Archive for ralf scheepers

PRIMAL FEAR ‘Unbreakable’ – The Time Is NOW To Join The METAL NATION

Posted in Heavy Metal, heavy metal albums, heavy metal news, metal music, Music, Power Metal, power metal albums, rock music, rock music news with tags , , , , , , , , on February 22, 2012 by Metal Odyssey

PRIMAL FEAR – I guess if I wasn’t listening to this new Primal Fear album so often, I would have written a review on it much sooner. Seriously, Unbreakable has made it mandatory for me, to raise my fists to the air and thank the Metal Gods for Primal Fear and Power Metal. Released on Frontiers Records back on January 20th, this album is a must to the maximum Metal degree.

Once I realized what I took in from this new Primal Fear offering of Power Metal glory, I began to wonder, could 2012 be “The Year Of Power Metal”? With Iron Savior releasing their new album The Landing, (which brought me to tears of Metal joy) and now I’m brought down to my knees from Unbreakable… how else could I describe this year of Metal thus far? Primal Fear has not only delivered an unbelievable album of Power Metal, they’ve also created some of the most amazingly memorable songs of their legendary career. To my Metal blistered ears they have.

Once I realized how unreal golden Bad Guys Wear Black and Metal Nation are for transmitting everything triumphant about Power Metal, there is Strike,Where Angels Die, Give Em Hell, Blaze Of Glory and Marching Again. Metal be thy name does Primal Fear get their point across with their new album… that Primal Fear is not a Power Metal force to reckon with, they are THE Power Metal force. Period. This album from Primal Fear is the Metal beacon that tells us Metalheads that everything is okay and we shall strike down all negative obstacles in our F’n way.

As I see it, you’re either gonna join the Metal Nation, are already a member or decide that you’re gonna take a pass. If you take that nonsensical pass, then stop reading this review now. Then, go take some ex-lax, stick your thumb in your mouth and peruse your VHS library of Shirley Temple movies.

Back to Unbreakable. Sorry about that my true Metal brethren. Hell, you want guitar driven? You want duo guitars? Trading guitar leads and solos that will shock and awe? Wanna hear guitars blazing the old-fashioned way, as in kicking your Metal lovin’ ass like there is no tomorrow? Alex Beyrodt and Magnus Karlsson will take care of it. Are you looking for a premier Power Metal vocalist, one whose name itself equates Metal? Ralf Scheepers is the modern-day Rob Halford. Yes, there is another Metal God and his name is Ralf Scheepers. Now, go take that Metal check and cash it… then tell ’em all that Stone says so.

Spread the Metal word. What word Stone? That the rhythm section of Primal Fear is a Power Metal vehicle sent to us all as a gift from the Thunder God. Mat Sinner (bass) and Randy Black (drums) sound so powerfully perfect together that it’s implausible to think otherwise. There are 12 songs on Unbelievable, (oops, I meant Unbreakable) that are a representation of how Heavy Metal was meant to escalate the psyche-you-out senses in the first place. Metal Nation members know what I mean. Screw the non-believers.

If everything I’ve written thus far sounds like a Metal temptation to you, then you absolutely won’t be able to resist hearing  a Primal Fear ballad. Yes… I stated… ballad. Born Again is the song and it’s quite Metal moving to me. Ralf Scheepers proves he can impact just as effectively singing a ballad as he does belting out extraordinary high notes on a Power Metal anthem. I will say this and not be ashamed: Born Again is a beautiful song from Primal Fear.

Yes, amongst the Power Metal domination I hear on Unbreakable, the Metal jubilation I feel does give a nod to beauty when it’s so eloquently played and sung. Still, bad guys will always wear black and the Metal Nation is a flaming juggernaut, one that shall never be contained nor controlled. Metal be thy name.

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UNBREAKABLE – Track Listing:

Unbreakable (Part 1)

Strike

Give Em Hell

Bad Guys Wear Black

And There Was Silence

Metal Nation

Where Angels Die

Unbreakable (Part 2)

Marching Again

Born Again

Blaze Of Glory

Conviction

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* Backing Vocals: Ralf Scheepers, Mat Sinner, Erik Martensson and Oliver Hartmann.

