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Tag: Primal Fear
0 Primal Fear’s Unbreakable Debuts at #31 in Germany!
PRIMAL FEAR latest album “Unbreakable” entered the german official album charts at #31 in the week of release. This is PRIMAL FEAR highest chart entry ever in their home country! “The band and all guys involved in the progress of Unbreakable are totally happy & excited about the great news of our chart success in Germany” says bassist Mat Sinner “Thanks to Frontiers Records for their faith & trust! … And now we can’t wait to go on tour!”
In related news, “Unbreakable” also entered the swedish charts at # 53 and the Dutch top 200 album charts. In the USA, Primal Fear’s “Unbreakable” was the #1 most added at CMJ Loud Rock, received fantastic placement on iTunes Metal AND Rock landing pages and had an exclusive album premiere on the very popular site MetalSucks. Not only, but PRIMAL FEAR are also the #3 most-played album at commercial Metal specialty radio, beating out the likes of Lamb of God, Lacuna Coil and Megadeth!
METAL NATION TOUR
PRIMAL FEAR + Brainstorm + Special Guest
01/04/12 Prag Metrix Czech Republic
03/04/12 Wien Szene Austria
04/04/12 Budapest Club 202 Hungary
05/04/12 Zagreb Tvornica Croatia
07/04/12 Sofia Hristo Botev Hall Bulgaria
08/04/12 Bukarest The Silver Church Romania
10/04/12 Berlin C-Club Germany
11/04/12 Kassel Fiasko Germany
12/04/12 Kerkrade Rocktemple Netherlands
13/04/12 Burglengenfeld VA Zentrum Germany
14/04/12 Bochum Matrix Germany
15/04/12 Ludwigsburg Rockfabrik Germany
17/04/12 Pratteln Z 7 Switzerland
19/04/12 Pamplona Sala Totem Spain
20/04/12 Aviles Quattro Spain
21/04/12 Madrid Sala Ritmo y Compas Spain
22/04/12 Huesca Sala Jai Alai Spain
30/03/12 Leipzig Hellraiser Germany
31/03/12 Zlin Masters of Rock Cafe Czech Republic
3 Primal Fear – Unbreakable (2012)
Later this month (January 20th in Europe, January 24th in the U.S.), Heavy Metal band Primal Fear will be releasing their 9th studio album, Unbreakable. If you are a metal head, you need to mark this date on your calendar, as Primal Fear has crafted a metal album that no fan should be without.
Unbreakable is packed with great vocals, blazing guitar solos, thundering drums and crank-worthy metal anthems that will blow your mind.
The album starts off with a majestic intro Unbreakable (part 1) that doesn’t come close to preparing you for the next eleven tunes that will fill your head with metal happiness.
“Strike” is a fist-pumping, heavy metal anthem that ought to be a staple in Primal Fear’s live set. What a great tune!
Chances are you may have heard the first single “Bad Guys Wear Black” (see video below). While this is a great tune, it isn’t the best song on Unbreakable. To my ears, the best song is the powerful number “Where Angels Die”. This is an eight minute tune that is arranged with amazing guitar work, excellent keyboards, and the powerful vocals that Ralf Scheepers is known for. This is an amazing tune that needs to be played multiple times to be fully appreciated.
I thought “Metal Nation” would be another blazing rocker in the vein of Primal Fear’s song “Metal is Forever”. Much to my surprise, this is a mid tempo rocker, but another great tune, and a radio worthy rocker at that.
When many people thought heavy metal was deal, Primal Fear continued to fly the Metal flag, and have been doing so for over a decade. The band seems to get better with each album it releases, and Unbreakable is no exception. If Primal Fear’s Unbreakable is a reflection for all of the music that will be released in 2012, this will be a great year for hard rock & metal. It may be too early in 2012 to tell, but I would be surprised if Unbreakable didn’t make a lot of Top 10 lists at the end of the year. Don’t miss this!
For more information on Primal Fear, please visit the band’s website.
Rating: 
Out of 10
Track Listing:
01. Unbreakable (Part 1)
02. Strike
03. Give Em Hell
04. Bad Guys Wear Black
05. And There Was Silence
06. Metal Nation
07. Where Angels Die
08. Unbreakable (Part 2)
09. Marching Again
10. Born Again
11. Blaze of Glory
12. Conviction
Primal Fear is:
Ralf Scheepers – Vocals
Alex Beyrodt – Guitars
Magnus Karlsson – Guitar, Keyboards
Randy Black – Guitars
Mat Sinner – Bass & Vocals
0 Frontiers Records News Update – Crazy Lixx, Hardline, Jeff Scott Soto and More!
JEFF SCOTT SOTO
“Damage Control”, the new album by Jeff Scott Soto, is near completion and promises to deliver a one-two punch in the standard that is expected from the artist who has mastered the world of Melodic and Hard Rock music through the ages! The album is completed with appearances and co-writing by his current and former live line ups as well as guests such as Dave Meniketti (Y&T), Jamie Borger (Talisman/Treat), Casey Grillo (Kamelot) and Joel Hoekstra (Night Ranger).
There will be an 11 song single CD release of the album, as well as a 14 song Digipak version along with a bonus DVD which includes videos and EPK.
Get ready for Damage Control, it will rock your World!
There will be an 11 song single CD release of the album, as well as a 14 song Digipak version along with a bonus DVD which includes videos and EPK.
Get ready for Damage Control, it will rock your World!
CRAZY LIXX
Crazy Lixx are busy in the studio recording their third album that will be entitled “Riot Avenue”. According to singer Danny Rexon: “This time the music is a little more riff-based and straight-forward. We wanted to make real a hard rock album, so we decided to have a little more raw feeling in the production, sound and songwriting compared to our previous albums and there’s a lot more up-tempo songs than we had on New Religion. Also, the addition of a second guitarrist, Edd Liam, has made it possible to add some twin guitar playing and other interesting musical stuff that we’ve used on the album”. Some of the song titles are “Whiskey Tango Foxtrot”, “Young Blood”, “Riot Avenue”, “Church of Rock”, “Fire it Up”, “Only the Dead Know” and more. The album is planned for a worldwide release in April 2012 and will be followed by the usual string of live dates around the World.
PRIDE OF LIONS
Pride of Lions is carrying on their proud heritage working hard on their as yet untitled fourth studio album. Jim Peterik says: “Our self titled debut released in 2002 is still many of our fans favorite albums. So this album is a bit of a return to form. Of course there will be a few surprises and Toby Hitchcock is singing stronger than ever. I’ve hit a stride on the songwriting with songs such as “Tie Down The Wind” and “Coin of the Realm”. I needed the time since The Roaring of Dreams to regroup and get reinspired. If you can’t make a great record that will last the test of time – why even bother. This time Toby and me wanna take Pride of Lions on the road to promote this new one and spread the word”. This new Pride of Lions from what we’ve heard so far promises to be both more melodic and harder edged. Release is planned for early summer 2012.
HARDLINE
Hardline will be back in 2012 with a brand new album and a new lineup which will mark the beginning of a new cooperation between singer Johnny Gioeli and the italian producer/keyboardist Alessandro Delvecchio (EDGE OF FOREVER, EDEN’S CURSE). The US singer says: “I’m really excited to be working with Frontiers on a new Hardline record! We have slated the release for mid 2012…This CD is filled with melody and class…I’m digging it. I hope the Hardline fans enjoy this CD as much as I have enjoyed creating it… Happy Holidays All!”
ECLIPSE
ECLIPSE are putting their finishing touches to their anticipated fourth studio album that will be entitled “Bleed And Scream”. Musically the band is taking off the new release where the last album finished, yet with more refined and progressed songwriting. It will be a 100% Eclipse-sounding album with big hooks, melodies and powerful riffs but it leans towards a more darker, moody and epic side of the band. Songs like the title-track, “Battlegrounds”, “A Bitter Taste” and “After the End of the World” will show an exciting new side of the songwriting of the band. There will also be the first ballad in the history of the band entitled “About to Break”. Singer Erik Martensson tells: ” This album was the hardest to write for us so far. On the other hand the most rewarding. We don´t know at this point how we are going to top this one. We have tweaked everything from quality of the songs, melodies, hooks, arrangements, guitar-riffs, vocal performances, guitar solos, drumming and the variety in the songwriting in general. No stone is left unturned this time.” Frontiers plans to release the album in the first half of 2012.
FIND ME
Singer Robbie LaBlanc of BLANC FACES and Swedish producer/songwriter Daniel Flores (MIND’S EYE; THE MURDER OF MY SWEET) have started working together on an exciting new project entitled FIND ME. Musically it will have an heavier edge compared to BLANC FACES and Robbie sings louder and stronger than ever ! Daniel Flores says “This cd is some of the best AOR songs I’ve ever worked on, there are songs for everybody here, it is going to be a monster. Robbie has one of the best voices in the business and I’m proud to be working with him, he reminds me of the soulfulness of Martin Page and Lou Gramm’s singing. I have given every song on FIND ME its own identity for Robbie to showcase his great vocal diversity, all arrangements are carefully produced to fit his voice. The sonic impact will knock the socks out of you for sure! There are some great musicians involved on this Cd, starting with the amazing solos from guitar wizard David Sivelind, the rhythm guitars of Daniel Palmqvist and the very tight and inventive bass playing from Jonny Trobro. The amount of time put into keyboards was really a lot and will instantly remind the listener of the greats like Boston and Foreigner. All done with real vintage keyboards to give the album the organic feel, that unfortunately so many albums lack of these days. I have never been this satisfied with the keyboards and synthesizer arrangements like on this album!” Release is planned for the summer 2012.
PRIMAL FEAR
METAL NATION 2012 Tour including PRIMAL FEAR + Brainstorm + Special Guests!
