SCHEEPERS – PRIMAL FEAR Vocalist’s Eponymous Solo Effort, Track-By-Trackby Mark Gromen
The star-studded effort for
Ralf Scheepers, his first step outside the safety of
PRIMAL FEAR, features help from
Snowy Shaw (drums, KING DIAMOND, THERION)
Sander Gommans (guitar, ex-AFTER FOREVER), and Fear mates
Magnus Karlsson,
Alex Beyrodt and
Mat Sinner (bass/keys), amongst others. Always a
PRIEST fan, most of the music isn’t too far removed from the legendary Brits, nor Scheepers day job, but there are a couple of surprises!
‘Locked In The Dungeon’ – Screaming from the start (actually there’s an initial maniacal laugh), the track is composed around the lead guitar work of Halford/Pain Museum guitarist Metal Mike Chlasciak, who has appeared on PF albums and as a guest, in concert. Upbeat, aggressive with high pitched vocals, in the Priestal Fear style.
‘Remission Of Sin’ – Mid-tempo chugging vocal duet with
Tim Ripper Owens, the two men who sought to (temporarily) replace
Rob Halford in
Judas Priest. Ingenious idea! Still driving guitar beneath the singers.
‘Cyberfreak’ – Slightly mechanized feel, downshifts to jangly mid-section and some
Scheepers yelps and echoy choruses. Each of the initial trio has a distinct vibe, yet all recognizable as Primal Fear oriented.
‘The Fall’ – First surprise! Symphonic orchestrated start, before settling into gritty mid-tempo, near ballad, with synth undercurrent.
‘Doomsday’ – Longest rack (6:28, most clock in right around four minutes, give or take), Scheepers initially in a low bellowing spoken voice (“I walk by myself, in the gutter of my life”), followed by lively keyboard driven number, sort of Nightwish-ish, less bombastic. Eventually a mid-paced rocker, apart from brief six-string eruption and recurrent spoken section.
‘Saints Of The Rock’ – simple, big sing-along titular phrased, gang sung chorus. Party rock anthem? Another “different” voice for the big man, nearly indistinguishable as Scheepers.
‘Before The Dawn’ – acoustic Judas Priest cover, with Ralf playing all the instruments, apart from electric guitar solos, courtesy of RAGE’s Victor Smolski. Fairly traditional rendition. Nice touch.
‘Back On The Track’ – Perhaps the title refers to stylistic return to form? An invigorated guitar number, albeit without a subtle passage or two.
‘Dynasty’ “Let me welcome You To the Family. Heavy metal dynasty” Kind of reminded me of
JON OLIVA'S PAIN, for some reason.
‘The Pain Of The Accused’ – acoustic guitar intro by
Kai Hansen, with whom Scheepers helped found
GAMMA RAY. At 6:18, the second longest tune. Begins as if a full-blown ballad, then goes power-ballad on us, although Ralf hits some of the highest notes on the album (holding some in faux operatics). “How can anyone not accept an apology?” Includes guitar interlude and snippet of violin. After false end, fades in modulated (in a tunnel) vocal.
‘Play With The Fire’ – Straight ahead metal number. Wild twin guitar trade-offs!
‘Compassion’ – Another acoustic-only composition, including banjo (!). “Planet Earth moves together as one.”
Definitely enough flavors to warrant solo exploration.
Scheepers' solo debut is due out on February 18th in Europe and February 15th in North America.
Mar 6 Juil - 21:35
