Primal Fear

Kalata

Out of the Silent Planet
Great band with a fantastic vocalist and classic heavy metal songs (power metal and speed metal too). There are 3 guitarists in the band now.

What you think of them? Do you like them? Favorite album?
 
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I was into them some 20 years ago in my "buy everything that smells like metal"-phase. I remember they had a strong debutalbum. Accept meets Priest. Scheepers has a powerful voice that fits the music perfectly.
 
I've noticed them recently getting played on Planet Rock, so think their profile in the UK must be increasing.

I have their Best of double CD from a few years ago. To be honest I preferred the CD which was covers to their original stuff, so haven't delved any further into their back catalogue.
 
Primal Fear is easily in my top 15 bands. The latest album is good. The problem is, I've heard superior versions of it several albums over. :p

I really dig how they have managed to get away from the Priest "Painkiller" worshippers they came across as their first few albums. They've cemented their own sound and deliver kickass music. My only gripe is, again, that they've gone the AC/DC route where the last few sound very same-ish.
 
Ralf Scheepers embodies pretty much everything I hate about power metal singers, and I could never get past his voice to appreciate whatever musical quality this band may have. Although I heard one of the recent songs a few months ago and found it surprisingly tolerable so maybe one day I'll give them another shot. Don't hold your breath, though.
 
...and I could never get past his voice...

That's strange.. - his voice is very similar to the voice of Rob Halford (and Ripper Owens too), so if you like Priest (no matter which era, because Rob's voice is different in the 70's, 80's and 2000's) you should also like Ralf's voice.
 
What for. I just have an opinion, I don't have the desire to go through a theoretical analysis of it just because it appears inconsistent to somebody else.
 
Although their voices do share some resemblances, I prefer Rob by far. I mean: Dreamer Deceiver, Beyond The Realms of Death... I can´t imagine Ralf would sing them like that.
 
Primal Fear will re-record the ballad ''I Will Be Gone'' (from their latest album) with Tarja Turunen.

This five-track single will also include a brand new song.

 
Primal Fear has some really great stuff. The problem though, they can't seem to manage to cut the filler material. Two or so songs per album (ok, there are a few exceptions) are just dead weight, and there are enough songs to go around without them, so they just drag the album down instead.
 
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Must confess I haven't played them for a long time but I really like old Primal Fear. In fact: only old Primal Fear.

When Seven Sinners came out I lost some interest. Keyboards, some "sweet" arrangements.

These are my fav albums. The debut, the third, fourth and fifth.


Yes there are some weaker songs on all of these but not that terrible.

@MindRuler I think I discovered this band when listening to Metalopolis (the track "Silver & Gold").
 
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I've been getting into Primal Fear lately. Their music is somewhat generic, but having a vocalist as great as Scheepers makes it all work. The dude is in his mid 50s and it sounds like he hasn't lost a step, in studio at least.
 
If interested, in 2005 I had the pleasure of interviewing Ralf Scheepers (via telephone).
My wife and I had a website (with concert and album reviews and interviews) on which it was featured:

= = = = = = =

- How would you describe or define the band's development, looking at the past albums till now?

Ralf: I would say that from the beginning on we have grown together, not only in composing, but also in playing live. This is the result of getting together more and more. Our friendship and also musicianship is growing together. Everything is just an evolvement from the first tone we have ever played, also meeting personally and going on tour and so on. And I would say, that musically we have tried out with "Seven Seals" a little bit more epic and bombastic stuff this time. It's not brand-new to the scene, but new for Primal Fear. Still we have kept our style; the agression we had on the previous albums. So that's a great development.

- On the new album some songs might be a bit more mellow, but I also think there is a lot of heavy stuff going on. At this point I play Ralf the heavy mid-part from the song "All For One" to show what I mean. I tell him that It's a very heavy part and one of the highlights for me on the new album, and that it also sounds pretty new.

Ralf reacts: Exactly, I also think it's very tight, how the bass (drums) and the guitars sound together. This is especially what happened on this album: Charlie Bauerfeind, our co-producer, really a is very clear person who is working in a perfectionistic way. This helped us very much. In the beginning with recording the drums and everything. So I think this is the outcome of Charlie's and Mat's work together.

- If you would work with someone else in the future, can we still expect such rhythmic parts?

Ralf: I think so, yes. We always learn more and more. Each song is different, of course, so I can't guarantee there will be parts like this. But we'll continue with kind of style. So I think it's possible that we will have such parts again.

- Most of the band members are credited for the song writing. How do you prepare before you go into the studio? Do you have seperate ideas or are you already working together before you enter the studio?

