1052. Primal Fear / Jaws of Death. 1999. 3.5/5

Having been drawn into Primal Fear by the Gamma Ray connection on their debut album, it was a no brainer that I had to check out the follow up release in order to see just what the band could produce on their sophomore album. All of the right ingredients had been put forth on that first album without creating any massive waves. My hope was that the band would gel together better both musically and in the writing process and produce something that would be amazing. That may have been ambitious thinking on my part.

On reflection, it is an album where none of the songs are outstanding, in the way that they jump out at you and make you love them. All the songs are solid and perhaps generic as a result, but in an age where singles were rarer, this album fits in with that ideal. There aren’t any songs here that I would naturally put on a mixed tape (or playlist I guess in this day and age) of favourite tracks. Like I said, for me there are no stand out songs. The opening of the instrumental “Jaw of Death” followed by “Final Embrace” is a good solid start to the album, though “Save a Prayer” doesn’t quite back that up. “Church of Blood” has more attitude in both music and vocals and makes for a better listen, while “Into the Future” carries on along that line of punchy drums and guitars and great vocals from Scheepers.
Every time I hear the start of “Under Your Spell” I think it is the start of Judas Priest’s “Out in the Cold” such is the similar way the keyboard opening sounds. Unlike that terrific song, this one is a bit dreary and just doesn’t quite manage to gather the momentum that has come before it. It doesn’t rate as one of my favourite Primal Fear songs. However, “Play to Kill” kicks back in at the right tempo and gets the album moving again in the right direction. “Nation in Fear” leads into “When the Night Comes” which is a slow and steady track and sounds very much like an AC/DC song. It’s an interesting cohesion within. “Fight to Survive” and “Hatred in My Soul” complete the album on an upward note.
Trying to blend those high range vocals into the music being written is a tough task at any level. Perhaps that’s where this just falls down a bit. Ralf Scheepers tends to sit back in a more comfortable vocal range than he has for some time throughout most of the album. As a result it does give the songs a flatter feel musically, only because we know what he is capable of. Perhaps in trying to keep his vocals in ‘tune’ with the songs he has cut out one of his best attributes.
The band sounds great. Tom Naumann and Stefan Leibing on guitars do a great job and have some excellent moments when soloing. The rhythm of drummer Klaus Sperling and band leader Matt Sinner on bass is solid throughout and provide the platform, but for me it is perhaps just a bit too regimented for my liking. The double kick drums keep an even tempo throughout, which is probably just missing a bit of excitement to help lift some songs out of the average.
There is a trade-off between what you want and what you have. Primal Fear is a heavier version of the power metal genre because they stick with the dual guitar attack and tone out the keyboards to a bare minimum here. On the other hand they also omit the super double-kick pace that comes with the speed metal aspect, and that drags the whole feel of the album back a little. And while everything sounds good here, there’s just a feeling that it is missing something that would have taken it to the next level.

When it comes to the bands that led Europe through the 1990’s power metal explosion and into the 2000’s, Primal Fear is one of the flag bearers. Their style of music is not the keyboard-dominated one of many of the power metal bands of the continent and as a result they have the harder edge to their music that allows them to cross genres. Both Primal Fear and Jaws of Death are a building of that style that Primal Fear built as their own. As a result of finding their own style these two albums are both good without pushing the boundaries to their limits. That came after this. Having said that there is still plenty to like here and is more than worth looking into.

Rating: “What are they fighting for, they call it holy war”.  3.5/5