If there’s a band that best fits the label “meat-and-potatoes power metal,” it’s probably Primal Fear. And you’d better emphasize the meat in that description, too. Pick any album from the band’s lengthy discography and you’ll find yourself immersed in hefty riffage, thunderous calls-to-arms, and the prevailing sense that the band might well have perfected the formula for workout music. And now, after nearly three decades of doing their thing with remarkable consistency, Ralf Scheepers and Co. are back with another fist- (or iron- ?) pumping set, in Domination. Got your spotter ready?
Despite undergoing a handful of personnel changes since 2023’s Code Red, Primal Fear picks up pretty neatly where that album left off. Gone are guitarists Tom Naumann and Alex Beyrodt, and drummer Michael Ehré; in come Thalia Bellazecca (Angus McSix, ex-Frozen Crown) and André Hilgers (Silent Force) to fill their boots. All told, the band’s new blood and old guard mesh pretty seamlessly throughout Domination — particularly Bellazecca, whose nimble, yet potent riffing slots in perfectly next to longtime guitarist Magnus Karlsson.
And indeed, the new lineup starts Domination off on absolute fire. The first few tracks confirm in more ways than one that, yep, Primal Fear still, above all, knows how to kick an ass on their day. Whether on absolute bruisers like “The Hunter” or more melodic fare like “Far Away” — which sees Scheepers soaring in unison with Karlsson and Bellazecca’s refrain leads — the band’s firing on all cylinders throughout this early-going. Also, a quick word for arguable highlight “I Am The Primal Fear”? It’s catchy as all fuckin’ hell. (Okay, six quick words for it, I guess.)
Everybody sounds great on the album, but as ever, it’s Scheepers’ performance that really steers the ship. The dude turned 60 earlier this year, but I’ll be damned if I can hear even an ounce of strain in his voice. (Not even whilst doing his best “Painkiller” impression during the verses of late-album track, “March Boy March” — on which it’d be entirely acceptable to show a bit of strain!) It’s just remarkable performance after remarkable performance from Scheepers on Domination, and it feels like he’ll be an S-tier vocalist forever.
Keeping up the early-album levels of quality throughout all of Domination would’ve been a very tall order, though, and sadly, the band don’t quite manage to do so.
While the middle-album, three-track run of “Heroes and Gods” through “Eden” doesn’t outright kill the momentum, it does remind you that, okay, yeah, these guys are human. The clunky former slaps its oafish chorus onto what feels like an entirely different rest-of-the-song, while the latter neuters a decent ballad by stretching it out to twice the length anyone needed. Those tracks bookend the brief instrumental, “Hallucinations,” which… while an admittedly solid show of musicianship — particularly from Karlsson and Bellazecca — ultimately comes up feeling like it’s there just to fill time.
From that point on, Domination is a bit hit-or-miss — a melting pot of decent-but-retready tracks (“Scream”) and oddball experiments (“A Tune I Won’t Forget”). To be clear, there’s nothing in its second half that’s outright bad, just a whole lot that can’t hold a candle to its stellar first few tunes.
In a vacuum, Domination is fine. It’s a listenable album with a handful of major highlights from a group of seasoned vets running on cruise control. But outside that vacuum — and after that hot start — fine can’t help but feel a bit disappointing.
Keep it heavy,
—Dan
Domination is available now via Reigning Phoenix Music. For more information on Primal Fear, visit the band’s official website.