Customer Reviews

16.6 (Before the Devil Knows You're Dead)

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

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 The majestic robot eagles of Primal Fear albums past have been replaced by a rather demonic bird/god/reaper figure on the cover, and the lyrics focus to a great degree on death and destruction.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.

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."

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.

As a big fan of German power metallers Primal Fear I was quite looking forward to this album's release. And for good reason! Having proven their consistency with a string of albums over the past decade, the band had been going up a notch in terms of quality albums with each subsequent release, ultimately resulting in the great Seven Seals in 2005 and the brilliant New Religion in 2007. These last two albums in particular also proved that Primal Fear were not just the sons of Judas Priest that many claimed them to be. The band had now embraced more epic and to some degree more symphonic elements, whilst retaining their classic power (yet melodic) metal sound. New Religion melded all those elements perfectly into what I believe was one of the top five releases of 2007. Contributing guitar solos on two tracks from New Religion was Swedish guitarist Magnus Karlsson, most known for his Allen-Lande and Starbreaker projects. So when I heard he was to be joining Primal Fear as a permanent member, my expectations were further fuelled. So what is the verdict? Have they surpassed themselves again?
Well upon first listen, my reaction was disappointment. There was nothing that really grabbed me by the balls. I even got the digi-pack version with two bonus tracks, so in total I had fourteen new Primal Fear songs (track 1 is just a short intro, so it can't really be counted as a song), but my initial opinion was that the best song was track 15, a bonus track called Scream. Several more listens over the next week did nothing to shake my disappointment so I shelved it for about six to eight weeks before giving it another go in the light of a new day. I was hoping that more songs on it would perhaps sound better with the passing of time and repeated listens over the past two weeks. Well, I must say it has grown on me a bit, but not to the degree I was hoping and nowhere near what I was initially expecting.
The digi-pack is great. No complaints there. In fact I have the last four Primal Fear albums in digi-pack version and they're all excellently packaged. Plus this 16.6 digi-pack also has a video clip as an extra bonus. Again, no complaints there. The band sound great and the production is as you would expect with the technology available these days (there's no excuse for bad production!) But the songs let it down for my mind.
The first two songs Riding the Eagle and Six Times Dead (16.6) have some great guitar work in them with riffs which I think sound somewhat Metallica-esque if anything. Ralf Scheepers even sings a bit like James Hetfield in a few places. Deliberately? I don't know, but I hope it doesn't prove to be a regular thing because the Primal Fear sound doesn't need it. Six Times Dead (16.6) is still a good song though, one of the best on the album and it sounds different to what they've done before.
Another of the best songs for my mind is track 6 called 5.0/Torn. This has Magnus Karlsson all over it. The intro is a guitar solo followed by some funky bass solo stuff before the song gets cracking. Then we get more guitar work before the verse starts, and when you hear it the Karlsson sound is instantly recognizable. It sounds like it could have gone on an Allen-Lande album with that verse that moves along with a moderately fast tempo & riffing which is ok but really not that exciting, before the pre-chorus and then a typical Karlsson soaring chorus. It sounds good as a Primal Fear song, but really sounds like Magnus Karlsson rather than typical Primal Fear.
Track 8 Killbound is another that I quite like. It has a regular heavy riff with thumping, head banging base and drums. Nothing fantastic in itself, in fact pretty standard metal fare really, but I love this sort of stuff!
The bonus track Scream is my second favorite. Great riff, fast paced, heavy yet melodic with some high pitched singing. Again, standard metal fare but pure Primal Fear and great "Wisey" music. It should have been on the regular album rather than a bonus track.
The best track for me is track 13, the regular album closer Hands Of Time. This is a great album closer being mostly acoustic, and it is quite different to any other Primal Fear song. Magnus Karlsson sings the chorus to start the song, Matt Sinner (bass) does the verses, Henny Wolter (guitar) does the second chorus, Wolter & Sinner do the third chorus, then those two plus Karlsson do the fourth chorus and Ralf Scheepers (vocals) does another different (higher) chorus a few times in the last third of the song. I love it.
Despite the highlights I've mentioned above, to me 16.6 sounds like a band unsure of where to go after the brilliance of their last effort and unsure of how to incorporate not only the new guitar skills but also the new song writing ability they have gained with Magnus Karlsson. In short it sounds like a band struggling and trying too hard.
In fairness to Primal Fear, few bands have consistently delivered high quality albums and surpassed themselves with each release. In fact I can only think of the ultimate metal legends Iron Maiden who (arguably) did it for a period during the 1980's. So it was probably inevitable that there would come a point where Primal Fear reached their pinnacle, and I believe they did with New Religion. Thankfully 16.6 is not an abomination though. In fact it is still a good album, just not quite as good as some of their previous work or as good as I was expecting.

