Label:Frontiers Music
Genre:Heavy Metal
Release Date EU:August 10th, 2018
Line Up:
Ralf Scheepers – Lead Vocals
Tom Naumann – Guitars
Alex Beyrodt – Guitars
Magnus Karlsson – Guitars & Keyboards
Francesco Jovino – Drums
Mat Sinner – Bass & Vocals
Tracklist:
Apocalypse
New Rise
The Ritual
King of Madness
Blood, Sweat, & Fear
Supernova
Hail to the Fear
Hounds of Justice
The Beast
Eye of the Storm
Cannonball
Fight against Evil (Bonus Track – Deluxe Version)
Into The Fire (Bonus Track – Deluxe Version)
My War Is Over (Bonus Track – Deluxe Version)
Mat Sinner is a restless mind. Things started many years ago in Stuttgart, Germany and it was Sinner, one of his main bands that kicked off a tremendous amount of releases, tours and projects. It’s almost impossible to count all the activities Mat Sinner was and is involved in. However, next to Sinner it is a second band that gets the most attention by the bassist. Primal Fear, the metallic powerhouse he build with former Gamma Ray frontman Ralf Scheepers, is more than 20 years in business. The discography counts eleven studio releases, which lifted the band to one of the most respected metal outfits in Germany and Europe.
After having finished a successful ‘Rock Meets Classic’ tour earlier this year, Sinner and bandmates put all his energy into Primal Fear again and it’s a new album that unfolds its power mid-August. Simply entitled ‘Apocalypse’ the album features 11 new songs with three extra tracks in the deluxe edition.
As not expected any different the new record is a metal blast that starts with ‘Apocalypse’, an intro accompanying the listener to the first song. ‘New Rise’ is this first tune and it is a sonic wrecking ball. It’s a typical Primal Fear song, living by Scheepers excellent vocals, racing guitars and an uptempo beat.
The greatness with Primal Fear is the fact that they do an excellent job in combining forceful metal riff, high pitch screams and melodic vocal parts to an attractive mix. Songs like ‘King of Madness’, which got a video too, show this very well, making the tune to a highlight on the disc.
And there is more to discover. The raging ‘Blood, Sweat and Feat’ is a real metal hymn, followed by ‘Supernova’ and its piano begins. The song is another anthem on the album and presents a fusion of calmer sections with a strong and melodic chorus. These tunes give a rather good overview of what to expect from ‘Apocalypse’.
Primal Fear didn’t change a lot when it comes to their sound and it works to their advantage. ‘Apocalypse’ fully meets expectation and there is no reason to change the success formula. The album fits seamlessly into Primal Fear’s musical success story and will help the band the manifest themselves even more in the Champions League of European heavy metal.
Written by: Markus Wiedenmann
Ratings: 8/10
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