Author: Aleš Podbrežnik
Artist: Frank, Herman
Label: Metal Heaven
Release date: 22.06.2012
Running time: 53:58
Rating: 4/5
Herman Frank is the legendary German guitarist we all remember as one half of the hard-to-separate guitar duo in the legendary German heavy metal outfit Accept. Frank dropped his solo studio debut back in 2009. For everyone who was (and still is) itching for the veterans of the Teutonic school of metal to come back, it was a small revelation. »Loyal To None« confirmed all of Herman Frank’s great strengths as a riff-crafter/riffologist and guitarist.
Herman Frank is, after all, that tall, lanky uncle we see at Accept shows. A guy who doesn’t need much room to strut around the stage. He’d rather hang out in a quiet corner. On stage, the bigger spotlight roles in Accept go to bassist Peter Baltes and especially guitarist Wolf Hofmann. The latter also plays most of the solos at Accept gigs. That’s why the solo dimension Frank has been polishing in recent years matters all the more to him, so he can establish himself as a musician in the fullest sense. A musician with outstanding guitar talent.
»Right in The Guts« is a step up from its predecessor »Loyal To None«. Which means Herman Frank keeps relentlessly gnawing away at the very essence of heavy metal, the stuff that defines all the key points of Accept’s career, and of the other band Herman Frank plays in, Victory. So: riffs crunching straight into your forehead and a double-bass-drum stampede march! Throw a raging, foaming vocal over the top, one that has to clear plenty of height benchmarks, and success is more than guaranteed!
Rick Altzi is the key to fully cashing in on Herman Frank’s new ideas. A man who got his chops in At Vance, the German power metallers, he’s taken over from Jioti Parachidis, the singer on the debut. One casual listen and it’s clear Altzi is a worthy replacement, and that his vocals sit as if cast into the production sound of Herman’s musical school and riffology. Listen closer and it becomes obvious that Altzi isn’t just a successful stand-in for Parachidis, but a big vocal upgrade in expressive range over »Loyal To None«. That’s why every single new song, well fed with a fresh creative breath and a torrent of biting riffs from master Frank, is a real firestarter that grabs you by the throat from the first note harder than it would with an average singer. Altzi is simply outstanding. He adapts outstandingly. He can sing aggressively, with an outstanding display of aggression, building pure authoritative vocal power aimed at a torrent of over-the-top anthemic chorus melodies, adding that spark to heavy metal that lets it take over completely in all its magic and mission. Be it the fast-rolling Roaring Thunder, Ivory Gate, Waiting, the almost Running Wild-ish So They Run at the end, or the mid-paced, nearly rockin’ Falling To Pieces. That last one is actually the most interesting moment on the album, because Altzi pulls out a throaty, raspy timbre that leans toward Samson singer Nicky Moore on one side, and even toward Jorn Lande himself on the other, when Altzi climbs into the vocal heights with that grit. In the cleaner melodic registers his voice leans toward Harry Conklin (Jag Panzer). Altzi is really the best possible solution for Herman Frank right now, and let’s hope he sticks around for this fine guitarist’s future solo studio adventures.
Anyway, there’s no point picking apart the content of this record. Over 50 minutes of the noblest school of primal Teutonic metal, »the German way«, that’ll have your carotid arteries ready to burst. Accept fans absolutely have to check this one out. You’ll fall for it instantly and irreversibly. Likewise a must for Victory fans! Herman is obviously on a full creative roll. Hanging out with Accept, in the studio and on tour, clearly does him a world of good, and the solo records are like the dot on the »i« for everything the man isn’t allowed to do when he’s playing by Accept’s rules. The soloing is divine. Take just 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 feels like the purest-blooded live document of primordial heavy metal heritage.
Line-up
Rick Altzi – vocals
Herman Frank – vocals
Mamalitsidis Cristos – guitar
Peter Pichl – bass
Michael Wolpers – drums
Production
Herman Frank
Tracklist
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)
