Words and pictures by Mark Gromen

The German Metal Commandos PRIMAL FEAR kicked off the tenth edition of ProgPower USA on September 10th at Center Stage in Atlanta, GA. There were a few surprises, including temporary replacement guitarist Alex Beyrodt (VOODOO CIRCLE/SILENT FORCE), a guest appearance by Pamela Moore (Sister Mary on QUEENSRŸCHE's Operation: Mindcrime I and II) on ‘Fighting The Darkness’ and a seated-at-the-front-of-the-stage, acoustic rendition of ‘Hands Of Time’ to open the encore. Ralph Scheepers wore an ornate, floor length duster during the early portion, which included the likes of ‘Battalions Of Hate’, ‘Killbound’, Nuclear Fire’, the modern, staccato riffing to ‘Six Times Dead’. A crescendo of noise segued into ‘Angel In Black’, greeted with a huge ovation, Mat Sinner (bass) on backing vocals and the animated Beyrodt dropping to his knees during his solo spot. ‘Death Trap’ had a call-response exercise with the crowd, before it was time to bring Moore on, to a piped in synthesizer intro. In the mid-section, she and Scheepers cleared the stage, leaving the guitarists to rock out, only to have the pair return, hand-in-hand, for the conclusion of ‘Fighting The Darkness’. All guns were blazing (no, not the Priest song) on ‘Riding The Eagle’, Sheepers’ uncovered, tattooed arms looking even larger! After ‘Final Embrace’, when he (good naturedly) made fun of people seated at the back of the venue, “arms folded like you are watching television. Did you wake up,” doubt there were very few willing to challenge the giant’s assessment (at least face-to-face). ‘Metal Is Forever’, with sustained opening scream, finished the proper set. Returning for the aforementioned acoustic tinged track, followed by ‘Seven Seals’ and ‘Chainbreaker’. Afterwards, in the dressing room, Sinner confirmed that the band will return in 2010, for another string of dates.

A BraveWords.com Photo Gallery can be found here.