Black Sun

Primal Fear | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (May 14, 2002)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Nuclear Blast Americ
• ASIN: B000063TEP
• In-Print Editions: Audio CD  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (20 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #126,678 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Tied With Nuclear Fire For The Best Of Primal Fear!, September 5, 2006

By 

Mike Smith - See all my reviews

This review is from: Black Sun (Audio CD)

I really like this album. It is heavy, bright and energizing, as opposed to boring and flawed like Seven Seals. All of the band members do a fine job delivering great music to our ears on this album. I think Black Sun and Nuclear Fire are Primal Fear's best. But listen to some samples, and you decide.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Black Sun=Supernova, tour de force metal, August 3, 2002

By 

L. Zimmerman "Burning Angel" (Nebraska) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Black Sun (Audio CD)

this was the second Primal fear Cd that i bought about a month after i bought Nuclear Fire, I hate to rate which cd i like the best because i love all of them, they are all great and unique in there own way. This Cd blows up in your face with the first 4 tracks, I'm not to up to speed on one the technicall jargen of music of how each instrument sounds or the, well u get the point anyway those first 4 tracks are BLISTERING. that's good and bad tho just like a double edge sword, the first 4 tracks set such a franatic, mindblowing pace thru the first 1/3 of the cd that it would be impossible to keep it up thru the rest of the cd. Track 3- Armageddon and track 4- Lightyears from home are in my opinion far and away the two best tracks on the cd followed closely by track 6- Fear. with that being said i don't want you going away from this review thinking the rest of this cd is just so so cause it's not, it's all good. i listened to this cd for like 2-3 weeks strait till i bought some other new cd's and had to give them a listen, believe me i would take this cd to work an play it over an over, my fellow associates can vouch for that. I am still new to primal fear i just recently purchaced there first two cd's and compared to the previous three cd's this is probalbly the slowest of the four but not by much. Even when i say slow they burn the heck out of and blow the roof off of many other bands out there leaving them choking on the dust left behind from the dirt kicked up in the wake of the visceral onslaught that is Primal Fear. i'm looking foward to many more of these high quality cd's being pumped out so I can have some great music to listen to in the comming years, I hold these guys up high on the podium of music along my other favorit bands, like Iced earth, arch Enemy, and blind guardian to name a few. just sit back and be amzazed at the talent of this band. I can't praise them enough, while ur purchasing this cd u might as well get the other 3 if u don't have them already they are worth every penny. Enjoy.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Another good dosage of Judas Priest-styled metal, November 9, 2003

By 

M. B. Link "wildfirelink" (USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Black Sun (Audio CD)

Black Sun(2002). Primal Fear's fourth studio album.

In the 90s, heavy metal music was pretty much dead in the eyes of the US public. However, over in Europe power metal still flourished and many bands emerged taking influences from such bands as Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, Dio, Metallica, and other popular artists of the 80s. Primal Fear, a power/thrash metal act was one of those bands. Make no mistake, Primal Fear is a band which takes its influence HEAVILY from Painkiller-era Judas Priest, with a few Helloween qualities thrown in for good measure. These guys are not clones of Priest by any means because they infuse their own energy into each of the rockers here, but at the same time, if you were a fan of some of the heavier Priest albums you will find yourself in familiar territory with Primal Fear. Like Priest, PF employs a twin guitar attack during the solos. The most noteworthy thing though is how vocalist Ralf Scheefers (formerly of Gamma Ray) sounds almost EXACTLY like Rob Halford. To me, he should have been the Priest replacement vocalist, not Tim Ripper Owens. Think of Ralf as a more youthful Halford who at times can scream higher than his predecessor, though Rob is still the better vocalist. It's not all blind praise to Priest though because in an interview with Rob Halford once, he even stated that he was good friends with Primal Fear and believes them to be a strong continuing force in metal.

Black Sun is a solid continuation of their previous album, Nuclear Fire. Containing clean cut production which helps to show off the blistering guitar crunching and Ralf's glass-shattering screams, it's probably their best album to date, if not most recognizable. Judging by the cover, it has a very "outer spacy" feel throughout the disc. It even borrows some instrumentation help from their Metalgod hero's band, Halford. How does Black Sun fare? Lets see:

1) Countdown To Insanity- A short music-box introduction to the next track. **

2) Black Sun- The title track serves as a pulse-pounding rocker which gets anyone in the mood to rock. ****

3) Armageddon- A steady mid-paced rocker in which the lyrics subtly take on the subject of 9/11. The chorus contains the perfect message to the terrorists: "If this is armageddon, then who the hell are you?". *****

4) Lightyears From Home- This blazing fast number sort of explains the album's cover. The metal eagals have destroyed their planet, so they are stranded out in space far from their home. Sort of a weird story, but fitting. ****

5) Revolution- A steady mid-paced rocker in the vein of Judas Priest's song 'Heavy Metal'. Quite good, although the chorus doesn't work quite as well as I would have liked it to. ****

6) Fear- Another fast-paced song similar to the title track. Utilizes a lot of chugging guitar riffs. ****

7) Mind Control- Primal Fear does something here they've never tried before, strip the layers of heavy guitars in favor of a more melodic sound. Pretty good. ****

8) Magic Eye- ONE OF THE BEST TRACKS ON HERE. This track carries the melodic style to the next level, using lighter guitars and Ralf even lowers his vocals! A masterpiece and defining moment for Primal Fear. *****

9) Mind Machine- ANOTHER SOLID TRACK. Here the album goes back to the heaviness the band usually employs. But here it works out very well. Contains excellent guitaring and franticly paced drumming. A winner. *****

10) Silence- Mid-paced, heavy, and melodic, similar to the JP track 'Some Heads Are Gonna Roll'. Not a standout, but worth a listen. ****

11) We Go Down- Very slow and haunting towards the beginning and in other parts, but it ends up turning into another fast rocker. This one's very good though, and it contains an outstanding solo later on. *****

12) Cold Day In Hell- A drum-plodding track. Pretty good, but nothing out of the ordinary really. ***

13) Controlled- The final track is the heaviest one on here. There are some similarities to Gamma Ray with this track, but like the last one, fails to make a lasting impression. ***

Black Sun isn't a revolutionary metal album at all, far from it actually. But for those who are rabid fans of heavier Judas Priest that simply want more, any Primal Fear album gets the job done. My real rating is 4.5 stars (why doesn't amazon allow this???). HIGHLY RECOMMENDED TO FANS OF HEAVY METAL MUSIC.