30. März 2012 CZ – Zlin – Masters of Rock Cafe
01. April 2012 CZ – Prag – Metrix
03. April 2012 AUT – Wien – Szene
04. April 2012 HU – Budapest – Club 202
07. April 2012 BUL – Sofia – tba
08. April 2012 ROM – Bukarest – tba
10. April 2012 D – Berlin – C-Club
11. April 2012 D-Ludwigsburg – Rockfabrik
12. April 2012 NED – Kerkrade – Rock Temple
13. April 2012 D – Burglengenfeld – VA Zentrum
14. April 2012 D – Bochum – Matrix
15. April 2012 BEL – Genk – Rondpunt 26
17. April 2012 CH – Pratteln – Z7
19. April 2012 ES-Gijon – Sala Albeniz
20. April 2012 ES-Pamplona – Sala Totem
21. April 2012 ES-Huesca – Sala Jai Alai
22. April 2012 ES-Madrid – Sala Ritmo y Compas
01. April 2012 CZ – Prag – Metrix
03. April 2012 AUT – Wien – Szene
04. April 2012 HU – Budapest – Club 202
07. April 2012 BUL – Sofia – tba
08. April 2012 ROM – Bukarest – tba
10. April 2012 D – Berlin – C-Club
11. April 2012 D-Ludwigsburg – Rockfabrik
12. April 2012 NED – Kerkrade – Rock Temple
13. April 2012 D – Burglengenfeld – VA Zentrum
14. April 2012 D – Bochum – Matrix
15. April 2012 BEL – Genk – Rondpunt 26
17. April 2012 CH – Pratteln – Z7
19. April 2012 ES-Gijon – Sala Albeniz
20. April 2012 ES-Pamplona – Sala Totem
21. April 2012 ES-Huesca – Sala Jai Alai
22. April 2012 ES-Madrid – Sala Ritmo y Compas
NEW SIGNINGS
Two very exciting new bands have joined or are about to join the Frontiers Records roster. One is a new Metal band from the UK which has already gathered a vast critical acclaim with their independently released debut album and that will finally have a worldwide release on Frontiers and another is a new Melodic Rock band from Sweden sounding like an exciting mix of Work of Art and H.E.A.T ! Stay tuned for more news in early 2012 – more and more surprises are in the works !! Merry Christmas and Happy Rocking New Year !!
0 Three For Thursday Videos – Primal Fear – Good Guys Wear Black, Fighting the Darkness & Metal Is Forever
NEW ALBUM “UNBREAKABLE” IN STORES JANUARY 24th IN NORTH AMERICA ON FRONTIERS RECORDS
German power metal legends PRIMAL FEAR are gearing up for the release of their new album “Unbreakable” this January. Recently the band shot a video in Nurnberg, Germany for the song “Bad Guys Wear Black”. Check it here!
“Unbreakable” combines the skills of the strongest PRIMAL FEAR line-up ever, with a well-balanced “back to the roots” vibe and an ambitious learning process that took place during their longest tour so far. Classic and ultra-fresh PRIMAL FEAR riff-rockers like “Strike”, “Give Em Hell” or the high speed track “And There Was Silence” will hit the bulls-eye, like the rhythm paced metal anthem, first single and new video clip “Bad Guys Wear Black”. Less experiments, more rock! But there will be a nine-minute epic journey with prog approach named “Where Angels Die”, a classic wonderful ballad “Born Again” and the melodic power bomb “Metal Nation”. Singer Ralf Scheepers adds: “the plan was to record an album for the fans with rough metal riffs, screaming vocals and good melodies …… and finally it became a monster – a tough ‘bang-your-head’ metal album called “Unbreakable“.
Magnus Karlsson and Alex Beyrodt are worldwide respected guitarists – together they are unbeatable! Ralf Scheepers vocal performance shines brightly on a new level on the new album. And what can go wrong if you’re backed by one of the best rhythm sections in metal with Randy Black and Mat Sinner? Plus backing vocals by the “Fantastic Four”: Ralf Scheepers, Mat Sinner, Erik Martensson and Oliver Hartmann. You can hear the results on Primal Fears new statement called “Unbreakable“!
“Unbreakable” was produced by Mat Sinner, engineered and mixed by Achim Koehler at the House Of Music studios and some more studios in Germany & Sweden between the summer and autumn of 2011 and will include the following tracks:
Unbreakable (Part1)
Strike; Give ‘Em Hell
Bad Guys Wear Black
And There Was Silence
Metal Nation; Where Angels Die
Unbreakable (Part 2)
Marching Again
Born Again
Blaze Of Glory
Conviction; Night Of The Jumps (Bonus Track)*
Bad Guys Wear Black (Video)*
* Only available in the first pressing in digipak
Primal Fear Lineup
Ralf Scheepers – Vocals
Alex Beyrodt – Guitars
Magnus Karlsson – Guitar, Keyboards
Randy Black – Guitars
Mat Sinner – Bass & Vocals
For more info visit:
http://www.primalfear.de
http://www.myspace.com/primalfearofficial
You also check out the Primal Fear videos “Fighting the Darkness”, and “Metal is Forever” below!
Fighting the Darkness
Metal is Forever
0 Primal Fear To Release Unbreakable January 20th!
Germany’s Heavy Metal finest PRIMAL FEAR to release their anticipated ninth studion album “Unbreakable”
Frontiers Records is pleased to announce the release of Primal Fear new studio album entitled “Unbreakable” on January 20th 2012 in Europe and January 24th in North America.
After a sensational tour through South America in spring 2011, more dates in Europe plus an outstanding appearance on the 2011 edition of the Wacken Open Air, the band was fired up to enter the recording studio to start tracking their ninth studio album. The target was crystal clear – producer & bassist Mat Sinner: “After touring for two years without breaks, the guys realized the fan favourites very well and we wrote an untamed, powerful and crushing album together”.
“Unbreakable” combines the skills of the strongest Primal Fear line-up ever, with a well-balanced “back to the roots” vibe and an ambitious learning process during their longest tour so far. Classic and ultra-fresh Primal Fear riff-rockers like “Strike”, “Give Em Hell” or the high speed track “And There Was Silence” will hit the bulls-eye, like the rhythm paced metal anthem, first single and new video clip “Bad Guys Wear Black”. Less experiments, more rock! But there will be a nine-minute epic journey with a lot prog approach named “Where Angels Die”, a classic wonderful ballad “Born Again” and the melodic power bomb “Metal Nation”. Singer Ralf Scheepers adds: “the plan was to record an album for the fans with rough metal riffs, screaming vocals and good melodies …… and finally it became a monster – a tough ‘bang-your-head’ metal album called “Unbreakable”.
Magnus Karlsson and Alex Beyrodt are worldwide respected guitarists – together they are unbeatable! Ralf Scheepers vocal performance shines bright on a new level on all new songs. And what can go wrong if you’re backed by one of the best rhythm sections in metal with Randy Black and Mat Sinner? Plus backing vocals by the “Fantastic Four”: Ralf Scheepers, Mat Sinner, Erik Martensson and Oliver Hartmann. You can hear the result on Primal Fears new statement called “Unbreakable”!
“Unbreakable” was produced by Mat Sinner, engineered and mixed by Achim Koehler & the House Of Music studios and some more studios in Germany & Sweden between summer and autumn 2011 and will include the following tracks: Unbreakable (Part1); Strike; Give ‘Em Hell; Bad Guys Wear Black; And There Was Silence; Metal Nation; Where Angels Die; Unbreakable (Part 2); Marching Again; Born Again; Blaze Of Glory; Conviction; Night Of The Jumps (Bonus Track)*; Bad Guys Wear Black (Video)*
* Only available in the first pressing in digipak
“Unbreakable” will be anticipated by the digital only release of the single “Bad Guys Wear Black” which will be available for download and streaming on December 5th 2011. The single will also include “Metal Nation” in an exclusive single mix.
Don’t miss the German Metal Commando when they’re coming to your town!
Primal Fear
Ralf Scheepers – Vocals
Alex Beyrodt – Guitars
Magnus Karlsson – Guitar, Keyboards
Randy Black – Guitars
Mat Sinner – Bass & Vocals
0 Primal Fear’s Unbreakable Coming in January!
Ralf Scheepers of German power metallers PRIMAL FEAR has finished laying down vocals for the band’s forthcoming studio album, “Unbreakable“, which is scheduled for a January 2012 release on Frontiers Records. He states, “I know that every musician will always praise his new work as his best so far, but what the whole team have created here is simply outstanding! I am sure you guys will love what you hear.”
“Unbreakable” is being recorded at House Of Music studios in Winterbach, Germany. The CD, which is being produced by Mat Sinner and engineered by Achim Köhler (EDGUY, MASTERPLAN), will feature the following songs:
* Blaze Of Glory
* Marching Again
* And There Was Silence
* Night Of The Jumps
* Give ‘Em Hell
* Born Again
* Where Angels Die
* Bad Guys Wear Black
* Strike
* Metal Nation
* Conviction
* Raise Some Hell
* Marching Again
* And There Was Silence
* Night Of The Jumps
* Give ‘Em Hell
* Born Again
* Where Angels Die
* Bad Guys Wear Black
* Strike
* Metal Nation
* Conviction
* Raise Some Hell
Regarding the musical direction of the new PRIMAL FEAR album, Scheepers recently stated in an interview, “You can really expect an album which is somehow skipping back again to the very basics of PRIMAL FEAR, with very rough metal riffs and screaming vocals and good melodies on it. So people can really expect a pure PRIMAL FEAR album with melody and beating drums and very harsh guitars.” He added, “Of course, every musician will somehow advertise his own album, but I’m really convinced that people will like this one, because it’s got very catchy hooklines and it’s a really ‘bang-your-head’ metal album.
“When you look back on the [PRIMAL FEAR] back catalog, from the very first album to this album now, I think there were quite some changes — on ‘Seven Seals’, for instance, and also when we came [out with] ‘New Religion’. We somehow now have a combination in between a good, bombastic sound with more back-to-the-basics guitar riffing stuff. Also we have two ballads on it, which are not [really] ballads. There’s one mid-tempo song with some acoustic guitars in it and one song which has a little bit more keyboards. It’s still not an acoustic-guitar ballad— it’s still with drums and stuff — so I think it’s a pretty tough album [overall].”
0 Primal Fear Gives An Update
German power metallers PRIMAL FEAR will enter the studio in early July to begin recording their as-yet-untitled new album for an early 2012 release via Frontiers Records. The band states, “The songwriting session was a blast and we’ve never recorded a better pre-production.” PRIMAL FEAR recently asked fans to submit suggestions for the new CD title and has received more than 500 responses.
