Customer Reviews

Fear

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

 

 

Royal Hunt is just another multi-talented rock band who, unfortunately, will never get the recognition they deserve..at least in the U.S. Their fifth studio album, "Fear," is another awesome release packed with the trademark Royal Hunt elements. Classically-influenced sweeping keyboards, fantastic melodies, epic songs, a larger than life guitar sound, and tense lyrics. Much like the band Boston, these guys will never change their sound or songwriting style...if you like this band, you'll ALWAYS like this band. Highlights of "Fear" include the title track (perhaps the strongest song they've ever written), "Cold City Lights," "Lies," and "Sea Of Time." If you listen to incredible bands like Dream Theater, Shadow Gallery, Yes, etc...you'll appreciate Royal Hunt. Buy this CD and support REAL rock!

This is weird... Very strange... I can remember, back in 1973, getting really excited about an album that had it all - heart-beats, ticking clocks...and the most uplifting music I'd ever heard... That was Pink Floyd's 'Dark Side Of The Moon', with it's underlying theme of mental illness... Well, here we go again... I've got that feeling once more.Here is an album exploring various forms of fear. It's got the sound effects, it's got the most thoughtful, magnificent music - excitingly arranged, perfectly performed, and with a depth and variation that is simply staggering. The first track - 'Fear' - has an opening that defies description, giving way to the monster Royal Hunt sound - big drums, darting bass runs, fat, filthy, fast guitar licks...and Andre Andersen's keyboards, which sound, as always, like some Baroque orchestra on speed! 'Lies' is a frenetically paced romp that shows influences as diverse as AC/DC and - would you beleive - Antonio Vivaldi! And that's followed by the Big Metal Ballad... 'Follow Me' is a beautifully crafted, heart-felt plea to forget the fear of the unknown and do 'what your heart is telling you...' This album is packed with songs that are memorable, delivered with great skill and wrapped in arrangements that leave you breathless (and, if played at the correct volume, also half-deaf! ) Don't hesitate - buy the damn thing!

When I first heard DC Cooper wasn't going to be in the band anymore, I almost freaked! That guy had a set of pipes! But when I heard John West hit those high notes during the climax of the first song on this album, I was amazed! I think I even like John better! I have no complaints with this album! It is classic Royal Hunt; with the incredible keyboards, powerful guitars, beautiful harmonies, and wonderfully written songs! The highlights of this album, in my opinion, are Fear (with a few added points for that Genesis verse reversed at the beginning!) and Follow Me. I'm still debating if I like this album more than Paradox and have a feeling I'll never be able to decide! This is definately worth buying!

Royal Hunt does it again. Creating another addicting musicical masterpiece. If you have heard Royal Hunt before, you know they have a monster guitar/Keyboard/bass sound. Well the recording quality is so incredible, that their huge sound about shakes everything in the house. In my search of great bands, Royal Hunt is definitly one of the most tallented. Fear is thier first album with front man John West, formerly from Artension, a band with Vitalij Kuprij. I wasn't too thrilled when i heard he was in the band because of corny lyrics and stuff in Artension. Well John fit right in and only one song is slightly corny lyric wise, "Cold City Nights". Reguardless, the album is brilliant, and John West pulls off the impossible. The guitar licks are insane, and they are tighter than ever as a band. Andre does it again. Can this band do no wrong?

This is a great progressive metal album; definitely has that 80s power rock feel but fit into a metal context. It's nice to hear metal written in such a beautiful way, & yet still be able to headbang to. I highly recommend this album if you are a fan of progressive/power metal especially if you like bands like Savatage, Angel Dust, Dream Theater & Kamelot.

I think Royal Hunt not have got the credit they deserve for their music the same way other proggresive band have. They are up to class to any other progg-rock group as symphony x, Treshold, Shadow gallery and others. Fear is another great album from this Danish proggresive group. If you have heard the album Moving Target with Royal Hunt (who is a realy great album) I can compare with this one and say that this album is a bit harder and the songs singed a little bit different because they have another singer on this album.They seems to change singer quite often for their record. On this one is John West who sings.
Don`t misunderstand me on this, to change singer can be a refreshment for the band. John West deffently do his job on this record. Great singing, harmonic and powerfull. The melodies it`s powerfull with realy good cords in, great dueling between synth and guitar makes is "fun" to listen at.Royal Hunt has a "lighter" sound an other proggrock band who make it easy to listen at.Not the best Royal Hunt album but deffently wort to own. Great tracks on this album is:Fear, Lies, Voices, but all are stong material.
This album was relised in 1999.

Royal hunt are like old wine;they just get better with time.If their very early output somehow lacked a sense of cohesion,all that is gone now.John West is not merely replacing D.C.Cooper,but actually inaugurating a new era for this amazing Danish progressive act,so little known on this side of the Atlantic.

I thought the departed vocalist DC Cooper was a perfect fit for this band and when he left I hoped they could get a quality singer in his place. John West is not DC but he stands on his own merits. To John's credit he does not try to sound like DC. I agree with the previous review, if you liked Royal Hunt in the past you will like this cd. This is not heavy metal, but prog metal. It is intense at times and smooth others.

You could say that Royal Hunt had something to prove in 1999, after unceremoniously dumping vocalist D.C. Cooper, who was arguably responsible for much of the band's success up to that point. I don't think we'll ever know the real story behind his firing, but the end result is that Cooper went on to form Silent Force, and Royal Hunt continued as a band, this time with Artension's John West on vocals.

1999's Fear was West's first album with Royal Hunt, and he gives an admirable performance. He has a decent range, and his voice conveys emotion quite nicely. Comparisons with D.C. Cooper are unavoidable though, and to be quite honest West just doesn't measure up. He's a good singer, and if he were following Henrik Brockmann (from the band's first two albums) I'd call him an improvement. But D.C. Cooper's voice is like a force of nature, and those are hard shoes to fill. There's an energy and power on Moving Target and Paradox that you just don't find on Fear.

Overall, Fear is a very solid melodic metal album. The songwriting is on par with Moving Target, though perhaps not at the Paradox level. Musically, the band is as good as ever. More so than on previous releases, the keyboards take center stage on this album, which give it a more progressive feel.

Again, if Fear had followed Clown in the Mirror, it would probably be hailed as the band's best work. Stacked up against Paradox though, it can't help but fall short.

One of the other reviewers liked "Paradox" over "Fear". I would rank them equally. It is correct that John West never lets loose on this, its very similar to his last release with Artension. (neither does D.C. Cooper on "Paradox") I'm not a big fan of the "grand" or "regal" style of metal presented here, but I am not disappointed by any means. If you want to hear John West belt it out, get his solo effort "Permanent Mark".