Primal Fear
| Primal Fear | |
|---|---|
| General information | |
| Genre (s) | Power metal |
| founding | 1997 |
| Website | http://www.primalfear.de/ |
| Founding members | |
| Ralf Scheepers | |
Vocals, bass
|
Mat Sinner |
| Tom Naumann | |
| Current occupation | |
singing |
Ralf Scheepers |
Vocals, bass |
Mat Sinner |
| Magnus Karlsson (since 2008) | |
guitar |
Alex Beyrodt (since 2007) |
guitar |
Tom Naumann (until 1999, 2003-2006, since 2015) |
Drums |
Michael Ehré (since 2019) |
| former members | |
Drums |
Klaus Sperling (1998-2002) |
guitar |
Stefan Leibing (until 2008) |
guitar |
Henny Wolter (2000-2002, 2007-2010) |
Drums |
Randy Black (2003-2014) |
Drums |
Francesco Jovino (2015-2019) |
Primal Fear is a power metal band from Germany . Since their debut Primal Fear in 1998, they have been one of the most successful power metal bands.
history
Primal Fear and Jaws of Death (1997 to 2000)
Primal Fear was founded in October 1997 by singer Ralf Scheepers (ex- Gamma-Ray ) and singer and bassist Mat Sinner ( Sinner ). After a joint appearance with the Judas Priest association Just Priest, where Mat Sinner and Tom Naumann helped out, the idea of founding Primal Fear arose. With the first demo , the band received a record deal with JVC / Victor Japan. The self-titled debut album, released on February 2, 1998, entered the German album charts at number 48. In the same year Primal Fear went on tour with Running Wild and Hammerfall .
On June 28, 1999, the second album Jaws of Death was released , which rose to number 49 in the charts. Shortly after the release, Tom Naumann left the band for health reasons and was replaced by guitarist Alex Beyrodt on the subsequent tour through Europe, Brazil and Japan . In January 2000, Henny Wolter (Ex- Thunderhead ) took over the band's second guitar.
Nuclear Fire and Black Sun (2000 to 2002)
At the beginning of 2001 the third album Nuclear Fire was released , which sold just as well as the previous albums and was positively received in the metal press. The song Angel in Black was released as a single and provided with a video. The album entered the album charts, in Germany it reached number 38, in Italy number 71, in Switzerland number 78 and in Japan number 27. During the world tour that followed, the band toured the USA for the first time and was a guest at Metal Meltdown and at the Milwaukee Metalfest . In the fall, the band followed up with the Picture Disc Out in the Fields , a cover version of a well-known song by Phil Lynott and Gary Moore .
The album Black Sun was released in April 2002, with which the band stepped up their already very fast playing style. It was also Black Sun is a concept album , it rose in Germany at No. 55 on the album charts. In the Japanese Burrn magazine, it was ranked 12th in the annual rating. The story used the “Steel Eagle”, a steel eagle that had graced the band's cover since the first album, and sent him on a search for the “Black Sun”. As a guest musician, Halford guitarist Metal Mike Chlasciak performed a guitar solo for FEAR and a video clip for Armageddon was created that was even played on the non-metal music channels VIVA and MTV . The highlight of the Black Sun tour is an appearance at Scala in London .
Devil's Ground and Seven Seals (2002 to 2006)
The band toured Brazil again. In April / May 2003 Primal Fear was part of the Metal Gods Tour together with Rob Halford , Testament and several other bands and toured the USA and Canada . The Canadian drummer Randy Black (Ex- Annihilator ), who played as a replacement for Klaus Sperling on the tour, was there for the first time. After further appearances at the biggest festivals in Europe, including the Blind Guardian Festival in Coburg, Rock Otocec in Slovenia , Wacken Open Air 2003 and the Summer Breeze Festival, Randy Black became the band's permanent drummer. At the same time, the DVD The History of Fear was released on September 30, 2003.
Devil's Ground was released in February 2004 . The title song of the album is more of a small radio play that tells the story of the illustration on the cover. Also, with the Young on the limited edition a cover version of Black Sabbath included. A video was shot for Metal is Forever in Stockholm and the album entered the charts in Germany at number 67 and in four other countries. Another world tour started in April 2004, on which Primal Fear toured Europe, the USA and South America. Due to the success of the album, another video was shot for the ballad The Healer .
In the following two months, the new album was recorded in Vancouver and Stuttgart , which bears the title Seven Seals ( seven seals ) and was released in autumn 2005. The album charted in Germany (# 65) and Sweden. Music videos were shot for the songs Seven Seals and Evil Spell . Then they went on tour in Europe and Japan with Helloween for three months. Primal Fear signed a long-term new contract with Frontiers Records in June 2006. Nuclear Blast released the best of CD Metal is Forever , which was released on September 29, 2006.
