Delivering the Black
With soaring vocal harmonies, ridiculously heavy drumming, a thick, heavy bassline and incredible twin guitar work, Primal Fears tenth release truly is the perfect addition to any metal fans collection. Flawlessly executed, their latest release is enjoyable from start to finish. Kicking off with King for a Day Primal Fear set the bar high for the entire album and luckily the tracks just continue to soar. The songs are catchy, anthemic and you will definitely be singing along in no time. There are absolutely no fillers on this album with the band having the clear mindset of "go big or go home".
Vocalist Ralf Scheepers truly shines on the albums debut single When Death Comes Knocking and the twin guitar riffs and melodies of Magnus Karlsson and Alex Beyrodt are delivered in such a way that this track will stay with you for a long time. There is no denying a comparison to Judas Priest for these guys, especially on Alive and on Fire where Ralfs vocals are reminiscent of Rob Halford himself. Drummer Randy Black totally outdoes himself on Delivering the Black leaving me wondering how many drum skins he actually went through.
With the aforementioned incredibly dual guitar work from Karlsson and Bedyrodyt, Road to Asylum is an incredible track with thrashing riffs and rhythms and an infectious melody that makes for one of the most memorable tracks on the album.
Following on from their tradition of featuring one uber long track, please welcome One Night in December. An epic journey just short of ten minutes with some awesome heaviness and beautiful classic orchestration, this track is meticulously performed with an inspiring and somewhat haunting chorus.
After eight hard hitting metal works of art, it's only fair to change the pace. This comes in the form of the albums only ballad Born With a Broken Heart which features Norwegian singer Liv Kristine on backing vocals. This track is anything but boring and definitely packs a punch alongside guitar work extraordinarily beautiful in its simplicity.
The album closes with Inseminoid a ridiculously heavy hitting song with yet more incredible fret work and propelled onwards by Blacks incredible foot work!
Packed with every element a metal fan could ask for, Delivering the Black is a tremendous album from the outset and if you've somehow missed the previous nine offerings I urge you to have a listen. I know I will be!