Ralf: Everybody is collecting ideas on his own systems. Cubase, Pro-Tools and so on. So everybody is working at home a little a bit. Me myself, I just collect my ideas and I can finish it up with another guitarist. I can play rhythm guitar on my songs, but when it comes to making solo parts I invite the band members. And sometimes we work together in a rehearsal room. So it's different somehow. You just deliver the whole songs, finished songs, and sometimes you just put bits of pieces together.

- Randy, your drummer, is from Canada. Does he live in Germany now?

Ralf: Yes, he's living in Berlin now, with his girlfriend. Flying down to Stutgart where we rehearse and prepare for the tour at the moment.

- Tom Naumann played on the first two albums and on the last two ones. But not on the albums in between. I wonder why he left and how is it to have him back?

Ralf: It's great to have hime back. The thing is he had some personal and health problems, so he just wanted to take a break. At that time he had some hard times going on, with his private life, and also with his health. He just wanted to take a break from making music. A very good thing that happened is that we met Henry, who is a very nice guy, a very good rock'n'roller. He really filled the spot pretty well. And when he announced that he would like leave because he was living in Hanover, which in the north of Germany, and we are coming from the south part, we spoke again to Tom. He was really relieved from his problems that he had had. So we asked 'why don't you come back?'

- A question about the lyrics from the "Seven Seals" album. I was wondering if the lyrics are related to one another. Is it a bit of a concept album?

Ralf: No. We had just finished the stories for this cd, but as we were writing we had somehow many scenes out of the Bible. For example the title track, "Seven Seals," is based on the Revelation part. And also other parts of the album are related to the Bible. I think we have this dark feeling on the album, but there's no real concept at all.

- Do you mind if I ask some questions about your past?

Ralf: No problem. Go ahead.

- You collaborated with other artists / projects. I would like to mention three of them: Aryeon, Therion and Tribuzy. How did you get in touch with them and how was it to work with those other artists?

Ralf: The thing is that they got in touch with me, as I'm a nice guy hehe. They were somehow business friends. You cannot say we were personal friends, but business friends. I met Arjen e.g. at a festival in Holland. I remember him from playing together with Vengance, when they had successful times. He's a very good guitarist and a very talented musician. That's why I took part in his cd, and I still like it very much what I did with him. The thing with Therion just came up as their management called me up and asked if I could do some lead vocals. It was a one-day meeting and we did everything. Nice people. And the Tribuzy is kind of the same thing. This guy made his dream come true and invited a lot of musicians, like Bruce Dickinson, and many many solo guitarists, keyboard players and so on. And I didn't even sing so much on the album, just did the backing vocals on the "Nature of Evil," the song we recorded. And we're flying actually next Thursday to Brazil to do three shows together with Bruce Dickinson, and all the other members on stage.

- Some other stuff about the past. When you look at the music that Judas Priest made with Tim "Ripper" Owens, what kind of feeling does it give to you? Do you still regret that you were not given a chance to be part of this, even if this music was not totally your style?

Ralf: Yeah, to be honest, I was a little bit disappointed when I heard the stuff which came out with Ripper. But I think it's not Ripper who's to blame. He had to do the job, you know. He's a very good vocalist. He did a great job with Judas Priest. He was just a great replacement for Rob. And in the end I'm really happy that Rob is back with Judas Priest now. And also that Tim does his own projects, and also the thing with Iced Earth and so on. It's really good. I met him actually two months ago. We spoke to each other. He's a nice person. There's a lot of respect going on. Also with Rob from Judas Priest. He's also a person who did many many things for the music scene. So I pay a lot of respect to him, and I think he also pays respect to good musicians. I think that respect is the basic thing about what's going on in music relationships.

- Alright. But what I meant was when you listen now to this music from Judas Priest with Ripper, would you still have wanted to sing in such Judas Priest, if you would know about this direction they have taken?

Ralf: Some songs yes, some songs no.

- Another thing: Five years ago Gamma Ray released a best-of album and they re-recorded their old songs from the first three albums. And they did not keep your voice.

Ralf: I was a little bit surprised in the beginning. But in the end I spoke to Kai, and he told me why they did it. Just to get a brand-new vibe to it all. Well, in the end, I have no problems with it at all. But many fans prefer the stuff from the originals. Which is always a matter of taste, of course. So I don't want to get into trouble by saying that I also love the originals hehe.

- I especially like the second Gamma Ray album, "Sigh No More."