The band will take a break from the recording sessions for its new album to play at Germany’s Wacken Open Air and Geiselwind festivals in early August. Also in the works are three shows in Poland in early September.
PRIMAL FEAR recently extended its deal with Frontiers Records for two more albums after releasing the last two CDs through the label — 2007’s “New Religion” and 2009’s “16.6 (Before The Devil Knows You’re Dead!)”. The band says, “Never change a winning team!”
PRIMAL FEAR last year released a live DVD, “16.6 – All Over The World” (recorded in various locations between September and November 2009), and a live CD, aptly titled “Live In The USA“. Frontiers Records issued the two products separately and as a limited-edition combo on June 22, 2010 in the USA. The DVD is filled with an abundance of extra materials, such as an entire bootleg section with funny moments on the road, bootleg footage from various festival appearances and other concerts, all of PRIMAL FEAR’s most recent promotional videos, plus the making-of footage for “16.6” and a brand new interview section about the past, present and future of PRIMAL FEAR.
3 RALF SCHEEPERS – The Hard Rock Hideout Interview!
RALF SCHEEPERS – It’s not inappropriate to call Ralf Scheepers a Heavy Metal tenor. His larger than life voice can rival the very best in the history of Heavy Metal. Just let your ears delve into the back catalog of albums that Ralf Scheepers has sung lead vocals on and you shall be convinced. As a founding member of Gamma Ray, alongside Kai Hansen, Ralf Scheepers was the lead vocalist on three of their studio albums, from 1989 to 1993. In 1997, Ralf and Mat Sinner founded Primal Fear, a formidable Heavy Metal band that has etched out a powerful legacy to this very day.
There are many famous lead vocalists in Heavy Metal and Ralf Scheepers is one. However, when it comes to Ralf Scheepers, there is much more to being just a “famous” front man for a world known Heavy Metal band like Primal Fear. I never received a micro-hint of ego from Ralf as we spoke, nor did it ever appear that Ralf has, will or ever rest on his laurels. Ralf values friendship, (in a tiered format which he explains) and likes to create music on his acoustic guitar in front of his fireplace.
No, your not going to read on about a spoiled and partied out Heavy Metal star here, instead you will find out that Ralf Scheepers puts more thought into compassion and staying in touch with family, than he does about any Sunset Strip shenanigans. His new solo album “Scheepers” accentuates his fondness for ballads, guest musicians and of course, Heavy Metal. After my interview with Ralf Scheepers ended, I had to quickly remind myself that he is the intimidating vocal and physical presence of Primal Fear, for he truly carried himself in such a relaxed, polite and accessible manner. Here is what Ralf Scheepers had to say:
HRH: How relieved and proud are you, now that your solo album is being heard and 
praised?
RALF: I’m very pleased about it. The reviews have been good so far. I hope the people who bought the album are having a good time with it.
HRH: Which song on “Scheepers” moves you the most on a personal level?
RALF: Definitely “The Pain Of The Accused”, it’s based on a personal situation that I went through years ago. Once I got the melody line in my head for this song, I couldn’t get it out of my head.
HRH: How was the idea of doing a song (“Remission Of Sin”) with Tim “Ripper” Owens born?
RALF: I actually got to know Tim five or six years ago. We have gotten to know each other personally and Tim is a very nice guy. We’ve kept in close contact over the years. We email and see each other often, getting together to have some beers. I sent Tim this song while he was between two tours and he recorded it! I’m very happy about the way it came out. Tim and I are just good buddies!
HRH: Am I out of line by calling “Saints Of The Rock” a Heavy Metal Anthem Classic?
RALF: Well, you know, this song was recorded back in 1996 originally. It’s been re-recorded with Matt (Sinner) on bass. I did the whole choir on this re-recording.
HRH: A “Cyberfreak” never existed back in the eighties. Were the eighties a better time for Heavy Metal and the world as well?
RALF: I don’t think so, there’s always many changes happening. You have to deal with progress, you know? I sent my first email fifteen years ago! It’s a better world now. I get to stay in touch with cousins in America through Facebook, where years ago I couldn’t as easily stay in touch from a long distance. Facebook is a great network to keep in touch with friends and family. I’m not trying to sound like a Facebook commercial here by promoting them either. (laughs) You can advertise your music better through the internet now, then again, you can also lose money from people illegally downloading your music too.
HRH: Many of your friends appear as guests on “Scheepers”. Where do you rank friendship
on the scale of life?
RALF: That’s a good question. It all starts with Facebook right? (laughs) It’s the same in personal life as well. I have friends that are not as much close. Then I have friends in business and friends I exchange problems with on a more personal level.
HRH: What other musicians would you have liked to guest on your current solo album and perhaps on any future Primal Fear or solo album?
RALF: For a guitarist, Neal Schon is amazing. He had no time and was just too busy with touring and recording to appear on my record. I’m pretty sure there are many names I can’t think of right now. There are many out there, it’s not easy to name them all. Rob Halford still is an old time favorite of mine! Tim “Ripper” was great to sing together with!
HRH: What are the differences that you see, when it comes to Heavy Metal being marketed in Europe compared to the U.S.?
RALF: That’s a tough question. In the U.S. the market is huge, it’s the biggest. I’ve learned later in life (laughs) with Primal Fear, that you must go to the U.S. and play for the fans. You play for the kids in the U.S. to go out and buy your album. It’s the opposite in Europe, the kids buy your album first and then go to your concert.
HRH: Would you ever consider a singing role on Broadway, if the situation was right?
RALF: Never say never! I love the musicals in Germany. At the Musical Theater in Germany, they are really studying singing and stuff. I’m not quite aware of being able to do it though.
HRH: Why’s that Ralf?
RALF: You have to be very professional and deliver the goods more so than Heavy Metal. It is night in and night out on Broadway. It’s a job too, it can become boring in a way. Then again, Heavy Metal is an everyday job too! I’m sure there has to be different feelings you must have to perform on a Broadway stage as well.
HRH: Will there be a solo tour in the U.S.?
RALF: It would be great! Only, with the new Primal Fear album being recorded and released, combined with Primal Fear doing festivals and tours, it may not be. I also have to see what the market reaction is to my solo album. If the promoters want me to go out solo, I am the last one to say no!
HRH: Do you feel our world needs to exercise some more compassion right about now?
RALF: Yes. I mean, I had the idea for this song (“Compassion”) when the earthquake happened in Haiti. Now its Japan too. I had the chords and the melody in my head as I watched the news on that Haiti earthquake. We need to show people we have feelings and not only money, that people are there for them, to give them (earthquake survivors) feelings that someone is there for them. I remember writing this song on my acoustic. I’m the acoustic guitar guy in front of the fireplace.
HRH: What? Ralf Scheepers sits in front of the fireplace, with his acoustic guitar and writes 
songs? (laughs)
RALF: (laughs) I also like to shred with my acoustic too! (laughs) That doesn’t mean I’m a big softy or anything like that! I’m still the Heavy Metal guy!
HRH: (laughs) Don’t worry Ralf, you’ll always be the big Heavy Metal guy in my mind!
HRH: How is the new Primal Fear album coming along?
RALF: We have now, about ten songs. The guys are very busy. They’ve sent me playbacks and I’ve put my vocals and melodies on them. Then, we team up and rehearse the songs. It is very important to team up with the band and not rely solely on the internet when writing songs.
HRH: Good luck with the recording of the new Primal Fear album Ralf!
RALF: Thank you very much, it’s going to sound great! I’m already banging my head to these Primal Fear demos!
0 Metal Mind To Reissue Four Primal Fear Albums!
Not many bands can boast such accomplishments as Primal Fear can. In over twelve years, the group managed to release eight LPs and become one of the most important members of the contemporary power metal scene. This year, Metal Mind Productions is proud to bring back four classic Primal Fear albums – the self-titled debut (1998), “Jaws of Death” (1999), “Nuclear Fire” (2001) and “Devil’s Ground” (2004) – each of them proving that true metal is still alive and kicking!
The history of Primal Fear began in late 1997, when vocalist Ralf Scheepers (Tyran Pace, Gamma Ray) and bassist Mat Sinner (Sinner) decided to join forces and form a band that would fully stand up to their musical tastes. Together with drummer Klaus Sperling and guitarist Tom Neumann they recorded their first songs for the Japan-based label JVC Records. After securing a deal in Japan, Primal Fear was noticed by European labels and finally in 1998 they signed to Nuclear Blast. The group’s self-titled debut release hit the stores in February 1998. “Primal Fear” delivered a raw, heavy material, full of rage and unbound energy. The opening track “Chainbreaker” says it all – razor-sharp guitars, fast double-bass drumming and top notch vocals introduce the listener to a true power metal paradise. Other highlights on the album include the mid-tempo stomp “Dollars”, the beautiful ballad “Tears of Rage” and a cover version of Deep Purple’s “Speedking”. “Jaws of Death”, Primal Fear’s second album, was released in July, 1999, delivering a much more intense material than the one on the debut LP. With the addition of second guitarist Stefan Leibing the band ventured into a heavier territory, focusing their efforts on catchy yet relentless riffs. Also, Ralf Scheepers’ vocals have improved, still resembling the style of the Metal God himself – Rob Halford. After the “Jaws of Death” tour, Primal Fear recruited guitarist Henny Wolter and began working on their next album. “Nuclear Fire” was finally released in January 2001, once again proving the group’s extraordinary talent. The album starts off with “Angel In Black”, which continues the tradition of phenomenal Primal Fear’s openers.
Other highlights are the ultra heavy, thrash-driven “Fight the Fire” and “Iron Fist in a Metal Glove”, which sound much like a Metal Church track. “Nuclear Fire” became Primal Fear’s most successful album to date, charting at #37 in Germany and #23 in Japan. The band’s next album was “Black Sun”, released in 2002. It was followed by one of Primal Fear’s most spectacular tours ever – the famous Metal Gods tour with such acts as Halford, Testament and Immortal. During that time the group also began working with a new drummer, Randy Black (ex-Annihilator). His studio skills were tested with the recording of Primal Fear’s fifth LP, “Devil’s Ground”. The album included yet another classic opener – “Metal is Forever”, a true metalhead anthem. As for other highlights, there is the dark, apocalyptic “Visions of Fate” and the brilliant ballad called “The Healer”. The following years brought three more studio albums by Primal Fear: “Seven Seals” (2005), “New Religion” (2007) and “16.6. (Before The Devil Knows You’re Dead)” (2009), each of them showing the band’s undying devotion to power metal. With this year’s reissues of their classic material, Primal Fear once again remind all their fans that they’re still one of the most talented metal groups out there!
