Review & photos by Andrew Bansal
May 15th 2014, City National Grove Of Anaheim, Anaheim CA: In the grand scheme of things, German power metal band Primal Fear have been as active as ever, releasing an impressive studio album called ‘Unbreakable’ in 2012, following it up with an even better effort ‘Delivering The Black’ earlier this year and touring in Europe, South America and Japan consistently over the past few years, but it had been four years since they did a North American tour, and for Primal Fear’s cult fan base in the continent, the wait was finally over as the band set out on a headline tour with local support in each town, making their way to the Grove of Anaheim for their only Southern California appearance on this run. Even with as many as six other concerts going on elsewhere around Los Angeles and Orange County last night, I decided to pick the Primal Fear show, and with fond memories from their 2010 show at the House Of Blues along with the curious anticipation of discovering whether the choice I made would turn out to be wise or regrettable, I entered the venue as soon as doors opened at 6:30 PM.
Providing local support for this show were Los Angeles-based melodic/power metal trio Ninth Circle, whom I had seen open for Paul Di’Anno and Mr. Big in the past and came to admire the quality of their musicianship and live performance. This was my first time seeing them in three years since their show with Mr. Big at the Observatory. During this period they signed a record deal in Germany with Pure Steel Records and completed work on their third full-length album called ‘Legions Of The Brave’, which was the primary focus of this 30-minute set. They opened with an old song but then delved into four tunes off of the new album and entertained this audience with some unmistakably pristine heavy metal. They’ve been around for nearly 15 years now, as is clearly evident from the musical experience and expertise they display while performing on stage, and the collection of new tunes is another big positive step forward for the trio of guitarist/vocalist Dennis Brown, bassist Frank Forray and drummer Dave Davis. The delightful guitar tone coming out of Dennis’ Ibanez was fondly reminiscent of Iron Maiden’s Adrian Smith, and based on this set, it’s safe to say that all three members not only gel together excellently on the interplay between their respective instruments but also vocally combine to deliver strong choruses. For a Primal Fear show, I couldn’t imagine a better local opener than Ninth Circle, and here’s a band that deserves to go on a full tour with a band like Primal Fear because it’s hard to fathom any old-school metal fan not appreciating Ninth Circle’s music. Due to their musical style and the German record deal, I can easily envision them succeeding in territories like Europe and Japan, and I hope they raise their ambitions to attempt taking their music to places far and beyond Southern California.
Check out a gallery of 13 Ninth Circle photos from the show below, or view it here if you’re on a non-Flash device:
Ninth Circle links:
NinthCircle.US
facebook.com/Ninth.Circle.Rocks
twitter.com/Ninth_Circle
Set List:
01. Revolution
02. After The Rain
03. Legions Of The Brave
04. In Evil We Trust
05. All Or Nothing
At 9:20, the lights went out and Primal Fear promptly arrived on stage to present tunes off of the two latest albums as well as a solid selection from their past catalog for a highly enjoyable 80-minute set that was wholeheartedly appreciated by everyone here in attendance. It might have been four years since we last got to see them but it’s clear that during this time they’ve stayed at the peak of their powers as musicians and performers, and haven’t skipped a beat. Led by vocalist Ralf Scheepers, Primal Fear put on a truly fantastic performance, doing complete justice to their older material and showcasing the sheer quality of the newer tunes, epic compositions such as ‘One Night In December’ bringing some of the most memorable moments of the performance and proving that they’re still at a point in their 18-year career wherein they’re able to write great music and outdo their own previous efforts each time they create a new album.
Besides, powerful ballads like ‘When Death Comes Knocking’ also turned out to be great additions to the set and held the audience’s undivided attention. The Grove had about 200 people in attendance for this show, which when viewed in absolute terms might be considered a ‘slow’ night for the venue, but these 200 were incredibly vocal in their support of Primal Fear, and the band was thoroughly enjoying playing to this highly receptive and responsive crowd. If people who didn’t attend get to hear an audio recording of this show, they may even be mistaken into thinking that the attendance was closer to 2000 rather than 200. Primal Fear’s performance deserved a great response, and they certainly got it from this crowd.
Prior to the show, in all honesty I felt it was the wrong choice of venue for Primal Fear to be playing at the Grove, but upon seeing the manner in which they commanded the big stage and the top-notch sound quality (due in part to the efforts of the band’s sound man/tour manager Jan) which served full justice to Primal Fear’s musicianship, I’m more than glad that the show took place here. It allowed for the audience to get the full extent of the Primal Fear live experience, as opposed to some sweaty, dingy dive bar that other promoters might have thought of as more appropriate for the size of Primal Fear’s ‘draw’.
I would put this Primal Fear performance on par with that of Iced Earth as the best I’ve seen this year, and the band completely vindicated the decision of those who chose to attend this show. Vocally, Ralf Scheepers was absolutely brilliant. For his age, he looks and sounds amazing, and I can foresee him continuing to keep this level of vocal delivery for at least another decade, in the process taking the baton from metal vocal legends like Halford and Dickinson who will most likely retire much before Scheepers does. His band mates Matt Sinner on bass, Alex Beyrodt and Magnus Karlsson on guitars and Randy Black on drums each performed their roles to perfection as well, Sinner playing a crucial part lending depth to the overall sound with his backing vocals as well. Primal Fear is a band that’s worthy of playing the biggest stages in the world, to the biggest crowds, and they should be the ones touring the world with the likes of Iron Maiden and Judas Priest. But regardless, they are guaranteed to have my unwavering support every time they visit Southern California, and if you’re a true fan of old-school heavy metal, go see a Primal Fear show.
Related: Interview With Primal Fear Singer Ralf Scheepers
Check out a gallery of 50 Primal Fear photos from the show below, or view it here if you’re on a non-Flash device:
Primal Fear links:
PrimalFear.de
facebook.com/PrimalFearOfficial
Set List:
01. Final Embrace
02. Alive & On Fire
03. Delivering The Black
04. Nuclear Fire
05. Seven Seals
06. One Night In December
07. Angel In Black
08. When Death Comes Knocking
09. Chainbreaker
10. Fighting the Darkness
11. Bad Guys Wear Black
12. Metal Is Forever
Encore:
13. Unbreakable Pt. 2
Remaining Tour Dates:
5/16 Tempe, AZ – Club Red
5/18 Dallas, TX – Trees
5/19 Houston, TX – Scout Bar
5/21 Atlanta, GA – Masquerade
5/22 Louisville, KY – Diamonds
5/23 Pittsburgh, PA – Altar Bar
5/24 Rochester, NY – Montage Music Hall
Grove Of Anaheim links:
CityNationalGroveOfAnaheim.com
facebook.com/TheGroveOfAnaheim
twitter.com/GroveOfAnaheim
instagram.com/GroveOfAnaheim