Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Nothing less than perfect., October 31, 2007
This is by all means a fantastic album. If this is your first encounter with Primal Fear you will find power- heavy metal of the best quality from a band that has constantly been making superior records.
For the experienced fans in the ranks of Primal Fear this is as good as every other fear release. It is definitely one step ahead in the course that commenced through "Devil's Ground" (2004) and continued with "Seven Seals" (2005). Primal Fear progress by adding orchestral instruments in parts and female guest vocals by "Epica" lead singer Simone Simons. However, by playing the album one will come to understand that above all, this is a faithful reproduction of the established high- octane, razor-sharp Primal Fear style. You might not even notice the orchestral fills when hearing this album for the first time.
Even the British press had to acknowledge the superiority of this release; Specifically "Power Play" magazine (issue 92) gives this item a 10/10, commenting "put simply, this is brilliant". In other words, it does not get any better than this, a perfect record and as you might know, one doesn't expect to come across this rating very often when it comes to British journalists.
"Classic rock" magazine (issue 112) which does not specialise in power/heavy metal marked this album with 7/10 commenting "(Primal fear have) gone mano a mano with Helloween with their fiercely technical, exuberantly overblown epics"
Finally the album reached number 60 at the German charts, number 67 on the Swedish charts and number 37 on the Japanese charts. You will not regret investing on this remarkable album.
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Metal with orchestrations, March 26, 2008
This new CD constitutes Primal Fear's best work to-date. Hailing from Germany, Primal Fear has released several prior CDs, all of which were competent, but lacking in originality: the band's sound was largely derivative of Judas Priest. On this CD, however, they have evolved a more distinctive style. The music is still in the same genre: intense, powerful metal, reminiscent of the 1980s. What sets this CD apart from their earlier efforts is that both the melodic ideas and instrumental passages are better. The songs often feature unusual chord progressions and key changes. Keyboards, orchestrations and guest female vocals also enhance the quality of this release. All in all, a satisfying album.
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
An Outstanding Power Metal Album, March 2, 2008
In a year that produced a few disappointing metal releases, Primal Fear did not let the fans down and delivered an album that not only lived up to expectations but (in my opinion) was the best metal album of 2007. Primal Fear have always been subject to comparisons with metal Gods Judas Priest due to the style of power metal they play and vocalist Ralf Scheepers' voice sounding much like Rob Halford. This has turned some people away from their music, but Primal Fear are not a Judas Priest clone. Yes, there are similarities but Primal Fear has developed a sound all their own, and have continued to outdo each album they have released. Not many bands have been able to do this. "Nuclear Fire" was good, "Devils Ground" was better, and then "Seven Seals" was better again. In fact I didn't think they would be able to trump "Seven Seals" but they have done it with "New Religion".
The album opens with a full blasting metal assault in the track "Sign Of Fear". High pitched vocals, pounding drums, and that dual guitar onslaught; it's a great opening track.
Track 2 "Face The Emptiness" has a subtle orchestral backing, more melodic sound and great chorus. I think it is definitely one of the best tracks on the album.
"Every Time It Rains" follows, and opens with Epica's female vocalist Simone Simons and an orchestral arrangement reminiscent of the title track to their previous album. Scheepers and Simons trade verses and combine during the choruses, and their vocals complement each other perfectly. This is the most commercial sounding song on the album, a great song and the obvious choice for a single. It is followed by a typical Primal Fear power rocker in the title track "New Religion". Nothing special about this one, but a good song none the less.
Next comes the highlight of the album, and possibly the best song of the year in "Fighting The Darkness". The song is broken into three parts recorded onto the album as three individual tracks: "Fighting The Darkness", "The Darkness" and "Reprise". I can only guess that it was done this way so that the first part could be released as a single on its own, as the three parts together make this song almost nine minutes long in total. However, the three tracks musically follow on from each other perfectly so the listener is unaffected by the breaks. "The Darkness" is a great instrumental piece, before the chorus returns again in "Reprise". This song has a fabulous chorus and I think it is worth buying the album for this song alone.
As for the rest of the album, "Blood On Your Hands" is another typical Primal Fear power rocker like "New Religion", nothing special but still a good song.
To be critical, it is the next two tracks "The Curse Of Sharon" and "Too Much Time" which are the least likeable tracks in my opinion. The former is ok, but just average really, and the latter is a song about someone playing violent computer games so much they become immune to seeing the violence and look to go to the next level - reality. This song just does nothing for me at all, but it is followed by "Psycho" which has a great head banging riff and beat, plus another great chorus which ends with Scheepers screaming the title. This is another of my favourite songs from the album.
"World On Fire" is another pretty good track, faster paced yet melodic, with a slow break in the middle which then builds up before the guitar solo kicks in and the pace picks up again. "The Man (That I Don't Know)" is another of the albums best songs. It is a slow song, but no mushy lyrics and it is too powerful to be called a ballad. It has acoustic guitars, a great chorus, and builds in intensity. Scheepers sounds terrific on this one, and it is the perfect song to close an album with.
Overall, "New Religion" is a very consistent album of quality power metal with some moments of brilliance. The production is first class (as you would expect after their previous albums) but for me the two things which make this album better than their previous albums and the best album of 2007 are the quality of the song writing and Scheepers' vocal performance. I thoroughly recommend this album.
I got the digi-pack version with the two bonus film clips "Fighting The Darkness" and "Sign Of Fear". I always try to get a digi-pack version, and the film clips aren't bad either.
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by Primal Fear 
