16.6 (Before the Devil Knows You're Dead) [Import]

Primal Fear | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (June 9, 2009)
• Original Release Date: 2008
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Import
• Label: Frontiers Records
• ASIN: B0025AY48W
• In-Print Editions: Audio CD  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #90,462 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

16.6 (Before the Devil Knows You're Dead) by Primal Fear

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars 4.5 stars - really good, but not quite what New Religion was, July 10, 2009

By 

Justin Gaines (Northern Virginia) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: 16.6 (Before the Devil Knows You're Dead) (Audio CD)

I try and keep my expectations reasonable when it comes to new albums. In the case of Primal Fear's eighth studio album 16.6 (Before the Devil Knows You're Dead) all I really expected was, well, the greatest power metal album ever recorded. Honestly, keeping my expectations reasonable after the power metal masterpiece that was 2007's New Religion was all but impossible. That album - the first to feature guitarist Magnus Karlsson (Starbreaker, Allen-Lande) - was as close to perfect as a modern power metal album can get, and I fully expected 16.6 to be even better. Sadly, that is not the case.

Don't get me wrong. 16.6 is still a terrific power metal album, and is probably the best power metal album released this year, but I wonder if Primal Fear may have set the bar impossibly high with New Religion. That was the album where Primal Fear stopped sounding like Judas Priest and started sounding like Primal Fear. 16.6 has a similar sound, and definitely benefits from increased songwriting participation by Karlsson, but it's not quite the game-changer New Religion was.

The first thing that really jumps out at you about this album is the decidedly darker tone. The majestic robot eagles of Primal Fear albums past have been replaced by a rather demonic bird/god/reaper figure on the cover, and the lyrics focus to a great degree on death and destruction. Perhaps that's the album's theme. I tried to research the significance of the term "16.6" and discovered that it has to do with a meteor that may impact Earth in 2012 (a figure also referenced in the lyrics). Aside from that, the songs on 16.6 are dark, depressing tales of devastation, anguish and revenge (the chilling "Smith & Wesson").

Musically, 16.6 is very similar to New Religion. It's a highly melodic, very powerful heavy metal sound that is the logical extension of Judas Priest and Gamma Ray - two bands that had an incredible influence on vocalist Ralf Scheepers. Karlsson fits the band's twin-axe sound perfectly, the veteran Mat Sinner's presence on bass is steady and reliable, and Scheepers' vocal performance is as incredible as always. The album's best tracks are "Six Times Dead" (the first single), "No Smoke Without Fire", and album closer "Hands of Time" which features Scheepers, Karlsson, Sinner, and guitarist Henny Wolter all taking a turn on vocals. "Killbound" and "Smith & Wesson" are my least favorites.

Compared to just about every other recent power metal release (excluding Blind Guardian's - they're in a league of their own), 16.6 (Before the Devil Knows You're Dead) is probably a 5-star album, but compared to New Religion, the best I can give it is 4 stars (though I'd choose 4.5 stars if that were an option). I wish I could better articulate why the album falls short of its predecessor; it just doesn't have the same impact New Religion did. It's still better than the first six Primal Fear albums (not to mention most other bands' best work) and if you're any kind of power metal fan though, you're definitely going to want to check it out.

NOTE: Early pressings of 16.6 (Before the Devil Knows You're Dead) come in a digipack with a pair of bonus tracks and a video clip for "Six Times Dead". The packaging is pretty cheap, but the bonus tracks - new studio songs "Cry Havoc" and "Scream" - make this version the one to get.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A high quality release that should satisfy both old and new PF fans, June 16, 2009

By 

alpha128 (Cleveland, OH USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: 16.6 (Before the Devil Knows You're Dead) (Audio CD)

Primal Fear's 2009 release "16.6 (Before the Devil Knows You're Dead)" is a solid slab of heavy metal that should please PF fans, both old and new.

In the tradition of the first two Primal Fear albums, "16.6" opens with a short instrumental track. Then it's full speed ahead with "Riding the Eagle", a definite throwback to the Nuclear Fire era. This is one of the fastest songs on the album and one of the best.

Next up is "Six Times Dead (16.6)", a catchy mid-paced track, and another favorite of mine. Here we get the first inkling of the experimentation to be found on this album. Although the verse and chorus of "Six Times Dead" are as traditional as they come, Henny Wolter's minimalist guitar solo surprised me, as did the brief, effects-heavy, bass solo by Mat Sinner.

Track 4 is "Black Rain", a Middle Eastern influenced semi-ballad. A few similar melodic metal songs exist, perhaps most notably the title track of Brainstorm's Soul Temptation. If you enjoyed that song (or similar efforts by other bands) you'll probably like "Black Rain". This was certainly true in my case.

The album largely continues along these lines. Some songs like "Under the Radar", "Killbound" and "Smith & Wesson" harken back to the classic PF style. Others like "5.0 / Torn" and "No Smoke Without Fire" employ the more melodic style of "Black Rain". There are really only two tracks that stand out as exceptions to this rule.

The first exception is "Hands of Time". This is a partly acoustic ballad that has four band members on lead vocals, but seasoned vocalists Mat Sinner and Ralf Scheepers seem to do most of the work. "Hands of Time" quickly grew on me, to the point I started hearing it in my head. This song is a winner, even if it's still a little too "happy" (musically, not lyrically) for my taste.

The second exception, "Soar", has a strong start but then takes an unexpected turn into Korn territory. The nu metal sounds only last a minute, but this is still my least favorite track.

In conclusion, "16.6" succeeds as both a return to form and a progression, leaving Primal Fear well positioned for their second decade. Being their eighth album, "16.6" lacks the youthful exuberance of PF classics like Black Sun and Nuclear Fire, but it also showcases Primal Fear's maturity and consummate skill. Personally, I can not comment on how this compares to the last two PF albums. However, I can direct you to the review by Eric Vieth on THE METAL OBSERVER website which states, "Fans of 'Seven Seals' and 'New Religion' can go right ahead and pick up '16.6' blindly and without reservations."

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Recycled, December 22, 2010

By 

Felixrox (Tivoli, NY United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: 16.6 (Before the Devil Knows You're Dead) (Audio CD)

It's an upgrade from New Religion, but that is not saying much. I really don't like the album because i hear cheesey songwriting & alot of recycled riffs from prior albums. They've used the "Metal" in so many songs that they may be leading Gamma Ray in that dept, thankfully we dont get that here. But but oh yeah, Riding the Eagle?...really guys?... you already wrote a great song about that on Nuclear Fire, so this one was just unnecessary. How many more songs do we need with "Fire" in the titles ....seems to me that this band is just running short of ideas of late. I just have a tough time endorsing something that is so derivative of itself. I'm hoping they can get the ship righted soon because they really were a good band, I don't have problems with some new ideas, but they were better in the past.