All kidding aside,
Primal Fear is one of those bands that critical metalheads either love or, well, dislike.. Coming off the heals of their last album
Black Sun, which was received with all types of mixed reviews from critics, tended to be welcomed easily by fans alike, whether or not they can put the
Judas Priest carbon-copy connotations aside. Well enough of the comparisons, most know that these guys have the songs and the chops to stand up along with many of the power metal namesakes.
With
Devils Ground being a driving power metal record in the vein of
Judas Priest's
Painkiller meets Helloween's
Walls of Jericho, its extremely strong backbone of songs filled with memorable riffs, hooks, and anthem choruses to make this record one hell of a ride.
You couldn't open a record with a more concrete statement such as
"Metal is Forever," and the song has the stamina to match, with Ralf Scheper's falsetto in perfect pitch. Following up this driving powerful stance are cuts such as
"Suicide and Mania" the metal march of
"Visions of Fate," the blistering riff ridded
"Sacred Illusion," the demonic soundscape thrash versus the glistening guitars found in
"Soulchaser," and the balls to the wall
"Colony 13," making for one extremely heavy record, with most of the cuts following the same structure, impending on their own melodies and hooks to impede their own identity. There are the detours; the ballad
"The Healer," complete with the chorus-laden guitar shimmering over the thick moody atmosphere and the dark gloom drenched
"Wings of Desire" making for yet more mayhem to be reckoned with. Lyrically the music either speaks of hope or puts the fear of evil in you, speaking of mostly a destiny driven concept. The music itself is filled with the thick guitars, technical solos, a more diversified drumming style, and the keyboards being brought back in the mix to make the guitars stay in front.
All in All,
Devils Ground makes for one great record, going beyond your run of the mill power metal bands that do the normal consistent double bass shtick, over-zealous keyboards, and so forth, they are one strong and tight band, hands down. The production and engineering enhanced the overall sound, making for more sparse separation, rather than a dense mix, speaking of which the bonus version includes two 5.1 surround mixes for both
"Metal is Forever" and
"The Healer," playable in all DVD players via digital output, meaning that this is a good sign for metal becoming more audiophile oriented, for which this recording itself it up to par with high end audio (although not released in DVD-Audio or SACD) thanks to the production skills of Mat
Sinner and engineer Achim Kohler, and who better to be behind the board for such a brilliant record.
Written by
Hashman Sunday, May 9, 2004
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