Label: AFM Records
Release date: May 21, 2021
Production: Herman Frank
Album length: 42.55 min
Genre: Heavy Metal
Rating: 8.5/10
Herman Frank is a German guitarist who’s now a big relic of 80s Teutonic metal. The guy who put his name on Accept’s unforgettable “Balls to the Wall,” then went on to release a string of excellent albums with his band Victory, then went back to Accept for three albums, keeps forging records as if the eighties never ended. So: if it’s not Accept, and it’s not U.D.O., it’s Herman Frank. Those are the four unshakable relics still riding on tirelessly in 2021.
Herman Frank has pretty much kept the same crew that played on “Fight the Fear” (2019, RockLine review). Jaded Heart bassist Michael Müller is back, and so is Rikard Thornberg, a.k.a. Rick Altzi, who defies all comers on vocals with his distinctly raspy, aggressive approach. Altzi is also the singer of power metallers Masterplan, led by the legendary Roland Grapow, who have been in a surprisingly long hibernation. Guitarist Heiko Schröder returns too, and in place of Andre Hilgers (Bonfire, ex-Rage among others) there’s a new drummer, Kevin Kott (At Vance, Masterplan).
So, “Two For A Lie.” Frank’s fifth solo album. Is there even anything to say? Anything to add? Not really. Herman Frank doesn’t surprise you one bit. He stopped surprising people a long time ago. His fans don’t want him to. Neither does he. With “Two For A Lie” he again stays in his comfort zone, enjoying the tried-and-true musical formula he’s strongest in, since he’s got it down cold. So nothing can possibly go wrong. And nothing did. Ten tracks, honed-to-a-razor slappers of raw, hand-carved German metal that all of Frank’s followers will grab onto instantly, and that will feel like home to anyone who knows Victory, Accept and U.D.O. as well. “Two For A Lie” charges in with incredible assault and vehemence. A thundering storm. It leaves no survivors and no wounded behind, it rampages unstoppably and with merciless fury. It’s a manifesto of the classic days of metal, reaching incredible perfection in 2021. Both in sound and in performance. It only proves what a master Herman Frank has become in the mature era of his career.
So once again, the crew on this album is more than brilliant. Herman Frank delivers a fresh dose of rough-cut granite guitar phrases that take over one after another, handing the listener/music consumer a fantastic experience of the classic era of metal. Raw, primordial and no fuss. It doesn’t get any simpler or more direct than this. Two years after its predecessor “Fight the Fear,” the message of course stays exactly the same. Only the strongest survive, only heart counts, truthfulness and defiance in standing your ground and staying true to your calling. Being what you were meant to be. That’s your freedom, and nobody can take it from you. Herman Frank has fought many battles in his long-lived career. And this time too he comes out of it victorious. Even though you know exactly in advance where a note will turn, how the rhythm will develop, how the drum transition will go, and you can recite Rick Altzi’s vocal approach in your sleep. Okay, in Stand Up And Fight the vocal melody of the verse could have borrowed a bit less from Kill the King (Rainbow). German metal bands in particular are known for pulling that trick before. Anyway, the chorus lifts this track up to a more than satisfying level too. No wavering. No stumbles in the arrangements. The music runs a little under 43 minutes, with just 10 seriously bristling, rowdy slappers raging over the frenzied double bass drum pedals of the excellent Kott, alongside Müller’s penetrating bass lines, which dig and grind mercilessly across the album. It doesn’t get more German than this. It’s a good thing we only got ten tracks. The previous “Fight the Fear” has a whole 14, and it took quite some effort to learn, or get used to, telling them apart. There isn’t much variation between the songs. There never was. So there’s no point in wasting material. Accept knew that in the eighties too, and Frank fixes the mistake of overstuffing the last album’s tracklist on “Two For A Lie.”
The guys play fanatically. Like there won’t be another tomorrow. Hermann’s solos remain a treat of their own kind, and so do all his embellishments and ideas. He hit the bottom of his craft long ago. Herman Frank, who is certainly still missed in Accept today, thankfully keeps writing his own albums, which never stop impressing. What he did with Victory and Moon’Doc, he does today on his solo albums. Really. The steel isn’t cooling down, let alone showing signs of rust. The beast is bloodthirsty, and it’ll stay that way.
Author: Aleš Podbrežnik
Tracklist:
1. Teutonic Order
2. Venom
3. Hate
4. Eye Of The Storm
5. Liar
6. Hail The New Kings
7. Just A Second To Lose
8. Danger
9. Stand Up And Fight
10. Open Your Mind
Lineup:
Rick Altzi – vocals, backing vocals
Herman Frank – guitar
Heiko Schröder – guitar
Michael Müller – bass
Kevin Kott – drums
