Primal Fear
Blender Theatre
New York City, New York
May 20, 2010
Tony Pijar
Primal Fear were back in the US after a short time away; they last played the Blender back in September – very unusual for a Euro metal band to play the States with such frequency, not that we’re complaining! The show was the first on their latest US trek and coincided with the release of their new live CD, “Live in the USA.”
The band opened with “The Final Embrace,” “Killbound” and “Nuclear Fire.” One couldn’t tell that this was the opening night of the tour, as the band was tight as hell. Ralf Scheepers, Goddamn 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 as sight to behold, but his voice remains impeccable. That’s not to say that the rest of the band is average – quite the opposite. Metal vet mat Sinner commandeers the stage with confidence and ease, while guitarists Magnus Karlsson and Henny Wolter can shred. On songs like “Six Times Dead”, “Severn Seals”, “Chainbreaker”, and “Battalions of Steel”, Wolter and Karlsson were off the charts – simply staggering! And the metal anthem for the ages, “Metal is Forever”, cheesy lyrics and all, sounded fantastic. They ended the evening with Priest’s “Metal Gods” with special guests Roy Z, Ripper Owens and Metal Mike joining the guys on stage.
Primal Fear, as always, delivered the musical good, and the aforesaid special guests were the icing on a great show!