Maximum Metal Rating Legend
5 Excellent - Masterpiece. A classic.
4.5-4 Great - Almost perfect records but there's probably a lacking.
3.5 Good - Most of the record is good, but there may be some filler.
3 Average - Some good songs, some bad ones at about a half/half ratio.
2.5-2 Fair - Worth a listen, but best obtained by collectors.
1.5-1 Bad - Major problems with music, lyrics, production, etc.
0 Terrible - Waste of your life and time.

Note: Reviews are graded from 0-5, anything higher or not showing is from our old style. Scores, however, do not reveal the important features. The written review that accompanies the ratings is the best source of information regarding the music on our site. Reviewing is opinionated, not a qualitative science, so scores are personal to the reviewer and could reflect anything from being technically brilliant to gloriously cheesy fun.

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Band
Primal Fear
Title
16.6 (BTDKYD)
Type
LP/EP
Company
Frontiers
YOR
2009
Style
Hard Rock
9/18/2009 - Review by: Raising Iron

Primal Fear
16.6 (BTDKYD)

Company: Frontiers Records
Release: 2009
Genre: Hard rock, Power
Reviewer: Raising Iron

  • Well below their true capabilities



  • Alright, if there are any Primal Fear fans left still holding out hope for a return to the bands' sound of their glory years, i.e., S/T to Black Sun, give it up, it aint happenin', you'd have a better chance seeing the Detroit Lions go 16-0 this year. The men have just dropped their latest, entitled 16.6 (Before the Devil Knows You're Dead) and its even more saccharin than their last effort (New Religion). This really shouldn't come as any surprise though, as the band hinted at this around the time of Devil's Ground, and since have slowly progressed into a melodic/rock/metal machine with only a mere residue of the guys' former heaviness staining the affair.

    Like their last couple of records, there are moments of heaviness, the title track being slated for the stage, as it's the strongest track on the disc and rests in old school nuances, something that can't be said for any of the other tracks, save for maybe "The Exorcist", and that's a bit of a reach. The rest of the songs are the typical, mid-tempo, highly melodic, hard rockers with catchy choruses like those found on the last effort. Another thing, Mr. Scheepers doesn't unleash any of his usual blood-curdling screams; everything being sung in a mid-register tenor, which after all is what these songs demand, but we certainly miss the air-siren Ralf! It may seem as if primary songwriter Mat Sinner can't keep his namesake band's style from creeping into the Primal Fear contraption, but its more probable that the guys simply like what they're doing; well, that and the fact they're running out of inspiration and determination; things are just too damn formulaic – even the cheesy lyrics are in place (see Smith & Wesson).

    So, what's wrong with the picture here? Several of these songs would be lauded had they been written by a different band, but we're talking Primal Fear here, a group who has displayed savvy for the well-crafted (and heavy!) song time and again in the past; but frankly they are writing well below their true capabilities right now, versus many other bands who would find this type of stuff to be the pinnacle of their songwriting creativity. Having said all that, if you're new to the band and a fan of simpleton, hard rock structured songs with singable choruses, this'll be right up your alley. As for the rest of us, the proper sub-title to the record should've been, Before the Fans Know We're Dead! Wait, scratch that, we've known for a while now.


    • 1 :REVIEW COUNT
      2.5 :AVE RATING

    ALL REVIEWS FOR: PRIMAL FEAR
    TITLE
    DOR
    COMPANY
    REVIEWER DATE MADE RATING
    16.6 (BTDKYD)
    2009
    Frontiers
    Raising Iron9/18/2009
    2.5
    Apocalypse
    2018
    Frontiers
    Eric Compton9/13/2018
    4
    Best of Fear
    2017
    Frontiers
    Eric Compton11/10/2017
    4.5
    Delivering The Black
    2014
    Frontiers
    Eric Compton1/1/2014
    4.5
    Delivering The Black
    2014
    Frontiers
    Vinaya Saksena2/20/2014
    4
    Devil’s Ground
    2004
    Nuclear Blast
    Anthony Burke2/20/2004
    -
    Devil's Ground
    2004
    Nuclear Blast
    Eric Compton3/3/2004
    -
    History Of Fear DVD
    2004
    Nuclear Blast
    Eric Compton3/3/2004
    -
    Live In The U.S.A
    2010
    Frontiers
    Chris Kincaid8/6/2010
    5
    Nuclear Fire
    2001
    Nuclear Blast
    Vinaya Saksena4/5/2004
    -
    Rulebreaker
    2016
    Frontiers
    Eric Compton2/4/2016
    4
    Seven Seals
    2005
    Nuclear Blast
    Stygian Steel10/14/2005
    -
    Unbreakable
    2011
    Frontiers
    Chris Kincaid1/3/2012
    4
    Unbreakable
    2011
    Frontiers
    Eric Compton1/30/2012
    4

    ALL INTERVIEWS FOR: PRIMAL FEAR
    INTERVIEW INTERVIEWER DATE TAGLINE


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