Power Metal
Reigning Phoenix Music
Release Date – September 5th 2025
Line Up:
Ralf Scheepers – Vocals
Magnus Karlsson – Guitar
Thalia Bellazecca – Guitar
Mat Sinner – Bass
Andre Hilgers – Drums
Guest –
Melissa Bonny – Vocals on ‘Eden’
Tracklist:
The Hunter
Destroyer
Far Away
I Am The Primal Fear
Tears Of Fire
Heroes And Gods
Hallucinations
Eden
Scream
The Dead Don’t Die
Crossfire
March Boy March
A Tune I Won’t Forget
German Power Metal legends Primal Fear return after some wholesale changes last year. Out went guitarists Tom Naumann and Alex Beyrodt, touring bassist Alex Janssen and drummer Michael Ehre, which basically left singer Ralf Scheepers. Guitarist Magnus Karlsson, who was mainly a studio member, returned as did bassist/composer Mat Sinner after some serious illness. They recruited ex Silent Force/Bonfire/Rage drummer Andre Hilgers and axe-woman extraordinaire Thalia Bellazecca from Angus McSix/Frozen Crown.
Kicking off with ‘The Hunter’, the intro sounds epic, and they soon dive into a rollicking banger where Scheepers shows he has lost none of his power or range. There’s some sweet dual guitar work halfway through before both Karlsson and Bellazecca show what they can do with some fluid solos.
‘Destroyer’ brings a massive load of chug and some harmonics for good measure; you won’t be able to stop your head banging to this homage to Judas Priest. Then we get another epic intro on ‘Far Away’ before it settles into another chug fest driven along by Hilgers’ double kick rhythm, and how Scheepers gets those notes that high is beyond me.
Here we go with the monster track ‘I Am The Primal Fear’. It’s a mid-paced bruiser with a classy melody and groove. It’s dead simple and you will be singing the chorus until you annoy everybody around you. Scheepers’ performance on this is nothing short of stunning.
‘Tears Of Fire’ grooves along on a dark melody which could be a power metal ballad before we get the true epic on ‘Heroes And Gods’ – this rips and will get the horns and fists raised, and Hilgers gives his kit a serious battering. There’s some twin guitar lunacy too.
After all that maniacal metal we need to take a breather, so thank heavens for the stunning instrumental ‘Hallucinations’ where Karlsson and Bellazecca show their chops. They stay in the melodic lane with the mighty ‘Eden’ which features the sublime vocals of Melissa Bonny from Ad Infinitum. Talk about power ballad – the hairs stand up on your neck and arms.
Prepare yourself because ‘Scream’ comes back to the chug, another catchy chorus and world class performance from Scheepers. Stand by because we get another banger on ‘The Dead Don’t Die’ where Scheepers uses all of his range, then ‘Crossfire’ is another ripper with a fine vocal melody before the battering ram of ‘March Boy March’.
Final track ‘A Tune I Won’t Forget’ is a real departure – a soft violin and piano leads a deep spoken word lyric before it builds and Scheepers delivers powerfully over some power chords and strings.
Proper power metal played by experts who are not afraid to give us something different. There’s plenty of light and shade along with some solid pounding metal to please everyone. The guitarists do not overplay; the rhythm section just locks into simple grooves and Scheepers proves he can sing anything. This is absolutely stunning, and I cannot wait to catch them at Stonedead in August.
Written by: Smudge
Ratings: 10/10
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