Devil's Ground

Metal is Forever, Forever, Forever !!! What a start. Devil's Ground is the fifth album of the German heavy metal "stars". The voice of Ralf Schweppes pierces my ears as Metal Is Forever announces the color. The guitar riff is splendid, "square" and melodic as usual. Ralf Scheepers scores immediately and like the eagle ... he marks his territory. The sound is perfect and the production is huge, as usual with Matt Sinner. I have a feeling this track will become their ultimate "live hymn". The second track - Suicide And Mania - reminds you their best melodic track (in the vain of Silver & Gold, Final Embrace, Nuclear Fire). The chorus gets printed in no time and I find myself singing this song under the shower. Another Primal Fear classic is born. Waaoww ... two songs, two killers. I am just wondering at this stage if Primal Fear didn't released the nuclear powder too soon. Visions Of Fate - third track - sends you directly back to the Black Sun album, being pretty close to Mind Control but with less intensity and unmatched melody. The solo in the middle of the song is top-notch but for the first time since the beginning of Devil's Ground, I have a "déja-vu" feeling. Next track reinforce this feeling as Sea Of Flames sounds like another Judas Priest cliché (Painkiller) and is an archetype Primal Fear song. We have heard this song a dozen of time and the riff starts to be "indigestible". Don't misunderstand me : Primal Fear plays very well, with excellent guitar riffs, melodic solos, bombastic drumming - thanks to Randy Black - ... but Sea Of Flames is somehow the end of the road. Fans know this path by heart and I am sure they would prefer fresh ideas. Hopefully for the listener, the fifth track - The Healer - arrives right on time and is one of the best ballad I heard since a long time. Ralf is marvelous behind the microphone and transforms an "usual" ballad into a jewel. Gosh I like this track. When Primal Fear dare to play tunes like Under Your Spell (Jaws Of Death) or like The Healer, they score. Unfortunately, the next track Sacred Illusion is another Judas Priest "trap", another track you know by heart from the beginning to the end. Sacred Illusion send you back to Sea Of Flames and the overdose appears slowly but surely. Worst, just after the wonderful performance on The Healer, Ralf is getting on my nerves. Funny ... for the first time since I listen to Ralf - that was on the first Gamma Ray album - I can hardly support his screams: when Ralf sings so high, I just want to push the skip button. That's actually what I do each time Sacred Illusion arrives. Ralf my friend, we all know that Halford is your idol and that you could have joined Judas Priest with your voice ... but singing all the time like this is exhausting for the listener. Time hasn't come to follow your path Ralf ? You prove it on Suicide And Mania or on The Healer. Sacred Illusion, Colony 13 or Heart Of A Brave are the kind of "vocal trap" to avoid as far as I am concerned. In Metal arrives promptly to pursue the Devil's Ground ride : this is a mid-tempo track that balances from the usual Primal Fear songs. Once again, when Ralf sings like this - first Gamma Ray album - songs have immediately another taste. Actually In Metal reminds me Accept and is the kind of path Primal Fear should explore. Soulchaser is also another cool track : fast, melodic, sometimes bombastic and reminds me old Gamma Ray. As said above, this is the path to follow if Primal Fear doesn't want to become its own clone. Wings Of Desire, with its Scorpions riffs (Alien Nation) and the melodic voice of Ralf (far away from Rob Halford) is one of these steps toward the awaited evolution. Aaah, if only Primal Fear could dare to live much more ... outside Judas Priest's territory. Devil's Ground is a good release and will please almost all Primal Fear fans. However, the band is far away from Nuclear Fire, which stands for me as their best work so far.