Primal Fear's 'Domination' - Album Review

Whilst Primal Fear are one of those dependable bands who tend to release an enjoyable album every couple of years which sounds very similar to all of their other ones - I think that it is fair to say that the last few years have not been easy for the German-based five-piece. The first big stumbling block was the health of founding bassist and songwriter Mat Sinner. Whilst I am not exactly sure what was wrong with him, it has been suggested that he really was not well at all for a couple of years - and even when the band's last album, 2023's Code Red (which I reviewed here), dropped he was still not well enough to tour with them despite performing on and producing it. Thankfully, Sinner seems to be much better now - and has been back on the road with the band this year which has been good to see. Alongside frontman Ralph Scheepers, Sinner is the only other original member left from the band's 1997 founding - and he has always been key to Primal Fear's sound from both a songwriting and a production perspective, so a Primal Fear without him would likely be quite a different band. The second stumbling block, too, was what was likely quite a messy line-up schism - which left Scheepers, Sinner, and long-time guitarist Magnus Karlsson the only members left standing. Guitarists Tom Naumann and Alex Beyrodt, the former of whom was a founding member and on his third stint with the band, and drummer Michael Ehré all left the band at the same time last year - alongside touring substitute Alex Jansen who had been filling in for Sinner. The four stated that internal band decisions which they did not agree with led to them leaving - and no more information other than that has since come out. Naumann had been in the band for a number of years over his three stints and Beyrodt started playing live with them in 2009. Ehré was newer, but nevertheless a lot of experience departed when the three members called it quits - even if Scheepers, Sinner, and Karlsson have been the band's main songwriting trio since Karlsson came on board in 2008. Karlsson's membership of Primal Fear has often been a strange one, though, as he has rarely toured with the band - which is why they contained three guitarists for many years as he was generally absent live. That is no longer the case, though, as he now seems to be a fully signed up touring member - whilst the core trio have since been joined by guitarist Thalìa Bellazecca (Frozen Crown; Angus McSix) and drummer André Hilgers (Silent Force; Axxis; Rage; Sinner; Bonfire; Sonic Heaven). The result of this new Primal Fear line-up is the band's fifteenth studio album Domination - which was released earlier in the month. Following two years on from Code Red, Domination is very much a typical Primal Fear album. The band's core mix of Judas Priest-esque traditional metal and the gritty end of European power metal is very much alive and well here - with the core trio writing a number of memorable songs. The first half of the album may well be the band's strongest set of songs in years and, whilst it is too long overall, this could well be an album which is looked back on in the future as a bit of a late career highlight.

Of the 13 songs here, the first eight are essentially all excellent. The pre-release singles come early, but a good mix of mid-paced and faster songs gives the band's classic sound room to breathe - and this is very much an album which channels what fans would expect. Opening with The Hunter, the album gets underway in fine fashion. A melodic, majestic guitar lead opens the song, with a slow-burning riff behind it, before the song gets underway proper as a mid-paced slab of melodic power metal. The track is perhaps not as gritty as Primal Fear can often be, and will be later in this album, with Scheepers generally singing in a somewhat cleaner manner than he is largely known for. Mid-paced double bass drum patterns and anthemic riffing keeps the song moving, whilst Scheepers' more melodic vocals dominate the hooky verses - whilst the occasional gruffer line is utilised for a point of difference. The use of a more melodic vocal style is also utilised during the soaring chorus - which is one of many big anthems here. Scheepers uses some higher-pitched clean melodies here to really cut through the guitar riffing and slightly more intense drumming which takes over - but all of the vocal lines are easy on the ear and lodge into the brain after a couple of listens. It is the sort of chorus which works well to draw a listener in from the off - and the following guitar solo section sees plenty of harmony leads and shredded passages. Destroyer is another pretty mid-paced track overall, but it feels much crunchier compared to the opening number - with Judas Priest-esque riffs driving everything. A simple, pounding bassline is at the centre of everything - whilst the chugging riffs and occasional harmony guitar leads are akin to those which have been filling Judas Priest's albums since the 1980s. Given the song's overall weight, Scheepers generally sings in a gruffer manner throughout - with the verses in particular sounding tough thanks to a good mix of gritty lines and the occasional higher-pitched shriek. The chorus is a bit more power metal-esque in the vein of the previous song, but it is feels heavier overall thanks to the main groove being retained - with the main guitar solo section building on the same groove. The bombastic single Far Away ups the pace quite significantly - and acts as the album's first speedy power metal anthem after two mid-paced tracks. Hilgers' double bass drumming drives everything, whilst simpler guitar riffing allows the vocals to shine - albeit with the occasional knotty riff or lead thrown in. The opening harmony guitar leads act as something of a hook which is returned to occasionally, whilst the verses generally feature a simple musical backing to allow Scheepers dominate. The pace does not change for the chorus, either, which features the opening guitar melodies behind Scheepers' soaring, melodic vocal hooks - which see him singing again in a cleaner manner. The combination of the song's speed and the melodies found in both the chorus and the guitar hooks make the song an instant hit - whilst a dual neo-classical guitar solo section is full of bombast and a sparkly synth backing.

