Seven Seals

Primal Fear | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (October 18, 2005)
• Original Release Date: 2005
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Nuclear Blast Americ
• ASIN: B000AP2ZNU
• In-Print Editions: Audio CD  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (19 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #90,359 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

This limited edition comes packaged in a digipak and includes bonus tracks TBA. Primal Fear worked on the recordings of 'Seven Seals' together with co-producer Charlie Bauerfiend (Blind Guardian, Hammerfall) in April/May 2005 and then ventured thousands of miles to Warehouse Studios in Vancouver, Canada to join forces with Mike Fraser for the mastering of the disc. Nuclear Blasts. 2005. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars First time for everything..., February 2, 2006

By 

John. N (Big Run, PA USA) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Seven Seals (Audio CD)

Primal Fear is one of those bands if I the opportunity of experiencing their music before immersing myself in the work a slew of other European metal outfits, I probably held a higher reguard for their work. But by the time my friend did introduce me to Primal Fear, I wasn't exactly bowled over in any shape or form. In fact, before I ever heard Devil's Ground, the only place I knew singer Ralph Scheepers from was Gamma Ray's 1993 album "Insanity & Genius" (a classic if there ever was one).

Despite the above, I had heard from some of my friends that Seven Seals differed from the band's previous outings, and I decided to give it a try. I must say I'm glad I did, because while their other albums were good, the songs never infiltrated cerebral cortex as much as this batch of songs does. Songs such as "Seven Seals" ooze so much class, it isn't even funny. The savagely awesome "Evil Spell" sends chills down my spine with it's psychotic drumming and "In Memory of You" is a hauntingly beautiful ballad that closes the album in pure style.

Still, Seven Seals may come to disappoint some hard core Primal Fear fans who believe speed and power is everything. The album is definitely more symphonic than anything the band has ever done before, but the songs still do contain a very respectable amount of heavyness and it evens out. Those who aren't overly critical of said band sticking exclusively to their roots are likely the ones to get the most out of Seven Seals.

As a final note, I must say I do like how the ideas behind Seven Seals somewhat harkens back to Helloween's Keeper of the Seven Keys 1 & 2. In a way, while not being the same type of music, it somewhat pays tribute to those great albums without it seeming like a sorry attempt at cashing in (a.k.a Helloween's Keeper of the Seven Keys Part III: The Legacy ~ seriously, what where they thinking!?)

So, in closing, I would recommend anyone with an interest in this genre of music to check out Seven Seals, especially those who found that the band's later works were not their cup of tea.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Primal Fear Do Not Disappoint..., October 22, 2005

By 

B. DiMolfetta (NYC and beyond) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Seven Seals (Audio CD)

I consider myself an experienced PF fan. I have every release and I have seen them live in Europe as well.

I compare it to Devil's Ground only because this is the second straight release with the latest lineup. I like this one better than Devil's Ground. Although there are more "goth-like" effects, it doesn't sound as "tinny". Everything seems to be in place, thanks to the production work of Charlie Bauernfeind, who also backed Hammerfall on Chapter V. It's more bottom heavy, and things seem very well defined.

My criteria for acceptance of any performance is the following:
1. It rocks if I can put it on while cleaning the bathroom without having to dry my hands to change it
2. It rocks if I can strap it on my arm for a 5-mile run and it feeds my innner passion such that the 60 minutes flies by effortlessly (which still happens whenever I execute this highly productive ritual with my Iron Maiden playlist - 'Where Eagles Dare' is my top choice for "Best Runner's Tune").
3. It rocks if I can play it loud in my car sitting at a stop light and I can look around feeling proud about my choice.

Seven Seals passes all of these tests.

I would have done 5 *'s, but the title track is not the 10-minute high flying batttle of epic proportions that I expected it to be - perhaps I need to listen to it a bit more and have it sink in and to realize that it is a ballad-like 4 minute'ish effort instead (it is not a bad song, just not what I expected). Yes, in a way I guess I was looking for the second coming of 7th Son...

Regardless of this, it is very, very good. Invest in it.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Crushing, epic, metal anthems!, July 21, 2006

By 

Russroom (Summit, NJ) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Seven Seals (Audio CD)

If it was 1987 these guys would be the biggest band in the world, and I mean that in the best way, as in when METAL was king. This album is as good if not better then the Black Sun album, which was awesome. There is no filler material here, every song is a keeper. Brutal, pounding metal with plenty of speed and power.
If you like Judas Priest, Iron Maiden, Slayer, or Testament, buy this album. This band remains one of the brightest lights in the metal world.