![]() ![]() ![]() Thankfully, "Cannonball" - the album's closer - is on hand to piledrive the listener into submission with some belting heaviness. Unfortunately, it lags in vibrancy and creativity, despite some cool orchestral work in the middle. I was looking forward to hearing "Eye Of The Storm", the traditional 8-minute epic, hoping it would achieve the same effect as 2016's incredible "We Walk Without Fear". This does arrive in the form of the more compound-time oriented "The Beast" (complete with excellent gang shouts) and what was clearly meant to be this album's centrepiece. Sometimes they make the mid-paced, fist-pumping anthems work in their favour but after 6 or 7 songs-worth, any listener would long for a change. Speaking of riffs, the main riff to track 8, "Hounds Of Justice", is an absolute hammer and one of my favourite riffs of 2018. The guitar tone is indeed heavy and delightfully resembles a buzzsaw in action, as displayed on the riff-centric single "The Ritual". ![]() Thankfully, the tracks which all lag in tempo at least contain memorable riffs, catchy choruses and an overall chunky heft, aided by the Sneap-esque production quality. This is exactly the problem I had with Rulebreaker. Now, whilst I am a sucker for stomping mid-paced riffage (and, trust me, this album has plenty!) - a little more variety in the tempo department wouldn't go amiss. After this.the album never reaches that level of energy again. Utterly blazing, with a stellar chorus and fiery double-kick attack, this is precisely what the Germans required to convince us they're still relevant. Primal Fear make the totally correct decision to open this LP with a grandiose introductory title-track before launching into the blazing "New Rise" - a statement of renewal if there ever was one. Don't expect it to break any more rules than the previous record though. injecting a much-needed dose of energy into their Priest-worshipping brand of speed/power metal. Generic title notwithstanding, this album sees Scheepers and co. I say 'slightly' because new effort Apocalypse is a significant step up from 2016's bland Rulebreaker. Maybe it's my naivety, but they seem to have reached a slightly stagnant era in their career. Even though I regret not having kept tabs on Primal Fear between 20, I regret returning to them during their current period even more. ![]()
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December 2022
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