I've been a huge fan of Primal Fear since the early 2000's. In addition, they gave a smokin' performance at ProgPower VIII in Atlanta! With that said,the last two releases have been "experimental" for the band to say the least. They're solid releases, but not what a fan expects from a band that's put out the likes of Nuclear Fire and Black Sun! 16.6 is for sure a return to form for Primal Fear. If you like their earlier stuff, then you should be happy. With that said, if you dug their last two efforts, then you should be happy as well. With the addition of new guitarist Magnus Karlson, Primal Fear seems to have found a "happy" balance between the old and the new.

This is the 8th studio by giant power/heavy metal band Primal Fear.

For over a decade the band has been consistently offering superior musical material, having more than delivered the goods on each and every one of their previous seven releases.

As experienced fans are probably aware since their fifth album "Devil's Ground" the band has been following the orchestral symphonic power metal path on quite a few songs. 16.6 However sees a departure from that direction to the more familiar "metal on metal" attitude of the first four albums.

The band consists of founding members Mat Sinner (B) and Ralf Scheepers (V) along with long established drum annihilator Randy Black. This album also sees the return of guitarist Henny Wolter in the band as a full time member and last but definitely not least newcomer (to the band not to the scene!) Magnus Karlsson. The latter member is known as one of the premier metal songwriters in Europe having composed melodic metal albums such "Allen -Lande" and "The Codex" in their entirety.

Naturally expectations are once again immense but to say that the band delivers would be the understatement of 2009. All their albums are top of the top but 16.6 reaches new levels of completion. With 15 tracks of undeniable, commanding metal, Primal Fear brings the most lucrative metal proposition of 2009 to the table: The melodies are bigger and heavier than ever; the tempo is furious and the attitude is back!! All the aggression, irony and agony is embedded within the songs of 16.6

"Riding the Eagle" is so melodic, heavy and resilient that turns you into a 17 year old again. "Under the radar" is probably one of the most emotional speed power metal songs ever written. The number track "16.6" is an absolute brainwash that will have you mumbling its chorus at various times of the day. "Smith and Wesson" and "Soar" have all the high octane attitude one expects from the metal eagle while sounding up to date and lyrically relevant.

Saying that there are no fillers on 16.6 is unnecessary since one does not expect the best of the best from "Primal Fear", one demands it.

This is the band that can leave you speechless; one could have thought that after 10 years of stage presence and 7 superior albums the band would have run out of steam round about this time... but... NO!! "Primal Fear" re emerge with the most aggressive, longest running and diverse album in their history.

I honestly cannot think of another power melodic metal band that has released 8 superior albums in a row. Up to a point I thought it was impossible for any band given the twist and turns of the industry and life itself that cause even the best to lose focus. On that note the men in Primal Fear deserve applause for their commitment to the music and the fans alone.

"16.6" Has already reached 28 on the Japanese charts, 46 on the German charts and position 52 on the Swedish charts.


"PowerPlay" UK magazine issue 110 marks this album with 9/10 commenting: "If you thought that `New Religion' was the most diverse, most far reaching Primal Fear album to date, you need to think again because on the evidence in front of me, you aint heard anything yet!"