Primal Fear’s albums will be available in new digipak editions, each limited to 2000 copies. All albums include bonus tracks. The material was remastered using tube technology, digitally edited on a golden disc. Metal Mind Productions set up the release date for November, 22nd in Europe and January, 11th 2011 in USA (via MVD).
“Primal Fear” (remastered + bonus track)
Label: Metal Mind Records
Cat. No.: MASS CD 1406 DG
Barcode: 5907785036451
Format: CD Digipak (limited edition of 2000 numbered copies)
Genre: Power metal
Release date: 22.11.2010 Europe / 11.01.2011 USA
Tracklist:
1. Primal Fear
2. Chainbreaker
3. Silver & Gold
4. Promise Land
5. Formula One
6. Dollars
7. Nine Lives
8. Tears Of Rage
9. Speedking
10. Battalions Of Hate
11. Running In The Dust
12. Thunderdome
Bonus Track:
13. Breaker
Primal Fear
“Jaws Of Death” (remastered + bonus tracks)
Label: Metal Mind Records
Cat. No.: MASS CD 1407 DG
Barcode: 5907785036468
Format: CD Digipak (limited edition of 2000 numbered copies)
Genre: Power metal
Release date: 22.11.2010 Europe / 11.01.2011 USA
Tracklist:
1. Jaws Of Death
2. Final Embrace
3. Save A Prayer
4. Church Of Blood
5. Into The Future
6. Under Your Spell
7. Play To Kill
8. Nation In Fear
9. When The Night Comes
10. Fight To Survive
11. Hatred In My Soul
Bonus tracks:
12. Kill The King
13. Horrorscope
Primal Fear
“Nuclear Fire” (remastered + bonus tracks)
Label: Metal Mind Records
Cat. No.: MASS CD 1408 DG
Barcode: 5907785036475
Format: CD Digipak (limited edition of 2000 numbered copies)
Genre: Power metal
Release date: 22.11.2010 Europe / 11.01.2011 USA
Tracklist:
1. Angel In Black
2. Kiss Of Death
3. Back From Hell
4. Now Or Never
5. Fight The Fire
6. Eye Of An Eagle
7. Bleed For Me
8. Nuclear Fire
9. Red Rain
10. Iron Fist In A Velvet Glove (Bonus track)
11. Fire On The Horizon
12. Living For Metal
Bonus tracks:
13. Angel In Black (Videoclip) (Bonus track)
14. Out In The Fields (Bonus track)
Primal Fear
“Devil’s Ground” (remastered + bonus tracks)
Label: Metal Mind Records
Cat. No.: MASS CD 1409 DG
Barcode: 5907785036482
Format: CD Digipak (limited edition of 2000 numbered copies)
Genre: Power metal
Release date: 22.11.2010 Europe / 11.01.2011 USA
Tracklist:
1. Metal Is Forever
2. Suicide And Mania
3. Visions Of Fate
4. Sea Of Flames
5. The Healer
6. Sacred Illusion
7. In Metal
8. Soulchaser
9. Colony 13
10. Wings Of Desire
11. Heart Of A Brave
12. Devil’s Ground
Bonus tracks:
13. Die Young
14. Metal Is Forever (5.1 Mix)
15. The Healer (5.1 Mix)
16. The Rover
0 New Video – Allen/Lande – Judgement Day
Check out the new video clip, “Judgement Day” from Jorn Lande & Russell Allen. “Judgement Day” is on the new Allen/Lande CD, The Showdown due November 5th. This video also features Primal Fear’s Magnus Karlsson on guitar.
1 Ralf Scheepers Solo Album Coming Soon
Swedish guitarist Magnus Karlsson (PRIMAL FEAR, STARBREAKER, LAST TRIBE) has finished laying down his parts for the forthcoming solo album from Ralf Scheepers of German power metallers PRIMAL FEAR. According to a posting on the PRIMAL FEAR web site, “Magnus delivered his guitar parts on some songs of the album and did a killer job as always. Just some more lead guitars are missing by some other great players and we’re ready to mix the album after the forthcoming [PRIMAL FEAR] European tour!”
As previously reported, powerhouse American vocalist Tim “Ripper” Owens (HAIL!, YNGWIE MALMSTEEN, BEYOND FEAR, JUDAS PRIEST, ICED EARTH) will make a guest appearance on Scheepers’ forthcoming CD. Owens will be heard dueting with Scheepers in the track “Remission Of Sin”. Other guest musicians expected to appear on the album include Swedish multi-instrumentalist Snowy Shaw (DIMMU BORGIR, THERION, DREAM EVIL, KING DIAMOND, MERCYFUL FATE) on drums, Sander Gommans (AFTER FOREVER, HDK) on guitar and PRIMAL FEAR‘s Mat Sinner playing bass on the entire LP and producing. A photo shoot with Alex Kuehr for the CD’s cover took place in early July in Germany.
In a recent interview with the “Metalzone” radio show (web site) with Kostas Purevil Kyriakakis and Helena Mihailidou, Scheepers revealed that his upcoming solo album will include a remake of his song “Saints Of Rock” from Scheepers‘ pre-PRIMAL FEAR band TYRAN PACE and a cover version of “Before The Dawn’ from JUDAS PRIEST. “‘Saints Of Rock’ is gonna be, of course, a little bit more modern than it was [when the original version was recorded] in 1986,” he explained. “I mean, right now we have much more possibilities to make songs sound a little bit more modern, starting with the drum sound and the bass sounds — having a much more distorted sound.” He added, “I think ‘Before The Dawn’ pretty much is a [straight] cover — [there’s] just a little more orchestral things going on, I have more strings in the song compared to the JUDAS PRIEST [original]. Back then there wasn’t much strings going on. I think they even have a piano [in the original version], which I don’t have. I have strings and I have this atmosphere stuff going on. Vocal-wise, I just added a harmony at the last bridge before last chorus, I added a harmony which is not on the original, but that’s the basic difference.”
In a June 2010 interview with Metal Assault, Scheepers stated about the musical direction of his forthcoming solo CD, “It’s more diverse [than PRIMAL FEAR], you can say.” He added, “In the beginning I had those ballads that we couldn’t use for PRIMAL FEAR because they might be too mellow, but now we’ve started to write together on it. Basically, it’s my ideas on it, but I have a great team, with Mat and Magnus and some other members — Sander [Gommans], the ex-AFTER FOREVER guitarist, helped me a lot. It’s a good variety — from the hardest to the softest tones.”
PRIMAL FEAR recently released a new live DVD, “16.6 – All Over The World” (recorded in various locations between September and November 2009), and a live CD, aptly titled “Live In The USA”.
The brand new Primal Fear European tour is about to kick off:
18.09.2010 POL – Warsaw – Progresja
19.09.2010 CZ – Pardubice – Zluty Pes Pardubice
21.09.2010 D – Aschaffenburg – Colossaal
22.09.2010 D – Munich – Backstage
23.09.2010 D – Cologne – Underground
25.09.2010 IT – Bari Modugno – Demode
26.09.2010 IT – Rome – Black Out
28.09.2010 AUT – Woergl – Komma
29.09.2010 D – Nuernberg – Hirsch
30.09.2010 D – Osnabrueck – Lagerhalle
01.10.2010 D – Burglengenfeld – VA Zentrum
02.10.2010 D – Bad Arolsen – Outback
04.10.2010 SWE – Vaesteras – Sigurdsgatan2
05.10.2010 SWE – Stockholm – Gotokolare
06.10.2010 SWE – Gothenburg – Sticky Fingers
08.10.2010 FIN – Tampere – Sputnik
09.10.2010 FIN – Helsinki – Dantes Highlight
11.10.2009 D – Hamburg – New Headbangers Ballroom
12.10.2010 FRA – Paris – La Scene Bastille
13.10.2010 FRA – Lyon – Marche Gare
14.10.2010 FRA – Mulhouse – Noumatrouf
15.10.2010 D – Speyer – Halle 101
04.12.2010 BEL – Kuuren – Hippodrom
3 Primal Fear Invades Louisville, Kentucky’s Phoenix Hill Tavern
Friday night the German heavy metal band Primal Fear came to Louisville, Kentucky’s Phoenix Hill Tavern for a great night of metal & mayhem. This date has been on Primal Fear’s schedule for a few months, and I have been anxiously awaiting to see them play live for my very first time. Prior to the show I had the pleasure of doing an interview with Primal Fear’s guitarist Henny Wolter. I will post this on Hard Rock Hideout at a later time.
Denver, Colorado thrashers Havok opened up the show for Primal Fear. This three-piece act dished out classic thrash metal that reminded me of early Metallica & Slayer. They were far better than I expected them to be. Havok did a pretty good job warming up the crowd for Primal Fear. Check them out on myspace.
I was disappointed by the small crowd that turned out for Primal Fear in Louisville, but on this night there were several shows in town, including Fear Factory, which made it tough for Primal Fear to draw a large crowd. A quick look at the license plates in the parking lot, and you could see that fans drove in from all over the United States to catch this show. Even though the audience wasn’t huge, you would have never known it. It sounded like 1,000 people were in the Phoenix Hill Tavern. Everyone was feeding off of the band’s energy, and they were feeding off the crowd.
I knew that Primal Fear was going to be good live, but they far exceed my expectations. Ralf Scheepers is still singing at the top of his game. His range and screams have not diminished in the least. I was totally impressed not only by his vocal performance, but by the whole band in general. During the show, Henny Wolter & Alex Beyrodt did a dueling guitar solo. Alex Beyrodt’s style greatly differs from Henny Wolters, but they are both impressive players, and when they play in unison it is complete metal perfection.
Mat Sinner and Randy Black round out what is one of the best rhythm sections in heavy metal today. Mat does a fine job singing back up to Ralf Scheepers, and Randy Black is an absolute beast on the drum kit.
