Search - Primal Fear :: Black Sun

Black Sun shines brightly!

alpha128 | Cleveland, OH USA | 02/25/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

""Black Sun" (2002), Primal Fear's fourth full length album, takes what worked so well on Nuclear Fire and adds more. A little more heaviness here, a little more melody there. More attention to songcraft generating even more memorable songs. The result is, in my opinion, Primal Fear's best release to date.



Many of the highlights on this disc are found in the first third, including the riff-laden "Armageddon", the energetic "Lightyears From Home" and the catchy mid-tempo "Revolution".



But it's misleading to talk about highlights as this album is consistently engaging. There are no weak tracks to speak of. There are no embarrassing instances where a song intro from Judas Priest's Painkiller album has been recycled, as on Nuclear Fire ("Kiss of Death" = "Hell Patrol") and Devil's Ground ("Sea of Flames" = "All Guns Blazing").



One of the things I love about this CD is its diversity, while remaining very much a heavy metal album. The thrash of "Fear" soon gives way to the melodic "Magic Eye". Then comes the ultra-heavy "Mind Machine" followed by "Silence", a power ballad that doesn't skimp on the power. Sometimes the diversity is found in the same song, e.g., "We Go Down" starts out like a ballad and then morphs into a heavy rocker. This variety is one of the reasons the "Black Sun" album holds your interest throughout.



Some may prefer "Nuclear Fire" to "Black Sun". I'll admit the former may have an edge when it comes to pure speed. But arguing about which one to buy is like arguing whether you'd prefer free diamonds or free platinum. By all means get both if you can."

In space, with the spiritual successor to Judas Priest!

Jamie the Metallion | the faerie realm | 10/19/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"First off, a note about the main attraction, vocalist Ralf Scheepers. Anyone who's talked to me about Primal Fear has known that I have jokingly refered to Primal Fear alternately as "Primal Priest" and "Judas Fear", but with good reason. All you Judas Priest fans out there will immediately note a resemblance to the vocals of none other than Rob Halford. In fact, legend has it that Scheepers himself tried out for Judas Priest, the job ultimately landed by Tim "Ripper" Owens. Still, I've got to say that Scheepers sounds like a mighty strong contender.



With that out of the way, let's move on to the music. Strong, solid musicianship, also reminiscent of Judas Priest, as well as Iron Maiden. Twin harmonized guitars kick in from time to time, doing their forebears proud. Detuned guitars also make an appearance in the song "Mind Machine".



"Countdown to Insanity" kicks off the album, with subtle sound effects such as a rocket launcing, and chime-ish sounds before slamming into a heavy riff, establishing the overall mood, theme and tone of things. We next go into "Black Sun", a song with a faster tempo, taking you into orbit with the album's protagonists. "Armageddon" is very catchy, and hooks you in. "Lightyears From Home" also keeps the ride going good. After that, a couple of ho-hum tracks that I could take or leave from a musical standpoint, before "Magic Eye" and "Silence" bring us back on track.



Lyrically, Black Sun's content seems to be largely sci-fi fare, and most likely dystopian in tone, given the song titles and what I've parsed from the lyric insert.



"A last goodbye" is referenced in the song "Silence", possibly the protagonist's thoughts towards loved ones on his homeworld. But this isn't a sappy ballad, oh no! Musically, this flat out rocks! So anyway ... yeah, you out there writing a sappy ballad! Take notes from this song! The Primal Fear boys did this one right.



So, long story short. If you like metal, and you like sci-fi, then by golly, you owe it to yourself to check this out.



The weaker tracks *almost* made me take off a star. But then, they don't offer half star ratings here. And even that would be a grave injustice to this remarkable work."