Slowing the pace down again, I Am the Primal Fear is one of the album's best tracks. The mid-paced groovy piece has some Accept-esque hints at times, with the main riff coming from the 1980s oeuvre of that band - whilst a sparse verse which features Sinner's lone bass, some occasional synths, and guitars looming out of the dark occasionally sets a great, creeping tone thanks to the ever-present bass pulse and Scheepers sounding as vital as ever. The Teutonic sound of the song is fitting given that Primal Fear are a German band - but Accept are not as common a comparison for them as Judas Priest generally are. The chorus moves away from the crunchy Accept-like verses, though, instead going for something more anthemic with a power metal sheen. The vocals have a little bit of polish on them it seems, which help them to sound extra clean against a crunchy backing, but the mid-paced feel and Scheepers' forceful delivery help the chorus to be one of the album's best moments. Tears of Fire feels a bit more up-tempo following the precise groove of the last track, but it is not exactly an especially speedy song - and is largely another mid-paced track despite the opening guitar harmonies feeling pretty busy and parts of the verses being propelled by double bass drum patterns. In truth, Primal Fear tend to operate best when utilising mid-paced tempos in my opinion. They allow the band's anthemic side to shine - and this is another song which does that well. The chorus is a good mix of power metal melody with traditional metal high-pitched screams during a crunchy follow-up - whilst the verses build from a clean guitar opening motif to the aforementioned faster section. There are a lot of guitar leads here, too, with parts of the verses and the chorus benefitting from some melodic playing - whilst a later shredded solo section builds on these moments. Heroes and Gods maintains the album's general love of a mid-paced arrangement - but it ups the heaviness quite a bit, making it one of the crunchiest tracks up to this point. The main riff does feel a bit pacier than many heard so far, but it is not out-and-out speed akin to Far Away - and generally there is still a strong groove which retains that Judas Priest-esque feel. Despite this, though, there are some thrashier moments here which up the pace for a brief period - with a pre-chorus seeing much faster drumming taking hold whilst the band thrash away and Scheepers channels some of his grittiest vocal power. The chorus is a real fists-in-the-air anthem, too, and shoots melodically and slower from this thrashy pre-chorus moment - with a groove retained alongside some subtle gang vocals and keyboards adding depth. Hallucinations is then a rare instrumental from the band. They have done a few in the past but they are not something guaranteed on every album - and the slow-burning piece acts as a moment of calm following the heavier previous track. Piano melodies open things up, before the rest of the song is essentially given over to the two guitarists soloing and laying down hooky and interweaving melodies. It is fairly short at around two and a half minutes, so does not outstay its welcome, but it works well as a mid-album cleanser.