The set list included the songs: “Six Times Dead (16.6)”, “Riding the Eagle”, “Killbound”, “Fighting the Darkness”, “Running In the Dust”, “Nuclear Fire”, “Seven Seals”, “Battalions of Hate”, “Metal is Forever”.
The unofficial sixth member of Primal Fear, Pamela Moore (Queensryche, Solna) came out and sang on the songs “Seven Seals’, and “Fighting the Darkness”. Ralf Scheepers and Pamela Moore’s voices are completely different, and you would not think their voices would work together. When Pamela sang with Ralf on “Fighting the Darkness” it gave me goose bumps. It was absolutely incredible. Ralf Scheepers dedicated the song to the late, great Ronnie James Dio. It was a fitting tribute indeed.
The band closed out their set with their classic song, “Metal is Forever”. Check it out in the clip below.
After the show, I caught up with Alex Beyrodt, who shared with me that work has begun on the follow-up CD to Voodoo Circle. David Readman recently sent Alex 4 new songs. He is hoping to have the CD completed, and released in November. Alex told me a really cool Ronnie James Dio story that was too good not to share. A few years ago, Sinner opened up for DIO on their European tour. A few years later in 2006, Alex was at the NAMM convention. As he walked up and down the aisles of the convention, he noticed a huge line of fans waiting in line for autographs. He saw that it was Ronnie James Dio and Craig Goldy signing autographs at a table. Ronnie saw Alex out of the corner of his eye, and stopped in the middle of his signing session to walk over and talk to Alex, just to see how he was doing, and talk about their tour together. Alex didn’t expect Ronnie to remember him, and Ronnie took the time out of a busy signing session to talk to him. To me, this is just one more example of how great of a person Ronnie James Dio was.
All of the guys from Primal Fear made a point to come out after the show, and spend some time with their fans. Everyone was great, and the unplanned meet & greet afterwards made a great night of rock, a completely amazing experience.
Primal Fear doesn’t play in the United States very often, so you truly need to catch them live while they are here.
Primal Fear has the following dates left on their tour. Don’t miss them if they come near you!
01st Denver, CO @ Bluebird Theater
03rd Seattle, WA @ El Corazon
04th Portland, OR @ Peter’s Room
05th San Francisco, CA @ Slim’s
06th Santa Ana, Ca @ Galaxy Theatre
08th West Hollywood, CA @ House of Blues
09th Mesa, AZ @ U.B.’s
10th Tucson, AZ @ The Rock
12th Houston, TX @ Meridian
13th Austin, TX @ Emo’s
1 Frontiers Records to release German Metal icons PRIMAL FEAR brand new Live CD and DVD
German true Heavy Metal icons PRIMAL FEAR completed the work on a brand new live DVD named “16.6– All Over The World” recorded in various locations between September and November 2009 and on a live CD aptly titled “Live in the USA“. Frontiers Records will release the two products separately and in a limited edition combo version on June 2nd in Europe and June 22nd in the USA.
“The main part of the DVD was recorded in Switzerland at the Z7, but there is more 
footage from a headlining show held at the ProgPower festival in Atlanta, USA plus footage from Brazil/Sao Paulo, Tokyo & Osaka/Japan and more places” explains bassist and producer Mat Sinner. “That’s why the DVD is named “16.6 – All Over The World“, while the Live CD is titled “Live In The USA” because the Live CD was recorded in Atlanta, New York and Los Angeles during the last tour that the we did across the ocean”.
The DVD is filled with abundance of extra materials, such as an entire bootleg section with funny moments on the road, some bootleg shots from festivals and other concerts, all Primal Fear latest video clips, plus the making of 16.6 in the recording studio and a brand new interview section about the past, present & future of Primal Fear.
The last tours in support of the band’s last album “16.6 (Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead)” unleashed some of the finest Primal Fear performances since the band formed in 1998: a constant great mix between power, ambition and enthusiasm plus of course great the talent of great players! There is undoubtedly a great value of interesting performances on this CD and DVD package and a great sound.
Concert tracklisting (available on the CD and on the DVD) is: Before The Devil Knows You’re Dead; Under The Radar; Battalions Of Hate; Killbound; Nuclear Fire; Six Times Dead (16.6); Angel In Black; Sign Of Fear; Fighting The Darkness (a. Fighting The Darkness; b. The Darkness; c. Reprise); Riding The Eagle; Final Embrace; Metal Is Forever; Hands Of Time; Seven Seals (DVD only); Chainbreaker.
DVD bonus materials include
– Videoclips: Killbound; Sign Of Fear; Fighting The Darkness; Six Times Dead (16.6); Metal Is Forever.
– The Making Of 16.6 – Before The Devil Knows You’re Dead
– Bootleg Section: episodes & scenes from festivals & tours in Asia, South America, North America, Europe and more!
– Famous last words.
The DVD will be exclusively released on NTSC Region Free video format and the mix will be 2.0 and 5.1 with screen 16:9 and 4:3.
Enjoy the new clip for “Killbound” below:
In related news, PRIMAL FEAR will return to the U.S. & Canada in May/June 2010 for the second part of their “16.6 Over North America” tour, following up their highly successful select dates that took place late summer 2009. Support on the trek will come from LUNA MORTIS, with special guest REDEMPTION on the West Hollywood and Santa Ana shows.
The dates will include a special VIP meet-and-greet ticket which not only gains the ticket holder 60-minute early entry but also includes a very special pre show meet-and-greet and an autographed customized poster. VIP tickets will be limited to 50 per show.
16.6 Over North America – Part 2
May 20 – New York, NY @ Gramercy Theatre
May 21 – Springfield, VA @ Jaxx
May 22 – Allston, MA – Harpers Ferry
May 23 – Quebec City, QC @ Imperial
May 24 – Toronto, ON @ Opera House
May 26 – Cleveland, OH @ Peabody’s
May 27 – Detroit, MI @ Blondie’s
May 28 – Louisville, KY @ Phoenix Hill Tavern
May 29 – Milwaukee, WI @ The Rave
May 30 – St Paul, MN @ Station 4
Jun. 01 – Denver, CO @ Bluebird Theater
Jun. 03 – Seattle, WA @ El Corazon
Jun. 04 – Portland, OR @ Peter’s Room
Jun. 05 – San Francisco, CA @ Slim’s
Jun. 06 – Santa Ana, Ca @ Galaxy Theatre
Jun. 08 – West Hollywood, CA @ House of Blues
Jun. 09 – Mesa, AZ @ U.B.’s
Jun. 10 – Tucson, AZ @ The Rock
Jun. 12 – Houston, TX @ Meridian
Jun. 13 – Austin, TX @ Emo’s
PRIMAL FEAR
Ralf Scheepers: vocals
Mat Sinner: bass, vocals
Randy Black: drums
Henny Wolter: guitars, vocals
Alex Beyrodt: guitars
With:
Magnus Karlsson, Stefan Liebing: guitars
Pamela Moore: vocals
Weblinks:
0 Pamela Moore To Perform With Primal Fear
PAMELA MOORE (Queensryche) has been invited to make a guest appearance singing duet with PRIMAL FEAR at selected shows! DONT MISS THIS RARE OPPORTUNITY! PURCHASE TICKETS NOW! Tickets on sale at TICKETMASTER and LIVE NATION* (New York show only). See flyer below for show dates and locations!
Check out Primal Fear’s latest video, “Six Times Dead (16.6)” below!
0 An Update From Primal Fear
Up to the minute news directly from the Primal Fear camp, one day before the band starts their 16.6 trip to South America, some days later to North America!
South America
Ralf: It’s so cool that we can add Colombia to our map and rock there for the first time. We’re really sad that we can’t play Chile this time, but to come back in three beloved countries like Mexico, Argentina and Brazil is always a huge pleasure. I’m looking forward to present the songs of our new album to our loyal fans and rock the night. The communication and their enthusiasm in South America is always very special. There’s just one word to explain the atmosphere of a Primal Fear concert in South America: Electrifying!
North America
Henny: This will be an absolute highlight of my career. There can’t be one European musician out there who isn’t thrilled to tour the US with his own songs & music. Our target in Primal Fear was always to be known as a worldwide touring act and for me personally, it’s a real pleasure, that our focus is on North America in the coming month and in the next year. I know that the worldwide metalfans appreciate the consequence and tenacity of our course!
Alex: I must add, that I’m really excited to play with Primal Fear in South & North America. It’s a dream come true! I did a special work out during the last month to be in top shape for the shows and you know that the stage is my life. I will give more than 100% every day and I will enjoy every minute! It’s so great to be part of this tour!
Canada
Randy: Coming Home 🙂 ….. for me coming back to Canada to play with Primal Fear is a big thrill, not only because I’m from there, but because we’ve played there so little since I’ve been in the band. It will be great to finally play to the North American Primal Fear fans again too! I’m sure the shows will be rockin – I’ve only played in Canada ONCE since I moved over to Germany in 98, I can’t wait & see you all soon!
New Primal Fear Video Clip
Mat: we will shoot two new video clips during the next weeks. The first one will be released in September in connection with our TV campaign on iMusic TV and the second video clip will be released during the European tour in mid November! We will shoot a lot of interesting footage filmed in the forthcoming weeks, so we can present two really interesting clips for songs from the new album 16.6 – which songs? The first clip will have a South American, the second a North American vibe J
The European Tour
Ralf: It’s the same feeling & vibe this time as for all other territories. The difference is, that Europe is our home and especially this time, with the new 16.6 songs in the setlist, it will be something special. We feel so strong in the band now, that nothing can stop us!
Mat: I agree, it feels really good on stage and the new songs are perfect additions to our current Best-Of live set and our new found metal attitude. Even I miss my friend Magnus, Alex is doing a killer job. With Brainstorm on the bill in Europe, we have a fantastic second band with us and we’re working on another third great band to present an overall strong package for our fans. And it feels really good to have some good friends like Duce & Martin back in the team again!
Plans for 2010?
Frank Suepfle from ITM Agency: We’re already working on a second and longer run through North America and another European leg on the 16.6 tour before the festival season starts and we will play a lot of open air festivals next year!