New Religion (2007 to 2008)
At the beginning of February 2007 and during the recording of the new production New Religion , the band decided after long discussions about the future that Henny Wolter should play guitar again for Primal Fear with immediate effect. He replaced Tom Naumann. New Religion was again completed under the direction of producers Mat Sinner and Charlie Bauerfeind and mixed by Ronald Prent at Galaxy Studios in Belgium. Videos were shot for the songs Fighting the Darkness and Sign of Fear . The first single from the album New Religion was called Everytime it Rains and is a duet between Scheepers and Epica singer Simone Simons. New Religion was released worldwide on September 21, 2007 and reached number 60 in Germany and number 37 in Japan. Primal Fear started their new tour through the USA as co-headliners of the sold-out ProgPower VIII festival.
Then UDO went on a double headliner tour through 15 European countries and then on a tour of Japan. New Religion was published in January 2008 by Locomotive / Ryko in the USA. At the beginning of March 2008 guitarist Stefan Leibing announced that he was leaving the band for the time being. The replacement was presented by the Swede Magnus Karlsson, who was best known as the guitarist, songwriter and producer of Bob Catley and the three Allen / Lande albums. The band went on their “Ten Years of Metal” tour with Karlsson and celebrated the band's 10th anniversary on stage. After 13 open-air festivals in summer 2008, Primal Fear played two concerts in Russia for the first time in September 2008 .
16.6 (2008 to 2011)
Shortly thereafter, Primal Fear started with the company 16.6 and pre-production in Karlsson's stunt guitar music studio in Sweden. With 14 new compositions, the band continued to work on the recordings in the House of Music studio at the end of November 2008 with producer Mat Sinner and sound engineer Dennis Ward. The album was mixed by Achim Koehler. The work was completed in mid-January 2009. It was mastered by Ted Jensen in Sterling Sound in New York. 16.6 (Before the Devil Knows You're Dead) was released on May 22nd, 2009 in Europe. The album reached number 46 in Germany, 28 in Japan and 52 in Sweden. The band then went on tour through South America (Mexico, Colombia, Argentina and Brazil) and the first headline tour through the USA and Canada.
The subsequent European tour through twelve countries was the most successful Primal Fear headlining tour to date. 2010 started with the longest Primal Fear headlining tour of North America. At the same time, the band released their first official Live CD Live in the USA , which was recorded at the ProgPower Festival 2009, and the band's second DVD All Over the Word . After the usual festival activities, the band went on a European tour again in autumn 2010. The year 2011 started with a tour through South America and the band then focused on the songwriting for the 16.6 successor.
Unbreakable , Delivering the Black & Rulebreaker (2012 to 2016)
Interrupted by festival shows, for example in Wacken, Biker Week and a tour through Poland, the band worked in the studio on their ninth studio album Unbreakable . Produced by Mat Sinner and mixed by Achim Koehler, the new Primal-Fear-Werk z. B. recorded in the House of Music studios. On December 5th, 2011 the first single of the new album Bad Guys Wear Black was released for which a video clip was shot in Nuremberg. The album Unbreakable was released on January 27, 2012 and is the world's most successful release by Primal Fear with chart entries in Germany (# 31), Sweden (# 48), Finland (# 50), Japan (# 27), Austria (# 74), Switzerland (# 51), Netherlands (Top 200) and for the first time in the US Billboard Heatseeker Charts (# 44). The first part of the “Metal Nation” European tour took the band through various countries and continued after the summer festivals.
In December 2013 the single & video When Death Comes Knocking was released as the first new song on the new album. On January 24, 2014, Frontiers Records released the album Delivering the Black . It was produced by Mat Sinner and mixed by Jacob Hansen (including Volbeat ) in his Hansen studios in Denmark. The CD was recorded by Achim Köhler (including Edguy ) in the House Of Music Studios in Stuttgart. The CD contains twelve new songs, including a guest contribution by Liv Kristine Espenaes Krull ( Leaves' Eyes ). in a duet with Scheepers. The album reached number 13 in Germany and entered the album charts in Switzerland (# 36), Austria (# 64), Finland (# 44), Sweden (# 71) and Japan (# 46).
Immediately after the release, the band went on a four-week European tour under the motto "Eagles & Lions". A second video for King for a Day has been released. In 2014 further tours were completed in the USA and Canada (April / May) as well as Japan (June) and numerous summer festivals were contested. Founding member Tom Naumann stepped in for Magnus Karlsson at live concerts, as he needed more time for his family. In August 2014, the band also announced that Randy Black would leave the band due to differences with singer Ralf Scheepers. The Brazilian drummer Aquiles Priester (ex- Angra ) should become a new member of the band and make his debut in December 2014, but he was replaced by the ex-UDO drummer Francesco Jovino.
