the generation of metal pioneers can make, and the seasoned Herman Frank is part of it. Of Herman Frank’s three studio albums so far, »The Devil Rides Out« is the most consistent, most focused, and most fully realized in terms of ideas and arrangements. It’s bursting with convincing impact. Even the mid-tempo Licence To Kill has a touch of gloomy gallows-humor and the occult, and once again an excellent chorus melody takes over, while the song itself calls to mind the best creative moments of Accept’s career.
»The Devil Rides Out « is this year’s contender for the best European album in the old-school heavy metal tradition, cut according to the fundamental apostles of the orthodox German metal bible. No holds barred! It’s a sharper album than any of the last three Accept records, and Frank bites into the songs relentlessly, as if it were a matter of life and death. In one word. Brilliant!
author: Aleš Podbrežnik
rating: 9.0 / 10
Tracklist:
01. Running Back
02. Shout
03. Can’t Take It
04. No Tears In Heaven
05. Ballhog Zone
06. Run Boy Run
07. Thunder Of Madness
08. License To Kill
09. Stone Cold
10. Dead Or Alive
11. Run For Cover
12. I Want It All
Lineup:
Rick Altzi – vocals
Herman Frank – guitar
Michael Müller – bass guitar
Andre Hilgers – drums