Michael Kiske / Amanda Somerville
Mat: That’s my newest project and we’re working hard on the songwriting for the first album. It’s a pleasure to write & produce Michael’s next album and with Amanda as the co-singer it’s something very special. I wrote songs with Magnus and Jimmy Kresic for the album and we’re really excited about the songs. Eight tracks are pre-produced now and we need another two songs before we will start the real recordings. After Forever mainman Sander Gommans plans to join us and he’s working on new songs with Amanda at the moment! Look out for a melodic metal masterpiece in early 2010!
Ralf Scheepers Solo Album
Ralf: I’m still collecting ideas and riffs …. and I can’t wait to start the production together with Mat. I’ve signed a deal with Frontiers Records and we will make this happen during the coming months. I will welcome a lot of interesting guests and if my plan will come reality, it’s a dream come true with a killer concept and strong songs!
Rock Meets Classic
Mat: This will be a huge challenge for everybody involved. My good friend and well respected concert promoter Manfred Hertlein introduced me to Toto singer Bobby Kimball and some weeks later we had 14 dates booked in the finest venues of Germany & the Netherlands for January 2010. Featuring the originals singers of Foreinger – Lou Gramm, Nazareth – Dan McCafferty and Toto – Bobby Kimball – a killer classic rock line up! Maestro Philipp Maier from Dubai will write the arrangements and conduct the Prague Symphonic Orchestra. I will direct the RMC band & choir featuring Henny Wolter on guitar, Jimmy Kresic on keyboards, Martin Schmidt on drums plus Amanda Somerville, Verena Schock and Tiffany Krikland on backing vocals. Look out for an exciting eveneing and songs like Cold As Ice, Juke Box Hero, Hold The Line, Africa, Love Hurts or This Flight Tonight with a brandnew vibe! We’re aleady in negotiations for more concerts and to continue the project in 2011.
The Black Book
Randy: The Black Book is “An Introduction To Creative Metal Drumming” wil be my first ever drum DVD. On the dvd I’m playing along to original Primal Fear songs as well as a selection of songs from DuskMachine and past bands such as Annihilator, Skew Siskin and Rooky. Also include will be two drum solos (studio and live) and sections on basic to advanced rudiments, special parts from the songs broken down in real and slow motion time and various fills and stick tricks I’ve developed over my drumming career. There is also an interview where I’m talking about my life as a drummer from the day I started to the present. It looks likely that the DVD will be distributed by Hudson Music.
New Primal Fear DVD & Live CD
Mat: We will film footage with 3 cameras during every part of the forthcoming tour this year. We will start in South America, the US, Canada, Europe and later this year in Japan. The show in Sao Paulo will be filmed by Patrick Kolb. We will shoot add. shows in Los Angeles, Atlanta, New York and Montreal. Good friend Bomber & his Visions In Fear team will film two shows in Switzerland and Germany. Achim Koehler will record selected shows on pro audio material. If everything will work out cool, we plan to work on a forthcoming DVD and Live CD for 2010 and if all involved people & companies will support this release for the fans.
Mat Sinner New Book Project ……Prison Break? (The International Version)
Mat: I plan to write some interesting stories about the last three years during the forthcoming world tour and add them to with some unreleased pictures to my existing biography. „The Book Of Seven Seals“ was released in german language and is already collectors item. Now it’s time to end up some speculation, controversial stories, funny moments rename the bio. My Sinner buddy and Metal Hammer journalist Christof Leim will review and edit the old version and this time, we will release an international version. I haven’t decided yet, if we will make a limited edition of the forthcoming Primal Fear DVD and add the book as a special present to our fans.
Japan & Primal Fear
Ralf: First of all, we want to thank all our loyal fans for all the super positive e-mails we’ve received about a forthcoming Tour in Japan. 16.6 reached the best chart entry in Japan of the entire Primal Fear career. We’ve got the word from our record company King Records and our agency that everybody is working hard on the subject! We are ready for our fans in Japan and if everything works out well, we will play some concerts during the next months!
Alex Beyrodt’s Last Words:
I’m totally happy and satisfied to be back with Primal Fear and I’m proud to be a part of Primal Fear family! We know eachother for so long, shared a lot of great memories and hotel rooms. We’ve travelled thousands of miles together and Mat is my friend for a lifetime. The Primal Fear / UDO tour was one of the best experiences of my career The new songs are killer and new setlist is even more exciting than ever. I can’t wait to entert he stage in Mexico City and start my engine!
Henny Wolter’s Last Words
It’s my best time in Primal Fear! It feels really good and I’m enjoying every day in the band! If we’re on tour with the band, it makes me a lot of younger in seconds, it’s just like a big party with a lot of good friends. We’re working hard on every matter, but it’s always a pleasure, friendly, funny and creative. My comeback with the band was one of the best decisions I’ve made in my life. In the meantime, I know the guys very well and they are very talented and have a great humor!
See you on tour!
Ralf, Randy, Henny, Alex & Mat
1 HRH Interview With Primal Fear’s Ralf Scheepers
In Europe the metal band Primal Fear has been been kicking ass for over ten years now. They have played for thousands of fans in just about every major music festival you can think of including Wacken Open Air, Bang Your Head, Sweden Rock, Metalmania, Monsters of Rock and a bunch more.
Ralf Scheepers, the singer of Primal Fear, has a voice that should be legendary amongst all metal fans. His multi-octave range has been delighting fans all over the world, but in the U.S.A. both him and his band are still largely unknown.
Hard Rock Hideout had the opportunity to speak with Ralf about Primal Fear’s up and coming U.S. tour, their new album 16.6 (Before The Devil Knows Your Dead) and some of the history of Ralf’s storied career. Enjoy!!
HRH: How old were you when you first started singing?
Ralf Scheepers: I first started singing when I was nine or ten years old. I noticed that when I sang along with the radio it wasn’t that wrong (laughs). I never intended to be a musician, it just came with birth. I tried out in a school band when I was sixteen years old also playing the rhythm guitar and singing which I couldn’t really do at the same time. In the end, I just put away my guitar and started singing in heavy bands in the area of Stuttgart. That is how my career started.
HRH: What drew you into heavy metal?
Ralf Scheepers: Actually when I was 16 – 18 it was exactly the age when New Wave of British Heavy Metal came up with bands like Iron Maiden Saxon, and Judas Priest. When I first heard Unleashed in the East the first time, I was totally knocked out. It brought me into heavy metal.
HRH: I have listened to some of your music with your band Tyran Pace, and was blown away with how good it was. It is a shame that not too many people got to hear that great band you were in.
Ralf Scheepers: Thank you. When I look back at it, I thought my voice sounded like a little kid of course a voice evolves. It was just the beginning of everything.
HRH: A lot of singers’ voices start to deteriorate as they age, but that doesn’t seem to be the case at all with you. On your last couple of releases New Religion and 16.6, you are singing better than ever. Your voice hasn’t lost anything over the years. If anything, it has only gotten stronger. What are you doing to keep your voice in such great shape?
Ralf Scheepers: Thank You! I ask myself that too. I try to be healthy. I am 44 of yearsof age now. I need to warm up voice a lot more than I did twenty years ago. It is a pretty tough way we are singing. With the heavy metal singers belting it out every night. They really harm their vocal chords with the stuff they are doing. Everyone mostly sings too loud. That is the same with me. I really scream like hell. Nowadays the technique is really good when recording in the studio. I am really happy that I can record my stuff at home. When I am recording at home, it doesn’t mean that I have technical stuff which helps me. I take my time because I am a perfectionist. I don’t leave stuff on the hard disc. Maybe five years we would have left it on the hard disc. This way it it sounds better and more and aggressive the way I want it.
HRH: With the screams you have been cutting loose on your albums, you have one incredible instrument.
Ralf Scheepers: Thank you.
HRH: You recorded a bunch of cool albums with Gamma Ray back in the early 90’s. Why did you leave that band?
Ralf Scheepers: We were together for five years. I was living still in Stuttgart, also now. Gamma Ray is coming from Hamburg, the other members. The technology wasn’t where you could swap mp3 files and load your dat files into your sessions and compose your songs that way. That is the way we are doing it now between Sweden and Hanover. Back then it wasn’t possible, the technology wasn’t there. The guys wanted me to move to Hamburg. I couldn’t do that. I needed to work to pay for my way of life. Music wasn’t paying for it. That was one of the reasons we parted ways. The other reason is well known. I made the application to Judas Priest. I told the guys that I did it. They asked me what I would do if Judas Priest asked me to be the singer. I said I would go, without disrespect and everything. They understood, but in the end there was another factor. The feeling was not that good anymore. Before I made my application Kai and Dirk started singing their own songs, which is their own right of course. In the end it was a sign that they may not need a vocalist anymore.Everything came together within one month and we went our seperate ways. I was a short time of bad vibes for a couple of months. We are still friends. I don’t want to talk shit about Gamma Ray, and they don’t talk shit about me. It was a good time, it was a learning phase. I really appreciate the time. I don’t want to talk bad about it. It was only good.
HRH: So you still keep in touch with Kai Hansen?
Ralf Scheepers: Yes, we met in Norway at the end of April. They played the night before we played. We arrived one day early. We met them and had a good time. It is always a good time.
HRH: Tell me a little about you trying out for Judas Priest.
Ralf Scheepers: I didn’t try out. I sent demo tapes, CD’s, and live video from Gamma Ray. I got this letter back from the management from Jane Andrews that the guys were interested. There was a really long time that I had to wait. Glen Tipton was writing his solo album at the time. So many guys sent their application in they had millions of tapes to listen to. I understood it would take a long time. I got the promise I would be invited, but I never got invited to make the audition. From the view of now, everything is ok. I totally understand why they took Tim “Ripper” Owens. He is a really good vocalist, and a very nice guy. We now have contact with each other, we are musical friends. Everything is fine. Also with Judas Priest, when I met the guys KK, Glen and Rob. Everyone is nice and fine. We have respect for each other.
HRH: I have heard your cover of “Metal God” from the Primal Fear album “Metal is Forever”. I can’t believe you didn’t get the job.