* For more info on PRIMAL FEAR, click on the links below:

http://www.primalfear.de

FRONTIERS RECORDS

LONG LIVE PRIMAL FEAR.

Stone.

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Nergard “The Beginning” EP – Features Andreas Nergard, Ralf Scheepers, Tony Mills and Mike Vescera: Releases June 14th, 2011

Posted in Heavy Metal, heavy metal news, melodic metal, melodic rock, metal music, metal odyssey, Music, Power Metal, rock music, rock music news with tags , , , , , , , , , , , , , on June 1, 2011 by Metal Odyssey

NERGARD – THE BEGINNING: Here is a press release detailing an exciting Metal Musical, MEMORIAL FOR A WISH, that is being written/composed by ANDREAS NERGÅRD. A three song EP: Nergard – The Beginning will be released on June 14th, 2011, via PUG-NOSE RECORDS. The following information is courtesy of Andreas Nergard and PUG-NOSE RECORDS:

Since May 2010 Norwegian musician and composer ANDREAS NERGÅRD has written material for a Metal Musical entitled MEMORIAL FOR A WISH. “Musicals and concept albums have always fascinated me,“ Andreas says eagerly. “I created this project because I wanted to make an album with the singers and instrumentalists who have inspired me to start playing music. It’s because of them I’ve become a musician and a composer.” And he has an impressive line-up for the musical. THE BEGINNING is an EP containing three tracks off this musical and features performances by the well known vocalists Ralf Scheepers (PRIMAL FEAR, GAMMA RAY), Tony Mills (TNT, SHY) and Mike Vescera (YNGWIE MALMSTEEN, LOUDNESS).

Andreas has worked hard with the musical for a long time. “Since April 2010 I’ve worked an average of 4-5 hours each day with this project, both with the music and promotion of the music,” explains Andreas. “I play all the drums, percussions and keyboards myself, and I’m also handling the bass guitar on a couple of tracks. Also I wanted complete control of the whole process, from the song writing to the mastering. Therefore I’ve spent a huge amount of time in the studio.” The musical was recorded at Trondheim Studio (Trondheim/Norway) with the outstanding producer Conor Patrick.

* The Metal Musical – Memorial For A Wish will be released on two individual albums: ACT 1 and ACT 2, during 2011-2012.

* The story of MEMORIAL FOR A WISH is set to Dublin, Ireland, in 1890:

The young man Peter O’Donnell is arrested and wrongfully accused for a burglary which he did not commit. After a short trial he is sentenced to prison for twenty years. In desperation he is forced to leave his pregnant wife behind and live in solitude behind the prison walls. Twenty long years passes by and Peter is released from jail, only to find out that his beloved wife died many years ago while giving birth to their daughter. The friends he once had turn their backs on him and let him face the grief all alone. This eventually tears him apart. As the hands of sorrow and despair becomes too much to handle he ends up committing suicide.

Nergard – The Beginning Track List:

1. The Haunted – featuring Ralf Scheepers (4:01)

2. All I Ever Wanted – featuring Tony Mills (5:16)

3. Hell On Earth – featuring Mike Vescera (5:11)

* Vocalists and/or musicians also appearing on the albums will be:

Åge Sten Nilsen – (Wig Wam)

Göran Edman – (Yngwie Malmsteen, John Norum)

Helge Engelke – (Fair Warning)

David Reece – (Bangalore Choir, Accept)

* For more info on Nergard – The Beginning EP and Memorial For A Wish, click on the links below:

Memorial For A Wish – myspace music

Nergard – Memorial For A Wish – facebook

Memorial For A Wish (memorialmusical) on twitter

LONG LIVE ANDREAS NERGÅRD.

Stone.

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JUDAS PRIEST “METAL GODS” & PRIMAL FEAR COVER OF “METAL GODS” = UNREAL METAL GREATNESS!