Rulebreaker & Apocalypse (since 2016)
In January 2016 Primal Fear released their new studio album Rulebreaker , which was produced by Mat Sinner and mixed by Jacob Hansen . The album charted in Germany in the top 20 and in six other European countries, for example. B. in the Czech Republic, where the album stayed in the top 50 for three weeks. In addition, a high chart placement in Japan and for the first time in the band's history in the US album charts. With Rulebreaker they toured 16 European countries as headliners and at festivals, 28 shows in the USA & Canada, ten countries in South and Central America, Japan and Australia. The document for the tour appeared in June 2017 under the title Angels of Mercy - Live on Germany as CD, DVD and BluRay and charted in Germany at item 68.
After an intense festival season in 2018, the twelfth studio album Apocalypse was released on August 10, 2018 . In Germany, the album reached 10 and entered the charts in twelve countries, including top results in Switzerland, Japan, Canada and the USA. After the 2019 festival season, Primal Fear will produce their new album, slated for release in June 2020, and their return to Nuclear Blast Records. On June 24th, 2020 Primal Fear released their 13th studio album "Metal Commando".
style
Primal Fear largely retained their power metal style and has been compared to Judas Priest over the years .
Discography
Studio albums
| year | Title music label |
Top ranking, total weeks, awardChart placementsChart placements (Year, title, music label , placements, weeks, awards, notes) |
Remarks | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 DE
|
 AT
|
 CH
|
|||
| 1998 | Primal Fear Nuclear Blast |
DE48 (3 weeks) DE |
- | - |
First published: February 2, 1998
|
| 1999 | Jaws of Death Nuclear Blast |
DE49 (2 weeks) DE |
- | - |
First published: June 10, 1999
|
| 2001 | Nuclear Fire Nuclear Blast |
DE37 (1 week) DE |
- | - |
First published: January 29, 2001
|
| 2002 | Black Sun Nuclear Blast |
DE55 (1 week) DE |
- | - |
First published: April 24, 2002
|
| 2004 | Devil's Ground Nuclear Blast |
DE67 (1 week) DE |
- | - |
First published: February 23, 2004
|
| 2005 | Seven Seals Nuclear Blast |
DE65 (1 week) DE |
- | - |
First published: October 15, 2005
|
| 2007 | New Religion Frontiers Records |
DE60 (1 week) DE |
- | - |
First published: September 21, 2007
|
| 2009 | 16.6 (Before the Devil Knows You're Dead) Frontiers Records |
DE46 (1 week) DE |
- | - |
First published: May 22, 2009
|
| 2012 | Unbreakable Frontiers Records |
DE31 (1 week) DE |
AT74 (1 week) AT |
CH51 (1 week) CH |
First published: January 20, 2012
|
| 2014 | Delivering the Black Frontiers Records |
DE13 (2 weeks) DE |
AT64 (1 week) AT |
CH36 (1 week) CH |
First published: January 24, 2014
|
| 2016 | Rulebreaker Frontiers Records |
DE19 (2 weeks) DE |
AT60 (1 week) AT |
CH35 (1 week) CH |
First published: January 22, 2016
|
| 2018 | Apocalypse Frontiers Records |
DE10 (3 weeks) DE |
AT43 (1 week) AT |
CH12 (3 weeks) CH |
First published: August 10, 2018
|
| 2020 | Metal Commando Nuclear Blast |
DE7 (3 weeks) DE |
AT28 (1 week) AT |
CH6 (... weeks) CH |
First published: July 24, 2020
|
Membership development
Web links
Individual evidence
- ^ Primal Fear Homepage "The Story of Primal Fear". 2011, accessed March 11, 2011 .
- ↑ Boris Kaiser: Aggressive Free Spaces . In: Rock Hard . No. 145 , June 1999, News, pp. 8 .
- ↑ A few weeks ago at Primal Fear, discreetly moving chairs was the order of the day . In: Rock Hard . No. 151 , December 1999, News, p. 10 .
- ^ Wolfgang Schäfer: Primal Fear. Paulchen has the worm in her ear . In: Rock Hard . No. 165 , February 2001, p. 30th f .
- ↑ blabbermouth.net
- ↑ blabbermouth.net
- ↑ blabbermouth.net
- ↑ Primal Fear. Primal Fear . In: Music Week . The news magazine for the music industry. No. 6/1998 , February 2, 1998, news, p. 19 .
- ↑ Uwe "Buffo" Schnädelbach: 15 years RockHardFabrik. Helloween, Primal Fear, Subway to Sally, In Extremo, Megaherz . In: Rock Hard . No. 141 , February 1999, Live… and Dangerous, p. 126 f . (different authors, only section Primal Fear by Schnädelbach).
- ↑ Götz Kühnemund : Primal Fear. Neck breaker . In: Rock Hard . No. 163 , December 2000, News, pp. 14 .
- ↑ Götz Kühnemund: Primal Fear. Nuclear Fire . In: Rock Hard . No. 164 , January 2001, dynamite. The cracker of the month and the ass bomb, p. 94 .
- ↑ T [horsten] P [öttger]: Primal Fear. "Metal is Forever - The Very Best of Pimal Fear" . In: Eclipsed . Rock magazine. No. 87 , November 2006, CD Reviews, pp. 64 .