From the opening cannonade of Demons and Angels, Primal Fear certainly have my attention. Battery percussion almost overpowers the guitar and bass tracks, with orchestral movements just making it through the mix as well. Perched in there as well is the distinctive voice of Ralf Scheepers (formerly of Gamma Ray). I don’t mean ‘distinctive’ in the ‘love it or hate it’ way, by the way – his voice is neither too high nor too low – and the high vocal additions of guitarist Mat Sinner are necessary but sparse.

Two tracks in – Rollercoaster being similar but different enough to Demons and Angels to be an enjoyable listen – and we reach the title track of the album. Shortly into Seven Seals, the drumming began to bug me. So far the mix of the tracks had been daring and made me listen, but – three tracks in – the high cymbals on the drum track begin to grate on me – I can easily imagine this album being played on a portable system, and all that those around you will hear from your headphones is ‘ts ts ts ts, ts ts ts ts’ over and over again. It’s not that the drumming is too repetitive, its simply the harshness of the high-end cymbals that seem to drown out all the other well-performed parts of the track.

However, Seven Seals abruptly comes to an end and we move on to Evil Spell – the intro to which provides welcome respite from the overloaded percussion of the previous tracks. However, once the track kicks in, the irritating cymbals are back – masking some impressive guitar solos and atmospheric choirs. I move on to track five: Hurrah! Drummer Randy Black has found a different cymbal to hit! As The Immortal Ones plays out, I am thankful for the ebbing persistence of the high-end percussion. I begin to notice more the effortless handling of the guitars by Stefan Liebing and Tom Naumann, as well as the good delivery of the standard-but-effective power metal lyrics by Scheepers.

Everyone’s favourite keyboard voice ‘Choir Aahs’ introduces the longest track on the album – Diabolus; clocking in at just under eight minutes. Initially with longing bass notes and softly wailing guitars setting a diabolic tone, this soon gives way to support from gentler guitars and punctuating guitar breaks that combine to produce an effective power ballad. Interestingly – as shown all over the album – the production favours the percussion, guitars and voice above anything else, and so instead of the soaring strings and full voiced choirs you might expect from such an ‘epic’ track, these are subdued throughout the album, rarely taking centre stage. Perhaps an understandable decision as Primal Fear feature no keyboard player in their line-up, yet also a welcome decision for those of you who often tire of the ‘over-the-top’ approach many power metal bands take with their ‘epic choirs and majestic strings’. This feature of the album’s production certainly leads me to believe that Primal Fear’s sound is quite unique: something which is clearly evident as the rest of the track runs its course.

Eager for more, I plunge on to All For One. Potentially an ‘epic metal’ disaster, any immediate satire is nullified by the simple yet serious guitar/vocalist duet that opens the album’s second longest track. As the track explodes into life, I am now settled into the sound of the album, and the percussion is no longer an issue – instead I am faced with perhaps the blandest track on the album. Determined to keep me interested, the track suddenly breaks into a drum/guitar duet (not something you hear every day), before the guitars seize their opportunity to show off. Like all the tracks, the sound is constrained – which in this case does suffocate the guitars a bit – perhaps the one track that could have allowed for less restraint on the guitar parts. Instead, I am left with the least interesting track on the album.

With the mood knocked flat from the previous track, Carniwar seems to be a non-event, and is easily skipped past. Happily the final two tracks Question of Honour and In Memory rein back what the listener may have lost from the previous two tracks and the album ends on a high: Both are superior replacements for their two predecessors.

As I make my final decisions about this album, I place Primal Fear in the same regard I hold for Masterplan – both feature members previously in legendary power metal groups – and in both cases this translates to immediate experience for the band, which shows in their live performances and in the strength of the writing on their albums. Although I have only heard this one album from Primal Fear – it tells me that the members of Primal Fear are still hungry for success, and Seven Seals is a very good stake in their claim to power metal mastery. To conclude I have to address the three scenarios I am left with for this album:

1) The cymbals which irritated me so much at the outset of this album were merely a feature on this promotional version of the album, and will be mixed out by the final pressing.
2) The cymbals and claustrophobic mix is a trademark of the Primal Fear sound.
3) The sheltered sound that the album opens with, yet you gradually get used to, is a new feature that you only hear in this Primal Fear album.

Out of all those possibilities, I’d actually hate it to be the first one. After listening through the album and then coming back to it a day later, I had seemingly ‘got into’ the distinctive sound of the album and – if it is indeed the Primal Fear sound – then it is perfectly representative of the band’s name: Edgy and raw to an almost primeval extent. If it is indeed scenario 2, then I will be investing in further Primal Fear CDs. However, if this is a new sound for Primal Fear, as suggested in scenario 3, then this album is something quite special. Clearly the band have got together some songs, recorded them, then thought ‘right – what can we do to all of this to make it sound even better?’

So – either we have a classic album on our hands, or a very good album from a deserving band. Either way – Primal Fear’s latest effort is something worth getting hold of if you like your metal raw and uncompromising. Seven Seals proves that power metal doesn’t have to involve orchestras and accelerated guitars to ensnare your audience. All you need is an experienced group of musicians that know their profession well and want to make the best album they possibly can. Oh, and an irritating hi-hat also helps.

Standout Tracks:  Demons and Angels, Seven Seals, Diabolus.