Ralf Scheepers: Thank you. I am more satisfied with the”Exciter” cover with Gamma Ray. I am really happy with. I just came into the studio. It was a time that we were already separated. We still had a good time and were good friends. We said lets do this tribute thing, Exciter from Judas Priest. We all liked them. Everyone in the band liked the live version of it. I was signing it live and it was really amazing. We were having a good time and you can hear it. It was really good.
HRH: After Gamma Ray, you had a band called Just Priest?
Ralf Scheepers: Oh yes, It was just a time that I didn’t know if I might be the vocalist of Judas Priest. I was preparing myself a little bit, to go through all of the albums and learn the songs. Which I already knew before, but learned to sing it for the possible audition that never happened. We played some shows here and there in Stuttgart. It was no big deal behind it.
HRH: Was Just Priest the precursor for Primal Fear?
Ralf Scheepers: Yes, the thing is, there was one show where a couple of the guys of the cover band couldn’t do it. I invited Matt and Tom from Sinner to do it. As I sung in the studio for Sinner some lines. We had a good conversation. We said lets hook up and write some songs. Japan was waiting for material from me. They wanted to continue to work with me. I asked Matt and Tom to write some songs together. They did the Just Priest show, and we all became friends.
HRH: Moving foward to Primal Fear, 16.6 is your eighth album. You have maintained the same lineup with minimal 
changes over the years. Magnus Karlsson joined Primal Fear for the new album. You worked with Magnus briefly on New Religion right?
Ralf Scheepers: Yes, that is exactly what I wanted to say. We had some problems in the studio with the guys that we had back then, which really denied to play the guitar, and didn’t like the compositions and everything so. We invited Magnus to play some solos here and there and also Henny who is also a member now. The reason why Stefan left because his wife got pregnant again, he still had his daytime job which was getting pretty much for him. He said he in a friendly way that he couldn’t do it anymore, and we went our separate ways in a very friendly way. We immediately called up Magnus because he is an outstanding talent and a good composer and song writer. We called him up if he wanted to join Primal Fear. He was happy to do it. We didn’t know what was going to happen. It is pretty important for a band how a guy acts on stage, and he behaves on the tour bus, and if he can cope with everything in the end. He is one of the guys that can cope better than one of ours. He is great. He is fitting perfectly into the band both musically and personally. He is a nice guy. The thing with Henny, he was again taking the place for Tom Naumann because we had problems with him in the studio. We called up Henny because we had a good time in the Nuclear Fire era. We called him up. He was absolutely hoping to be the guitarist again. Hopefully we have our final lineup now.
HRH: What was it like working with Magnus on the new album? Was the recording process different for 16.6?
Ralf Scheepers: Yes, the difference was Matt, Henny and Magnus met up at Magnus house in Sweden to compose 80% of the album. They made a demo and preproduction there. The sent me the stuff into mp3 files, I extracted it and loaded it into Pro Tools sessions and bounced my ideas onto it. That is how we work now. Many of the lyrics and some of the vocal lines were already fixed by Matt, as he is a vocalist too, and Henny also made a lot of the melodies on the album. The rest of the 20% of was from my side on 16.6. Hopefully next time, I will have the time to team up with the guys to compose songs in one room together. It is still a good thing to compose songs in a rehearsing room or one room. It is good vibe if it has the original feeling behind it. There are also advantages in composing it in different parts of the world. You can take your time, and think on your own about your ideas. There advantages and disadvantages of both kinds of working.
HRH: The one thing Primal Fear has not done yet is conquer the United States. You are kicking off your first U.S.
tour starting with the Rock Gone Wild Festival in August. Are you excited to come play in a major festival in the U.S. in front of a bunch of new fans for the first time?
Ralf Scheepers: We are very excited. Everyone is looking forward to it. The thing with America to be honest is always to be honest the time of musicians was holding us back. Guys were still working like Stefan and Me. It was simple as that. I still have to work to keep my life standard. Music doesn’t pay for my family and my house and stuff. I have to go to work. In the end, everyone is looking forward to come to the states now. It is about time to bring good stuff over there to a tour, even if it is a small tour. Hopefully we picked the most important cities of the States, without being disrespectful to the other cities. We would like to come everywhere, but it isn’t possible.
HRH: 16.6 is doing pretty well in Sweden and Germany right now.
Ralf Scheepers: Yes, we are really lucky to be on the charts. We are at 46 in Sweden, 52 in Japan and 28 in Germany. We are hoping now for America. The album came out last Friday. Hopefully we will get the chance to hit the Billboards there. It is a dream of course.
HRH: Has piracy hurt Primal Fear?
Ralf Scheepers: Yes this is one thing that really made me a little bit mad. There is so much work with this stuff you know.. Of course I always understand both sides. The end result is very good media to have good advertising and stuff. It can also have a bad side where people download this stuff, even if we have this water sign in the audio files that is really dangerous. A guy can really get caught if he puts into torrent or wherever. You really get him it. It is a really expensive thing that the record companies do to prevent piracy. In the end, it hit us again.
There are always black sheep out there. We could give out any samples to whoever for magazines or whatever. I don’t want to blame anybody. Sometimes if the music goes to a friend, and he does it in the end. It is always a bnd thing when you see your album out there one week, or even one month before it is released. It brings you down a little bit.
HRH: It takes money right out of your pocket. That really has to hurt.
Ralf Scheepers: I want to explain that. The money thing is a hard factor to talke about. We aren’t doing this to be millionaires anymore. The eighties are over where musicians and rock stars were wealthy. Nowadays, rock stars are still having a day time job to keep their life going, and this is also coming from this piracy in the end.
HRH: Primal Fear and Sinner have new albums out now. Will you play all Primal Fear songs in your live set, or will you throw some Sinner songs in there now?
Ralf Scheepers: We will only do Primal Fear songs. We set the songs together. We rehearsed the stuff because Saturday we had the first show with four new songs in the set list. The festival set list was 60 minutes. But if we go on a big tour, we will have a 90 minute set list with six songs off of the new album. We are really looking forward to that. We have a good vibe, and I think we can really deliver the goods.
HRH: On several of your album covers you have had a metal eagle, and on 16.6, you have a dark raven like figure. What does the new figure represent?
Ralf Scheepers: We wanted to have a new shape again. We wanted to get away from the Seven Seals and New Religion shape. We wanted to keep the eagle at a Primal Fear mascot somehow. This time we chose this dark shape more because it really fits with the title. Of course, the word devil is not new to heavy metal. The sentence before the devil knows your dead is pretty strong as an album title. This is a good expression for a heavy metal album. We sent the idea off to our artist, and she sent this cover back and everyone was amazed. We thought it was great.
HRH: You just released a video Six Times Dead (16.6). Do you have any more videos planned for 16.6?
Ralf Scheepers: No, this is it. The videos are not played on MTV anymore or on Vivo here in Germany. I don’t know how it is in the States with all of the channels that you have, but here in Europe it is not played so much. We did this video so it could be played on Youtube and the homepage, and myspace or wherever. The fans are watching it online more than on television.
HRH: Where is the best place for fans to find out more information about Primal Fear?
Ralf Scheepers: www.primalfear.de and our myspace page www.myspace.com/primalfearofficial You can check our tour dates, videos become a friend and everything. (laughs)
HRH: Thanks a lot for your time today Ralf. I will see you at Rock Gone Wild in August.
Ralf Scheepers: Thank You! I am looking forward too it.
0 New Video – Primal Fear – Six Times Dead
Check out Primal Fear’s hot new video, “Six Times Dead”! Primal Fear’s new CD, “16.6 (Before the Devil Knows Your Dead)” Will be available in the U.S. on June 9th, 2009.
[youtubehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OfKi-6mySyQ]
0 Primal Fear & Powerman 5000 Confirmed for Rock Gone Wild!
Rock Gone Wild, America’s newest and most diverse rock festival, has added two metal bands to its lineup. German power metal specialists Primal Fear and Powerman 5000, a group which features Rob Zombie’s brother Spider One in its lineup, will make neck braces and earplugs mandatory during Saturday’s show. Primal Fear will be playing one of the biggest gigs of its career in America at this year’s Rock Gone Wild. A festival mainstay in Europe, the band has only played a handful of gigs in the states. That will change this summer, as the band tours here to support its eighth full-length recording, “16.6: Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead”, due out in America on June 7.
Powerman 5000 is working on a new record as well, and it might be out by the time the group hits Algona. If not, the group can rely on such hits as “Free”, “When Worlds Collide” and “Nobody’s Real” to keep the head bangers busy during its performance.
With these announcements, the bill for the inaugural Rock Gone Wild is shaping up as one of the most interesting ever presented in the States. American fans have long clamored for a European-style rock festival that features bands from today’s scene as well as the ’70s. Those same fans have asked to see melodic rockers, hair bands and power metal groups on the same bill, and as you can see by checking out the festival line-up at http://www.rockgonewild.com, this dream is closer to reality with every band announcement that is made.
Rock Gone Wild is scheduled to take place August 20-23 at the Freedom Park Festival Grounds in Algona, Iowa. The festival billing is now shaping up as follows: APRIL WINE ARMORED SAINT BLACK ‘N BLUE CANDLEBOX CHERIE CURRIE CRAZY LIXX DANGEROUS TOYS DOKKEN EVE 6 GREAT WHITE GYPSY PISTOLEROS HARDCORE SUPERSTAR HELIX HONEYMOON SUITE JACKYL JUNKYARD KIX L.A. GUNS (featuring Phil Lewis) LITA FORD LIZZY BORDEN POWERMAN 5000 PRIMAL FEAR PUDDLE OF MUDD RHINO BUCKET SAIGON KICK SALIVA SAVING ABEL SAXON SKID ROW TANTRIC THE TEXAS HIPPIE COALITION TIGERTAILZ TYKETTO WARRANT
Visit http://www.rockgonewild.com for updated festival information.
3 Primal Fear – 16.6 (Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead) – Release Year (2009)
When given the opportunity to do some music reviews for Hard Rock Hideout, I jumped at the chance. This was my chance to expand my horizons and discover some new kick ass music. I’ve been really bad about listening to new stuff lately. I either listen to the same old stuff or go straight for the classic rock. I’ve been really out of the loop on new metal, and I’m a bit ashamed of myself for it. So I’m jumping in head first with Primal Fear’s 16.6 (Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead).
