Though Primal Fear's sophomore release from 1999 Jaws of Death isn't normally listed as one of their best albums, it's still a more than solid slice of melodic power metal. Perhaps not containing some of the absolute gems that their self titled debut or third release Nuclear Fire had, it's still strong throughout with plenty of enjoyable metal anthems. Metal Mind Productions has recently reissued and remastered this album, which was originally released on Nuclear Blast Records, and included two bonus tracks for good measure.
The sound on this CD is immense, with the focus really being on Tom Naumann & Stefan Leibing's monstrous guitar riffs and Ralf Scheeper's powerful vocals. Tunes such as "Church of Blood", "Final Embrace", "Under Your Spell", and "Save a Prayer" are killer examples of power metal that doesn't rely on speed and fantasy tinged lyrics to be effective. The riffs are heavy, with plenty of screaming pinch harmonics and virtuoso solos flying throughout the mix, and the rhythm team of bassist Mat Sinner & Klaus Sperling keep everything in check. In fact, Sinner's backing vocals are also a key component to the Primal Fear sound, as he and Scheepers work so well together on each and every song, especially the choruses. The comparisons to Judas Priest are inevitable, as tunes like "Play to Kill" and "Nation in Fear" bring to mind Painkiller era Priest, though Primal Fear of course that have European flavor which they add.
There are two bonus tracks here, the excellent version of Rainbow's "Kill the King", which Scheepers thankfully makes his own and doesn't try and do a Dio impression, and the super crunchy "Horrorscope". Kudos to Metal Mind for making an aleady solid album that much better. As always, this one comes in a digipack complete with original photos, lyrics, plus an essay on the band.
Track Listing
1. Jaws of Death
2. Final Embrace
3. Save a Prayer
4. Church of Blood
5. Into the Future
6. Under Your Spell
7. Play To Kill
8. Nation In Fear
9. When the Night Comes
10. Fight To Survive
11. Hatred In My Soul
12. Kill the King [*]
13. Horrorscope [*]
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