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Primal Fear - Devil's Ground


*
=Staff's pick

Metal Is Forever*
Suicide And Mania*
Visions Of Fate*
Sea Of Flames
The Healer*
Sacred Illusion
In Metal
Soulchaser*
Colony*
Wings Of Desire
Heart Of A Brave*
Devil's Ground


Genre Heavy Metal
Ralf Scheepers
Vocals
Tracks 12
Stefan Liebing
Guitar
Runningtime 56 Min.
Tom Naumann
Guitar
Label Nuclear Blast
Mat Sinner
Bass
Release 23 Feb. 2004
Randy Black
Drums
Country Germany
-
Keyboards
Similar artists Sinner, some Judas Priest

For the fifth time since the start in 1998 we're under full and heavy siege from the German Metal Commando unit Primal Fear. The full scale attack this time is codenamed Devil's Ground and launches 12 metal projectiles powerful enough to take out any defence. This bombastic follow up to their previous concept album Black Sun is produced by Mat Sinner at the Metal Commando House of Music, Germany, and was co-produced by Primal Fear and Achim Kohler (also producer of Elvenking's upcoming Wyrd, Sacred Steel, Kaminari and many others).

New troopers on this mission is ex-Annihilator drummer Randy Black who arrived after the Metal Gods Tour 2003, and guitarist Tom Naumann (also in Sinner and co-founder of the band) who after a 3 year break returns and replaces former axeman Henny Wolter who instead played on the latest Sinner album.

This new outing features all the hallmarks distinguishing the band and the Commandos continue to venture into well known musical regions where True Power Metal of course is still the main programmed operation. Devil's Ground however sees Primal Fear distance themselves a bit from their former Black Sun and returning more to the sonical approach they applied on Nuclear Fire and also their first two releases.

The album also feels a bit more straightforward than earlier issues and can further be described as their heaviest and overall fastest album so far. With exception of the heavy and wonderful semi-ballad The Healer and the spoken title track, Devil's Ground mainly delivers outings of speedier character. The introductory Metal is Forever (hell, I drink to that…) should be the band's most serious crowd pleasing metal hymn to date and cuts like Suicide and Mania, Visions of Fate and Heart of a Brave also have true Primal Fear class written all over.

The duo Naumann/Liebing provide a twin guitar assault with exceptional skill and force, rich in dynamics but I have to say that I kinda' miss Hanny Wolter a bit. With him as the other axeman I felt the guitar dynamics were even richer and also felt a little more innovating, both in the rhythm and also solo departments. But Naumann and Liebing definitely deserve a fat paycheck too of course and their efforts combined with Mat Sinner's undisputable kind of song-writing and Scheepers' formidable vocal use Primal Fear continue to pursue their perhaps not most versatile but instead highly effective metal mission.

A little disappointing factor though is that Devil's Ground doesn't contain that many tracks worthy of total masterpiece mentioning seen to what the band has delivered in the past but the gaps between highs and lows are very small and perhaps make Devil's Ground stand up as an album where all tracks keep pace with another and the most steady one so far in the band history. Another thing that also has to be issued is that this isn't the kind of innovating album I honestly had hoped for since Black Sun took a few steps in a more elaborating sonical direction. But no matter such statements, Devil's Ground still provides almost all I crave and a very solid impression is maintained when the whole deal is finished.

And when dealing with Primal Fear the constantly present issue of comparisons to Judas Priest emerge. In my opinion I don't think that that's a very fair- however flattering- likeness seen pure and strictly musically. The only real such a notion in my book is that Scheepers voice wander the territories of legendary Halford and his kind of wailing and that's probably what most people use as an argument there. Otherwise I think Primal Fear definitely have found their own sound and Soulchaser is the only real track where not only Scheepes but also the song character give a strong and pronounced Priest feeling.

And despite that I've issued some minor complaints I still have to say that this is virtually yet another masterstroke by this formidable unit and most definitely captures serious amounts of excitement and doesn't have the slightest tendency of misfiring weaponry. Primal Fear will absolutely continue to achieve some considerable legacy and deliver an immensely impressive 12 cut output that once again reaches stellar-status in the metal climate of today.

Devil's Ground doesn't quite reach the class of their up to date best release Nuclear Fire but ends up approximately on the same level as the Black Sun album and provides some true metal of total quality. The German Metal Commandos discharged their powerful gunfire February 23:rd and this is definitely a volley you wanna be struck by at point-blank range!

See also review of: Best Of Fear , Rulebreaker , Delivering The Black , Unbreakable , 16.6 (Before The Devil Knows You're Dead) , Seven Seals , Black Sun , Nuclear Fire , Horrorscope , The History Of Fear

Production
Vocals
Compositions

8

9

8

 
Summary



8 chalices of 10 - Mat

Related links:

www.primalfear.de