I’ll let you all know up front that I’d never heard of this band and didn’t know one freaking thing about them, so I listened to the album with a completely open mind, no preconceived notions, ideas or thoughts. I did do a little research on the band (after listening to the album first) just to familiarize myself with them. The German metal band formed in 1997, has many albums and has had many line up changes over the years. Lead singer, Ralf Scheepers, was even considered for Rob Halford’s replacement in Judas Priest, which comes as no surprise.
The first thing to punch me in the face was Sheepers’ voice. It’s SO reminicsent of Bruce Dickinson and Rob Halford. I didn’t realize how much I missed that kind of singing until I listened to this album. It may be the most poignant part of the music for me. His voice is so strong and so solid. Not many people can sing this well, and although many try…most fall short. Sheepers’ is definitely powerful and a force to be reckoned with.
The other stand out point about this band is that it’s so guitar driven. There are furious, noodley guitar solos that grab you. That is definitely something that is missing from today’s rock that drives me insane. Very few people appreciate a good guitar solo and have almost let the art die off. Thank god metal keeps it alive!
High points for me include “Six Times Dead (16.6)” and “Killbound”. They’re both heavy and brutal.
There were only two negatives on this album. The first is “Soar”. The weird electronic intro and Marilyn Manson like sounds were odd and misplaced. And then there’s “Hands of Time”, which is a ballad. A ballad? I don’t get that at all. I suppose “every bad boy still has his soft side,” but this song totally threw me off and confused me. It just doesn’t fit at all.
If you like classic, straight forward metal, then you’re going to like this album. I have no idea if this is what’s normally expected of this band, but I kind of have a feeling that it is. There’s no denying the Iron Maiden and Judas Priest influence throughout with a little Pantera thrown in for good measure. I’m not saying that in a bad way but in an appreciative way because it’s really been so long since I’ve heard anything like this. It was really refreshing.
You can buy 16.6 (Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead) on June 9th on Amazon and be sure to check out their website for tour info and updates.
Rating: 
Out of 10
Track Listing:
01. Before The Devil Knows You’re Dead
02. Riding The Eagle
03. Six Times Dead (16.6)
04. Black Rain
05. Under The Radar
06. 5.0 / Torn
07. Soar
08. Killbound
09. No Smoke Without Fire
10. Night After Night
11. Smith & Wesson
12. The Exorcist
13. Hands Of Time
Primal Fear is:
Ralf Scheepers – Vocals
Mat Sinner – Bass & Vocals
Henny Wolter – Guitars & Vocals
Magnus Karlson – Guitars
Randy Black – Drums
Reviewed by Christine Sixx
0 New Primal Fear CD “16.6” in June! Audio Samples Available
Frontiers Records proudly announces the release of PRIMAL FEAR new studio album 16.6 (Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead) on May 22nd in Europe and June 9th in the USA.
Anticipated by a successful listening session held in Cologne, Germany, attended by the cream of the European Metal press, the new album is about to bring back Primal Fear to the throne of Heavy Metal. 16.6 is easily the most powerful, ambitious and interesting album in the band’s history. The vibe of songs like the opening track “Riding The Eagle”, “Killbound” or “Under The Radar” are reminiscent of the “Nuclear Fire” album but eh whole album features all the trademarks of the Primal Fear sound a the total dedication to pure Metal. There is also a new approach mixed with the trademark PF riffs in tracks like “Six Times Dead (16.6)”, “Soar”, “Smith & Wesson” as well as the epic stories, consummate musicianship, courage and fantastic melodies in songs like “Black Rain”, “No Smoke Without Fire”, “Torn” and the stylistically new ballad “Hands Of Time” with 4 band members all sharing the lead-vocals.
“Our target was to write and produce the most diverse and interesting album in the history of Primal Fear and combine our past with the future” says Mat Sinner. ”The result went truly beyond our expectations and it will be a huge challenge to play these new songs on stage! The entire band is very proud of 16.6 and we hope all our old and even new fans will be totally satisfied!”
The album was recorded the House Of Music studios with engineer Dennis Ward, mixing engineer Achim Koehler and producer Mat Sinner. Once again Primal Fear display a very high standard of song writing, sound and production. New guitarist Magnus Karlsson and Henny Wolter shine with a new dimension to the guitar work, and lead vocalist Ralf Scheepers reaches a new level to his vocal performances. Nothing can go wrong if you’re backed by one of the best rhythm sections in metal with Randy Black and Mat Sinner and you can hear the result on Primal Fear’s outstanding new message called 16.6!
Some of the feedback gathered from the press after the listening session include:
“Primal Fear top themselves one more time again with their unique mix out of traditional Metal sounds and modern melodic power metal. How can do they that again and again?” – Andreas Schöwe (HAMMER magazine, Germany)
“First impressions: more variety without losing the Metal balls! Fresh blood and ideas combined with the Primal Fear trademarks, outstanding vocal performance by Ralf again and great guitar work by both Magnus and Henny. Some immediate live favourites, other tracks definitely need time to grow, but sound more than promising and won’t disappoint any metal fan that wants more than easy listening stuff” – Martin RömppHEAVY magazine, Germany) (
“To date “16.6.“ is Primal Fear ‘s most diversified record; containing a spectrum from Hard Rock up to double-bass driven Power Metal Songs. But one thing is always consistent – the quality!!! – Gerald Siebenmorgen (ROCK IT magazine, Germany)
“Primal Fear manages to take at least one step forward, one backward and still stand for what Primal Fear always has been standing for – pure metal.” – David Bergström (SWEDEN ROCK MAGAZINE, Sweden)
“As the cover artwork shows, Primal Fear ride fiery bullets, play with demons…and fly on butterfly leaded wings. ‘16.6’ marks the evolution of groundbreaking hard rock and power metal, filled with open-minded styles. The Devil knows they’re alive!” – Filippo Pagani (METAL HAMMER magazine, Italy)
16.6 tracklisting :
01. Before the Devil Knows You`re Dead
02. Riding the Eagle
03. Six Times Dead (16.6)
04. Black Rain
05. Under the Radar
06. 5.0 /Torn
07. Soar
08. Killbound
09. No Smoke Without Fire
10. Night after Night
11. Smith & Wesson
12. The Exorcist
13. Hands of Time
The first pressing limited edition in digipak will include two exclusive bonus-tracks:
14. Cry Havoc
15. Scream
Plus a multimedia videoclip of Six Times Dead (16.6)
After the Primal Fear / Sinner show in Moscow on April 4th, the band will appear in Norway on April 25th at the Haugesund Festival and in some summer Festivals. More shows are being booked in South America (with Sinner), USA incl. PPX and more dates early next year, with Europe kicking off at the end of September (with Brainstorm). More news soon !
0 PRIMAL FEAR – The new album is recorded and mixed!
Produced again by PFs own Mat Sinner and engineered & co-produced by none other than Dennis Ward (PINK CREAM 69), the new Primal Fear album marks the first full comeback by guitarist Henny Wolter and the debut by one of the worldwide most respected guitarists Magnus Karlsson, since he joined the band one year ago! Wolter & Karlsson both participated in the songwriting and pre-production, which took place at Karlsson’s Stuntguitar Studio in Sweden. The band recorded 4 weeks at the famous House Of Music studio incl. Randy Black (drums) and vocalist extraordinaire Ralf Scheepers. After the Xmas break the band recorded some small overdubs and started the mix with long time collaborator Achim Koehler. Finally Ted Jensen mastered the album at the Sterling Sound in New York.
The new Primal Fear album titled with the codename of “16.6” (Before The Devil Knows You’re Dead) will be released in May 2009 by Frontiers Records. The new songs will include a lot of the Wolter/Sinner/Scheepers vibe from the “Nuclear Fire” album, then follow the path of “New Religion” and some real surprises!
Mat Sinner comments: “I’m really proud of our work. The guys of the band and the entire team did a killer job! I love the crystal clear sound of the album and total dedication of the players. The fans of our first albums will really love the new tracks, plus there are a lot of sophisticated more stuff on 16.6 following the path of Seven Seals or New Religion“
Guitarist Henny Wolter added some notes to some song titles:
*Riding The Eagle* – is bringing back that Nuclear Fire vibe with a full speed double bass groove and those typical heavy guitar-Riffs and high speed twin leads that Primal Fear stands for. Above all it´s that mix between full throttle metal and melody with Ralf Scheepers powerful vocals on which Primal Fear built their reputation.
*Six Times Dead (16.6)* – the title track and a super heavy guitar riff, stomping groove with a new approach and a message to the fans; 100% Primal Fear!
*Black Rain* – a nearly 7min. epic with big instrumentation, and a heavy arabian atmosphere. Lots of variations and sophisticated playing & singing. This song strongly carries the handwriting of the new bandmember Magnus Karlsson, who is known for these skilful and tasty arrangements.
*Under The Radar* – another traditional Primal Fear speed rocker, a hymn with the classic Scheepers vibe.
*Torn* – seven minutes of pure music and the most ambitioned song & riff we’ve ever recorded, killer stuff, very groovy and a great melodic vocal line.
*Soar* – pure energy combined with a driving groove, a majestic halftime chorus and a great experimental breakdown part – one of my favourite tracks on the new album
*Hands Of Time* – this will be a real surprise for everybody. There is always at least one track on a new PF album, that is different – this time it’s Hands Of Time with four guys sharing the lead vocals – a very cool song!
6 Video Showdown # 8 Primal Fear vs. Judas Priest
This week its Primal Fear vs. Judas Priest in the battle of video supremacy. You decide who wins!
In 2007, Primal Fear released a pretty good metal CD called New Religion. Primal Fear singer Ralf Scheepers could easily be a stand in for Rob Halford from Judas Priest. In fact Scheepers tried out for the lead role in Judas Priest, that eventually went to Tim “Ripper” Owens back in 1996.
Here is Primal Fear’s Video “Sign of Fear”.
Judas Priest released their new CD, Nostradamus in 2008. The new disc has had a lot of mixed reviews this year. Judas Priest has released a video called “War” in support of the album.
Here is Judas Priest’s Video “War”.
Who should win Video Showdown # 8? You decide!