I was really surprised by this release. Much heavier than New Religion and much better IMO. It's like they finally let Randy Black loose on this one! Killer drums! This CD is more like their first 4 CD's which made me a fan to begin with. Great vocals, killer guitar work, great bass and production. Too bad that Henny Wolter has left the band again, he's a great song writer and guitarist. They should be in good shape with Alex Beyrodt and Magnus Karlsson though. I was right up in front of Henny at the Milwaukee metalfest 2001, great show, same set as the Wacken set one week earlier on their first DVD. Be sure to check out their new DVD also, killer! Anyway, if you like your Primal Fear metal heavy and done right, check out 16.6! It may be their best overall CD!

just recieved this album (along with 'nuclear fire') from amazon yesterday. it took me a listen to get into it but i really do like it. as a PF fan i eagerly await their new albums so i can see what the band is offering and to rock my brains out to some new metal. i knew i had to add this to my collection as i own most of the bands albums (DG, BS, SS, NR, GH's, and now NF) and this one didnt disappoint. although when i recieved it from amazon, i realised that my copy didnt come with a cd booklet. a rather odd turn of events but on to the music......

the album starts off with a bunch of great tracks that get you rockin...
BEFORE THE DEVIL KNOWS YOU'RE DEAD is your typical 'death and destruction are coming' heavy metal album intro. then the album kicks off with the fast paced RIDING THE EAGLE. a great song with a rousing chorus. fast paced and rockin. then it leads us into SIX TIMES DEAD(16.6) which is presumably the title track of the album. with its eerie sound and crawling guitar lines this song is a keeper. next up is BLACK RAIN, a slower, middle eastern inspired track. slow it may be but it's still a great track and creates a mood when listening to it. which leads us into a couple more rocking tracks after that. UNDER THE RADAR and 5.0/TORN are rockers that will get your head bobbing up and down. especially the fast paced 'radar'. after these 2 rockers comes the fast paced SOAR. the fast pace of the verses is offset by a slightly slower chorus which works for the song. there's a wierd middle part that soundS like korn but i can overlook that for the rest of the song. the blistering rythm will get you headbanging. next up is KILLBOUND. this song oddly enough has a guitar line that reminds me of another PF song that i cant figure out just yet. maybe it's 'carniwar' or 'demons and angels'. but it definately sounds like they took the same guitar and put it to a new song. the song is pretty good but not one of the highlights. the chorus is kind of blah...
the next track, NO SMOKE WITHOUT FIRE, is your 'dramatic ballad' of the album. the song's ok but not one of my favs. NIGHT AFTER NIGHT opens with a great guitar intro and proceeds to pound you with some double bass drumming before slowing down for the verse. the chorus picks the faster rythm up again and throws in some helloween-esqe melody. a good song. i could see this one being even better and more dramatic in a live setting. SMITH AND WESSON is another rocker that starts off fast but slows down for the verses. it's a pretty rockin track even if the lyrics are a bit cheesy. it kinda has an 80's metal vibe to it. this is followed by THE EXORCIST. a heavy as hell song that will get you headbanging immediately with it's blistering guitar and double bass drumming mayhem. this song harkens back to the band ACCEPT. i could easily see udo screaming this one out. this one's a keeper. the albums closing song, HANDS OF TIME is definately a highlight of the album. an acoustic song where 4 band members take the vocal reins and deliver a very powerful song about life passing you by without you realizing it. the music, lyrics and vocal performance of this track are all top notch. truly amazing song.
the version of this cd i got is the digipack version which contains 2 extra tracks, CRY HAVOC and SCREAM. both of which are worth the price of admission and are better than a few of the tracks on the regular version of the cd. CRY HAVOC is an up-tempo rocker with a fun chorus and an almost tribal drumming to the verse. the final song, SCREAM, is another up-tempo rocker that will get your blood pumping and head banging. both of these tracks remind me of older PF. they could have easily come off of either of their first 2 albums.

so what is the verdict, you ask? well this album is definately a great rocker and a keeper. despite it's few flaws. pf fans will like it and i think even the casual listener will enjoy this album. i just hope for the next album they go back to the speed/power metal of albums like 'devils ground' and 'nuclear fire'.
will be seeing PF at progpower in a few weeks and i'm sure it will be awesome. cant wait to see the metal commando live!!!!!!!!!!!
KEEP IT METAL!!

This Album is a bit different more of an edge on the classic Primal Fear, But also a diverse side with a few slower more ballad type songs. I like the harder songs on this CD and the songs do rock, Primal Fear is using more notes or chords in their music this time around and the guitar parts are more percussive which I really liked. Not the best Primal Fear Album but I like where they are going with this new idea.

I really would like to be more of a fan of power metal than I am, but I just find the genre void of any variety whatsoever. I'm thinking of dragonforce here. Primal fear however, is far and away the best power metal band I've ever heard. I'm not saying I like every single song they've put out, but they change their tempos up. They don't have to have the same drum beat that a lot of power metal bands rely on. Overall I really like these guys, and hope to see them live at some point. I love their cover of Metallica's Seak and destroy.