The instrumental sets the tone for the ballad Eden that follows - which features guest vocals from Melissa Bonny (Evenmore; Rage of Light; Ad Infinitum; The Dark Side of the Moon). Bonny and Scheepers tend to sing together throughout the song, which opens slowly with some clean guitar melodies, before a version of the song's chorus hits early doors featuring the two singing together. Scheepers sings the verse which follows on his own, with the intro clean guitars returning alongside a sombre drum groove and some keyboard depth. Bonny's chorus harmonies add a subtle gothic and symphonic edge - especially given the prominence given to keyboards here and the simplicity of the dark guitar backing. It is a shame that Bonny does not really get to shine on her own here, but her harmonies do add a lot to the song - and I like the symphonic edge throughout. There are some quieter moments which use string synths to create a dramatic sound - whilst percussive drumming and rumbling bass help to conjure up a dramatic atmosphere. Cleaner bridge sections and slow-burning melodic guitar solos ensure that the smouldering ballad is another big highlight here. Following this run of eight excellent songs, the rest of the album does not quite maintain the same standard. There is nothing wrong with what follows, but Domination is certainly frontloaded - and Scream is a very solid song which just does not hit as hard as what has come before. I think the main issue with Scream is the lack of a really great chorus. The song has lots of things to recommend, such as a barrelling opening riff, Scheepers pulling of some Tim 'Ripper' Owens-esque screams, and verses with a somewhat different construction to the norm thanks to a guitar lead base - but the chorus is a bit of a let down following these strong ingredients. There are Accept-like comparisons to be made here, but not in a positive way. Accept choruses can sometimes just be the song's title chanted in a monotonous way, and that is essentially what Primal Fear do here - although there is a little more to it than that. Given the big hooks which have come before the song just feels a little rote as a result of this chanting - despite some decent melodies elsewhere. The Dead Don't Die is a pretty groovy piece - and the lumbering rocker has a similar overall feel to I Am the Primal Fear in places, but the arrangement and hooks are just not as strong. Similar to the previous song, too, the lack of a really great chorus is a mark against it. What acts as the song's chorus feels more like a great lengthy pre-chorus which is building towards something really epic that never comes. This is a feeling which always somewhat ruins a song for me as it feels like a real missed opportunity - but I still like the way the song grooves in the verses and the surprisingly simple and folky guitar solo segment.

Crossfire is the song from the album's back end that I like the most, though, and it gets the closest to the quality that was on display during the albums first two thirds. Whilst not as fast, it certainly has shades of Far Away in so far as it has a bit of a shiny power metal feel - with Scheepers' chorus vocals in particular sounding very clean. The verses are more propelling than truly crunchy, too, with double bass drumming more present and the lack of a slower groove. Scheepers contrasts with himself vocally throughout, too, with grittier vocals during these pulsing verses and the aforementioned clean delivery filling the chorus. Due to the presence of hooky guitar leads during the chorus, too, it is another very memorable one - and it really drew me back in following the lack of strong choruses during the last couple of tracks. The hooky and hard-driving song is a late-album highlight following a couple of lesser pieces - and it is the last real winner here in my opinion. March Boy March opens with marching noises which go on for quite a while, much longer than is necessary, before another crunching riff takes over. It seems as if the song is going to be another mid-paced, riffy track - but the band suddenly speed up in somewhat of a jarring manner and the verses are pretty thrashy. These verses are easily the fastest and most intense moments on the album - but they do not really fit with everything else around them. They feel too intense given the more riffy and groovy nature of much of the rest of the album - whilst the song's chorus itself also returns something more typical of the album's core sound. It is one of those songs which just feels a bit stitched together using leftover sections cut from other songs as a result - and there is no real flow to the piece. This feeling is accentuated during a strange, slightly symphonic instrumental section which comes later - which then gives way to a more typical solo section. The whole vibe of the song is strange - and it is not a favourite for the reasons given. The album then comes to a close with A Tune I Won't Forget - which is maybe the most un-Primal Fear song the band have ever recorded. The smoky piano ballad barely sounds like the band at all - and Scheepers sounds more like Tom Waits during parts of it than any metal singer. When I first heard this song I was so unsure what I was hearing, as Primal Fear are not known for their experimental moments, but the more I have heard the album the more I quite like the strange way it ends. The song is quite short, but it is interesting hearing Scheepers sing in a manner which is totally unlike his usual style for large portions of the song - although he does sing in a more typical manner towards the end when the rest of the band kick in and a slower, heavier section takes over. Slower songs do not always work well as album closers but this one does - and I like the rare left turn from the band here. Overall, then, despite some fat on the back end, Domination is another very solid album from Primal Fear - which contains some of their best songs in recent years. There is a lot to like here and the riffing and chorus game from the band is very much on point. The band have come through some tricky times by delivering another good album - and I am sure there will be more to come in the future.

The album was released on 5th September 2025 via Reigning Phoenix Music. Below is the band's promotional video for The Hunter.