Posted in Hard Rock, hard rock albums, hard rock bands, hard rock music, Heavy Metal, heavy metal albums, heavy metal bands, heavy metal history, heavy metal music, heavy metal news, heavy metal songs, metal odyssey, Music, power metal music, rock music, rock music news with tags , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on September 11, 2010 by Metal Odyssey

JUDAS PRIEST & PRIMAL FEAR – What do Judas Priest and Primal Fear have in Metal common, besides both being Metal Bands? METAL GODS. As I and so many countless others will attest, “nothing beats an original”… only Primal Fear covers the Judas Priest original – Metal Gods like they were put on this Earth to do so. Originally heard on the 1980 studio album from Judas Priest – British Steel, Metal Gods has been a lifetime favorite Metal song for me.

Hell, this British Steel album is downright Metal sacred and easily one of the greatest Metal albums ever created. I remember the first time I heard Metal Gods off of this British Steel album… whoa… whoa again. The British Steel album in and of itself is a thoroughbred classic Metal album for the ages… and Metal Gods catapults this reasoning of mine fifty fold.

I can recall, with Metal ease, listening to this one track on British Steel, that is Metal Gods, continuously. I would pick up the turntable needle and drop it back down at the beginning of this incredible song, each time it ended. Metal be thy name. It is the obvious and sheer muscularity of Metal, that this Judas Priest original of Metal Gods bestowed upon thine ears, which made me stand at attention in Metal awe so many years ago. This Judas Priest original still has that same Metal affect on me… and I don’t see it waning anytime soon.

The repeated opening riff throughout Metal Gods is like my very own psyche-out Metal stimulant that makes me feel really, really, good. I vividly remember looking up at my Judas Priest poster, which hung on my bedroom wall when I was a teen, while any Judas Priest album was being cranked up by me. When Metal Gods was played at maximum volume, I would then proceed to play air guitar and bang thine head like an out of control Metal lovin’ maniac. Um, I guess I still do that when I listen to this song… so let it be Metal written, so let it be Metal done. (Only I don’t have a Judas Priest poster on my bedroom wall today… my Metal supporting wife won’t allow it and I do understand).

Being a futuristic look into the unravelling of mankind’s involvement into the “dabbling” and experimenting with the science of robotics, Metal Gods is a song about robotic creatures/machines known as… Metal Gods. These Metal Gods taking control of their surroundings and the very same people who created them, while mankind falls victim to their evil control, is the theme that this song gets across quite clearly. Not too far fetched in my Metal opinion. Who knows how advanced our technology will take us all eventually? Herculean robotic machines may very well be the norm some day in our future… and they could eventually get pissed off at us.

Yes, Rob Halford is the Metal God and I will never dispute that title he carries with Metal honor and pride. However, Ralf Scheepers is no cheap imitation of Rob Halford. Ralf can flat-out sing Metal. Ralf Scheepers… maybe a strong candidate for being the Power Metal God? Listening to the Primal Fear cover version of Metal Gods for the first time was like the second coming of when I first heard this prolifically immense song, so many years ago. Primal Fear could have “covered” Metal Gods or they could have covered it with F’n Metal Might. My Metal senses tell me… Primal Fear covered this Judas Priest classic with F’n Metal Might.

No one has to take my Metal word for it, that both the Metal Gods original and the Primal Fear cover verson are unreal Metal greatness. All you have to do is seek out these Metal songs for yourself and give ’em a Metal try. You can give me a Metal thank you later… after you realize Metal Gods is probably one of the greatest Metal songs ever written. For lifetime/veteran Metalheads out there… hopefully you understand my Metal reasoning and agree with my Metal thoughts on… Metal Gods. I have a funny feeling that many of you fellow Metalheads do understand.

Primal Fear – Metal Is Forever/The Very Best Of Primal Fear was released back on April 3, 2007, on Nuclear Blast. This is a double CD, with CD 1 containing 16 greatest hits and CD 2 containing 9 Metal Classics. The cover of Metal Gods is heard on Metal Classics. This double CD showcases just how fabulous this German Power Metal Band known as… Primal Fear was, is and forever shall be.

* For more info on Judas Priest, click here: JUDAS PRIEST

* For more info on Primal Fear, click here: PRIMAL FEAR – Official Website

LONG LIVE JUDAS PRIEST AND PRIMAL FEAR!

Stone.

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