Mighty power drumming, a heavy guitar riff and a wild wailing scream sets off the new
Primal Fear album in the metal way.
Primal Fear is back with an album that doesn't quite meet my high expectations. New Religion is a good album with many interesting songs, sure to satisfy the immediate hunger of most fans, but it neither surpasses nor reaches my personal favorites like the debut, Nuclear Fire and Seven Seals.
There are no big surprises on the album, just in your face melodic Heavy Metal, fast and furious, ocassionally slowing down for a quick breather before returning to the fray. Powerful, aggressive and melodic are keywords since
Primal Fear unite these elements in their music. Yet things are nowhere near as aggressive as in the old days and the album feels polished to a high shine, which makes it loose a bit of rawness.
The song quality varies quite a lot but only a few songs fall flat.
The beginning of
Face the emptiness is like being hit in the face by a massive blast of heat. The keys give the song a distinct atmosphere but that opening is a superb highlight along with the guitar riff in the chorus. Dwelling on great song openings,
World on Fire rides high in that category as well. It opens intensely and keeps it intact in a tight and straight ahead way.
Simone Simons of
Epica delivers a good guest performance on
Everytime it rains but the song never rises above being tedious and highly polished hit material. It misses some serious bite and is among the worst songs on the album.
With a good drive and a chorus that is both powerful and melodic the title track is able to clench the needed jaw muscles and get the album back on track.
Too much time holds a special atmosphere. The sound is impenetrable as each instrument lays down a fast massive groove. Ralf's voice is layered in a way that makes it feel very commanding.
The Curse of Sharon is the melodic highlight of the album.
At almost 9 minutes
Fighting the Darkness doesn't hold enough variation to warrant the long playing time. It seriously lacks creative invention. I love the way Ralf sings the chorus but in the end the song drags along and would have benefitted from being cut short half way through. A most non-epic attempt at being epic.
Another song that doesn't work completely is
Psycho which looses a lot on its uninteresting chorus that feels flat.
The Man ends the album with a heavy, slow moving power ballad. Good song.
Looking back at their discography it seems that every second
Primal Fear album turns into a favorite, so I will be looking forward to their next album with a sense of peace because New Religion does prove that they are stil capable of delivering the goods. Next time I just hope they have found that most ultmate of cargo transports to deliver them in; the mean, lean, aggressive, powerful, unpolished and non-commercialized metal machine also known as....... Well, I guess we'll see.
Written by
Steen Friday, November 9, 2007
Show all reviews by SteenRatingsSteen: 6/10Members: No members have rated this album yet.
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