(by Velina of “My Rock Mixtapes”)
Before I get down to business, I think you should play this song so that you fully understand why I am about to unleash all the praises and admiration on this album! I knew the moment I heard the first single that “Apocalypse” will be a mighty bomb that will blow up the entire industry and will quickly establish a solid presence on each fan’s personal top 2018 releases.
Primal Fear has been one of the most respected German bands for a long time and they have 11 brilliant albums behind their back to justify their status as metal icons. The 12th release, titled “Apocalypse” is now finally a fact and with it the band only further convinced every fan and critic out there of their unquestionable influence on the worldwide heavy metal scene. To me, “Apocalypse” defined the summer of 2018 like no other album and raised all kinds of bars in my book of metal. Not to mention that thanks to band like Primal Fear the future of the genre is more than secured and taken good care of. There’s plenty to look forward to, guys so let’s just not give up yet and leave ourselves to the hands of the glorious past only.
Let’s talk a little bit more about the songs and share all about my listening experience.
Firs of all, I want to say that the concept of the album, what to expect from it and the attitude we should adopt before we hit that “play” button are given to you through the titles of the songs, all portraying a beautiful, yet quite fearful and agitated image. It all makes perfect sense once you listen from start to finish – the entire album feels like a scary, yet alluring and very arousing midnight walk through an abandoned forest. I love how it all starts – the opening title track, “Apocalypse” lets you make your first steps into the heavy metal dungeon with the spooky breathing, church bells and haunting choir. The second track, “New Rise” is stabbing you instantly through the heart, without even giving you a chance of fighting back. It’s the moment where you say “yes, I knew it…I knew this album was gonna be astonishing!”; I love the Judas Priest vibe and the remarkable speed metal drumming on this one is certainly something to watch out for (courtesy of Francesco Jovino). My personal favorite is “Hounds of Justice” – the song just hits all the right buttons, at least for me. The track has that modern-day vibe, impresses with profound lyrics and instantly provokes a never-ending headbang! I love the oriental motives and Ralf Scheepers is killing it with those out-of-this-world vocals! “The Ritual” – the song we started our conversation about Primal Fear and “Apocalypse” with, is another extraordinary gem with riff, capable of easily extracting your soul from your body and sending it to another realm. What a stunning example of how musically and lyrically to influence every little heavy metal heart out there. Right after it, we move on to the mighty “King of Madness” – a thematic heavy-metal thunder, which mark my words, will be heard often on the radio in the weeks/months to come! “King of Madness” does the trick for me because it has what I look most in a song – beautiful, memorable melody! “Blood Sweat & Fear” can easily compete and most probably win against any power metal track released this year so far. “Supernova” might as well be one of the most interesting and unique tracks on the album; I’m a sucker for mysterious song intros and dramatic piano add-ons. The lengthy monumental 8-minute track “Eye of the Storm” is the last one I want to focus on because it does truly deserve every second you will spare for it! The well-balanced but quite intense feel of the song, charged with mighty string sections and smooth guitar riffs is what makes it the perfect soundtrack to your epic nightmare.
“Apocalypse” is basically what happens as a result of putting together a group of talented musicians, all looking at the same horizon, following the same path and synchronizing every bits of their skillful minds to reach that perfect end goal.
The release is thrilling, powerful, exciting and your number one go-to source for the much-needed summer boost. “Apocalypse” is heavy on energy, rhythm, melody, lyrics and most importantly – intriguing themes. All you gotta do is (just like the title suggest), crank it up like it’s the last album you’ll ever play before the apocalypse hits us!
Check out some of the released songs and MVs and let me know what you thought about it!
“King of Madness”
“Hounds of Justice”
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)
BAND MEMBERS:
Ralf Scheepers – Lead Vocals
Tom Naumann – Guitars
Alex Beyrodt – Guitars
Magnus Karlsson – Guitars & Keyboards
Francesco Jovino – Drums
Mat Sinner – Bass & Vocals
Official Links:
• Official Website: www.primalfear.de
• Facebook:www.facebook.com/PrimalFearOfficial
MY ROCK MIXTAPES 