Ralf: I think my favourite album from Gamma Ray is still "Insanity and Genius."

- After you left Gamma Ray you were playing with Just Priest, a Judas Priest cover band to prepare...

Ralf: Yes, exaclty. I gathered some friends here in my hometown just to rehearse the Priest songs, which I would maybe sing during the audtion in England for them. But it never happened in the end.

- After you left Gamma Ray: Judas Priest made only three albums, Gamma Ray five albums, and Primal Fear made six albums - most from all three bands. How does it feel that you have ended up in one of the most productive metal bands from Germany?

Ralf: Really good. We are very productive. As mentioned before, we have four songwriters and everybody is bringing many ideas. So that's the good thing about it.

- You don't take a break like Iron Maiden, releasing every three years an album.

Ralf: I mean, you know, those bands who were very successful in the 80's, can now maybe afford it. But I think we still have to fight a little bit for our level, to get there where they are, hehe.

- Do you plan to continue making albums every one or two years?

Ralf: It all depends how creative we are. At the moment we are very creative, so there's no doubt about it that we'll do it again.

- Do you have any plans for a live album?

Ralf: We released a dvd three years ago. We collected a lot of stuff. But right now there's no intention to release a live show again. But if there's any recording running, everybody will soon know about it.

- Soon you will go on tour with Helloween. What do you expect from this tour?

Ralf: I have very positive feelings about it, because we've known the Helloween guys for many years. They're from same scene. I was in Hamburg a lot of times. I know everybody of Helloween. Apart from the new members, and they are actually coming from my area. But I don't know them (laughs). I think we're gonna have a good time. And it's also a very good package. It's worth the money. If I were a fan I would be totally happy about it.

- Would you prefer to do: a big headline tour with a smaller band or supporting a bigger band?

Ralf: Both things have advantages and disadvantages. If you're supporting a band, you play only for one hour. But you can spare your energy. When you're finished you can get a drink while the other band is still playing. And the other thing is when you're headlining, you play the whole show, you get better lighting, you get better sound and everything. There are two sides of everything.

- You're a vocalist with a big vocal range. Can you tell us how you train your voice?

Ralf: Actually I just rehearse. It's really hard for a metal vocalist to tour because you use a lot of power every night. The high notes and the belting really strain the vocal chords. So you have to really keep it cool and try to find as much rest as you can. At the moment you can hear I have a sore voice from speaking so much. And I also have a little cold. Everybody at the moment here is a bit sick.

- Nowadays there are many metal bands with female singers. It is becoming almost a trend. What do you think about this development?

Ralf: Oh, why not? I like it. I like the vibe of Nightwish and so on. It's a big shame that they have gone separate ways now. But there are good female voices out there. So why not? If it's good.

- Also choirs play nowadays a very big role in metal. What do you think of this combination? Do you think something like this would fit Primal Fear?

Ralf: It always adds a certain atmosphere to a song, if you have a choir and also strings. So if you have the bombast and the epic parts, songs which are a bit mellow and so on, and then of course it fits the arrangements, why not doing it? It's a good thing. These things fit good together: heavy metal and choir and the classical stuff. That's somehow where it comes from a little bit: the metal scene.

- What is in your opinion the ultimate Primal Fear song and why?

Ralf: At the moment "The Seven Seals," the title track from the album. Every musician would say that the new thing, the new baby, is the best what they've done. Because it's an evolvement - that's what talked about in the first question. You're very proud of your evolvement. The ladder is always going step by step, and higher and higher.

- Is there anything in particular that you're very proud of when it comes to your musical career?

Ralf: Oh, yes there is. E.g. the Japanese tour with Gamma Ray in 1990. And of course, I'm very proud of having played at Wacken. This was a huge show at 2001. We played there for more than 30, 000 people, who were just banging their arms and heads for the entire show. I have still a picture here on the wall. It makes me very proud. Because it's the feedback we get; it's not the money-thing. This is not paying so much anymore, but the feedback we get and the reward we get for making our music - to satisfy the fans out there, to make them happy. And so they make us happy in the end when we have good feedback.

- What new bands do you like, and what do you think now about the German scene? Still good?

Ralf: Oh yes, There's a lot of good bands coming out. Edguy, e.g., is a good band. Also Vision Divine (Italy). Rammstein - they're not a heavy metal band, but I still like them very much.

- In your musical career you had to start a couple of times from the beginning. Now all seems stable. What are your dreams at the moment?

Ralf: Just stick together with Primal Fear, of course. To make as many albums as possible, just go and tour and have a good time, and please the people and please the band.
 
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