Overall I found this album to be a slight step back, songwritting wise. Musically it's really cool. They have enough of the old, to stay true to who they are, but they also mix it up and experament a little here and there. The perfect blend of new and old.

Riding The Eagle 8/10 - Kind of a typical power metal song. Relatively fast paced, lots of double bass drums. The chorus is ok, but it's missing something. Overall still a pretty good song. I don't know what it is with these guys and eagles.

Six Times Dead 8/10 - The only thing that bugs me about this one is the lyrics in the chorus sixteen six all over the world etc. It just bugs me. The song is an upper mid tempo song. Nice guitar riff in the verses. Great vocal melodies, especially the chorus. If not for the lyrics this would be my favorite song on the album.

Black Rain 8/10 - Cool acoustic intro. This one's a slow almost ballad type song. The vocals in the chorus are a little too annoying for my taste, but I can overlook that. Formula One is kind of the same way, and that's one of my favorite Primal Fear songs. It's still a cool song. I like the guitar work in the verses, the first is acoustic, and the second is electric. The bridge and guitar solo, the song picks up speed. The solo is pretty solid too.

Under The Radar 6/10 - This one's another heavier upper tempo song. The verses are pretty good, if not a bit typical Primal Fear. The chorus doesn't really do it for me though.

5.0 /Torn 6/10 - kind of interesting intro. I enjoy the bass in there. Kind of an upper-mid-tempo song, slower than the non ballad songs on this album to this point. There's some symphonic elaments in the pre chorus. It's missing something, a hook, but still it's a decent song. The song kind of goes on longer than it should. I like the acoustic outro though.

Soar 7/10 - Cool intro. Kind of reminds me of Lincon Park, but not in a bad way. It quickly turns into a typical Primal Fear song. I like the guitar sound on this one. The bridge almost reminds me of Korn, kind of random guitar notes being played over drums and bass, and kind of a grove beat, and I'm not sure if that was a turntable I heard. The chorus in this one is also a little too weak. It's relatively fast paced.

Killbound 5/10 - This one is another up mid tempo song, with a nice grove. I'm realy not a fan of this chorus. The verses are cool. For some reason this one reminds me of Hammerfall's Blod bound.

No Smoke Without Fire 7/10 - This one's slower. The intro has some string instruments, with guitars and drums and bass. The verses have piano and strings, and some sort of electronic sounding beat, then the guitars and drums kick in just before the chorus. Again the chorus is somewhat lacking, but the music makes up for a lot of that.

Night After Night 5/10 - Fast intro, but the song gets slower untill the chorus which speeds up. I'm just not feeling this one. It's ok, buut it just doesn't jump out at me.

Smith & Wesson 6/10 - Another upper mid tempo song. Nice riffs, the verses get slower. The chorus picks up the pace. The lyrics in the chorus bring this one down. Just awful. Decent vocal melodies.

The Exorcist 8/10 - One of the faster songs on the album, certainly of the second half. The verses are pretty good. Typical Primal Fear song. Decent chorus.

Hands of Time /10 - This one's a ballad type song. Lots of acoustic guitars. Is this the same vocalist? If so he sounds different. Looking at wikipedia I guess not. Overall an ok song. I can't remember hearing a Primal Fear song like this before.

Overall this is an ok cd. Sadly so far it's the best one of 09. I've seen the lengths of the new Dream Theater songs, so I'm not holding out hope that one will be good. It is nice to finally hear a band release something where the songs actually vary in tempo. I do enjoy the music on this album, I just feel they could've worked on the lyrics and some melodies a little more.

Still in a year where we get lame slow hookless releases from once great bands like Queensryche and Black sabbath/heaven and hell, it's nice to hear a band put something out that can hold my attention. Did I mention the previous bands' releases are rediculously slow. If you're a Primal Fear fan, then you should definately own this. If you're new to the band, I'd recomend another release. I liked New Religion, their self titled and Black Sun, the most. So far this is the best 2009 has to offer in heavy metal. Ok to edit that last statement, I was skeptical, but Dream Theater's new one beats this one. Still a good cd though.