Primal Fear
Blender Theatre
New York City, New York
September 26, 2010
Tony Pijar
Primal Fear is back in the States after a short time away; they last played the Blender Theatre back in mid September – very unusual for any Euro metal band to play the US with this amount of frequency, not that we’re complaining. This show is the first on their latest US trek and coincides with the release of their new live CD entitled “Live in the USA” and DVD called “All Over the World.”
The band opened with “Final Embrace”, “Killbound” and “Nuclear Fire.” One couldn’t tell that this was the first night of their US tour as they were as tight as hell! Ralf Scheepers, God damn it, is one of the best vocalists in music and deserves far more recognition than he has received to date! Not only was his stage presence a sight to behold, but his voice remains impeccable. That’s not to say the rest of the band is average. They, too, are exemplary. Of course, metal vet Mat Sinner was also massive on stage. He knows how to work a crowd and keep the bottom end steady so guitarists Magnus Karlsson and Henny Wolter can shred. On songs like “Six Times Dead”, “Seven Seals”, “Chainbreaker” and “Battalions of Hate”, Wolter and Karllson were off the charts – simply spectacular! And the metal anthem for the ages, “Metal is Forever”, cheesy lyrics and all, sounded fantastic! They ended the evening with a Priest cover of “Metal Gods” with special guests Tim Owens, Metal Mike and Roy Z.
Primal Fear, as always, put on a solid show with musicianship and professionalism intact. The aforesaid special guests lifted up an already great evening.