Author: Aleš Podbrežnik
Artist: Frank, Herman
Label: AFM Records
Release: 2016
Runtime: 52:05
Rating: 4.5/5
Herman Frank is a renowned and respected German guitarist. His name was written into the book of metal in gold letters ages ago, since his guitar rings out on the most striking 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 fortress Victory. So Herman Frank is back with his third solo studio album overall, »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. In fact, he and drummer Stefan Schwarzmann quit Accept at the same time, and that duo, in the company of Destruction boss Marcel Schirmer »Schmier«, later put out an excellent album under the Panzer project banner.
As he said himself in an interview, Herman Frank is free of all the creative shackles that bound him to Accept. As everyone knows, he always had to function there in a subordinate position. Not only was he not allowed to contribute any ideas to the compositions, but even at gigs Hofffmann let him solo, if at all, at just one point per Accept show. Because Herman Frank is no worse a guitarist, he’s a complete equal to Wolf Hoffmann. Anyone who knows the discography of Victory, and of course both of Herman’s previous solo studio albums, will tell you so.
For the new album Herman Frank kept reliable American vocalist Rick Altzi, otherwise a member of Masterplan, in the lineup, and for bass he called up Michael Müller, an experienced member of German hard rockers Jaded Heart. Behind the drum kit this time sits one of the best German drummers around right now, who’d been left without any steady gig: Andre Hilgers (ex-Rage). So what we have here is an album put together by a poisonous quartet, led by head captain Herman Frank, of course.
And the new album? Pure poetry, a primal old-school approach to heavy metal of pure-blooded Teutonic origin. It simply doesn’t get more German than this. To the bone. If you like Accept or Victory, then »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-on energy and playing with everything they’ve got, no letting up, and the album won’t let you breathe. At the same time, between the direct, straight-in-the-teeth kicking riffs, there’s a hefty dose of highly musical seasoning, where Altzi always squeezes out hugely melodic vocal lines that plant a real moment of bombast right in the nature of the moods. On the slightly slower numbers (Stone Cold) that musical moment naturally grows.
Otherwise the bulk of the album rests practically throughout on the extreme pounding of the double bass drum pedal, over which uncompromising guitar riffs roll uncompromisingly, and thanks to their outstanding rhythmic kinetics they shine in full! From first to last. No dips in quality in between. There are as many as twelve songs on the album and they’re all equals in what they say. Equals in compositional terms. Frank implements intros and outros with extra atmospheric guitar harmonies, and in the »mid eight« passages he explodes in full swing, not holding back for a moment in tightly harmonized solo adventures. Every single song is packed with detail, and wherever the man finds room for a guitar ornament that fires up the poisonous riffing, he slips it in artfully, and the song gains expressive character as a result. Frank is an incredibly experienced composer and this time he’s found an exceptional crew at his side that perfectly complements everything on this excellent piece of work.
You’ll find your favorites on your own, but the ones that grab you “at first listen” include the opener Runnig Back, then Balhog Zone, No Tears In Heaven, Thunder of Madness, the wild and especially spiked Dead Or Alive, or the no less outrageous 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, of which seasoned Herman Frank is part. Of the three studio albums Herman Frank has released, »The Devil Rides Out« is the most consistent to date, the most focused, the most complete in ideas and the best packaged in terms of arrangements. It’s bursting with convincing impact. Even the mid-tempo Licence To Kill carries a dash of gloomy rascality and the occult, with another superb chorus melody taking over, while the song itself taps into the best creative moments of Accept’s career.
»The Devil Rides Out » is this year’s contender for best European album in the old-school heavy metal tradition, tailored to the core apostles of the orthodox German metal bible. No holding back! It’s more spiked than all three of the latest Accept albums, and Frank bites into the compositions relentlessly, as if it were a matter of life and death. In a word. Brilliant!
Herman Frank – Balhog Zone (official video):
Lineup
Rick Altzi – vocals
Herman Frank – guitar
Michael Müller – bass
Andre Hilgers – drums
Production
Charlie Bauerfiend
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
