Primal Fear
The band that came about through Judas Priest saying no return with album number (hopefully lucky) thirteen.
Formed in Germany in 1997 by Sinner bassist Mat Sinner and ex-Gamma Ray frontman Ralf Scheepers, Primal Fear have become one of Europe’s most enduring heavy metal acts. We catch up with Sinner as the band release their new album, Metal Commando.
Metal Commando is Sinner’s thirteenth album. Status Quo managed to work within a well-defined framework yet largely avoid repeating old ideas. Do Primal Fear have the same problem? Sometimes I do find I have ripped myself off and I throw a song in the trash [laughs]. The hardest thing of all is the running order, balancing the perfect mix of fast and slower songs.
The impressive thirteen-minute epic Infinity closes the album. Will it be performed live when the band get back on the road? That will depend on how it feels when we rehearse, but it’s very possible. I hope that people still have the patience to appreciate such a song. It was a big, big challenge to pull that one off.
The ballad I Will Be Gone stands out among the hard rockers. Primal Fear are not afraid of showing their sensitive side. I was in a sad period when Magnus [Karlsson, guitar/keyboards] and I wrote that one. I tried to do something like we’d never done before. I can’t believe how high Ralf sings it.
It’s rare to hear a metal singer who is able to maintain their full vocal range into their fifties. Ralf has good days and bad days, especially when singing such a strong style of music on tour. That’s why we record his vocals in a studio at his home.
He can work when he feels great. And the results are always astonishing.
Ralf was one of the ten singers shortlisted by Judas Priest to replace Rob Halford. What happened there? I don’t think they wanted a German singer, or whatever. Ralf didn’t audition, and they gave the job to Tim Owens. But it led to the formation of Primal Fear.
How did that come about? There were three of us: Ralf, Tom [Naumann, guitar] and myself. Tom and I were in Sinner and not looking to do another band, but a record company in Japan financed us making an album together. We just played the music we liked, and twenty-two years later that’s what we are still doing.
“After twentytwo years, we still
just play the music we like.”
Is Primal Fear’s relationship with the UK fairly difficult? Of course we play bigger venues [on the continent], but coming to the UK is a challenge that we relish. We can still pull nice crowds, and we hope that in future more and more people will attend.
Rick Parfitt, Alice Cooper, Mick Box and Bernie Shaw were all a part of Rock Meets Classic, the annual symphonic tour that you present in continental Europe. Have you considered bringing it to the UK? Yes, but nobody will pay us enough money [laughs]. This is ninety people on the road, it’s a huge production. Everybody has such fun – just ask [Thunder’s] Danny Bowes and Luke Morley. But unfortunately I don’t see it coming to the UK any time soon.
Metal Commando is available now via Nuclear Blast.