Full disclosure: have long been friends with the guys in Primal Fear, even before booting them off the stage at the BW&BK 6-Pack Weekend! Despite being somewhat biased, the eleven new tracks encompass what fans love about Primal Fear, yet retains a fresh vibrancy (no simple, by the numbers constructions here), something of a surprise for any act that's released a dozen records and approaching their 20th anniversary. With a low moan, a fog horn warning to clear the haze for the oncoming juggernaut, “Angel Of Mercy” opens the disc, complete with frenzied guitar and audible backing vocals. Ralf Scheepers needs no help, still belting out those high pitched notes, witness “The End is Near”. After the high energy lead track, this mid-tempo follow-up (also an online pre-release teaser) locks into an infectious chug. A riff happy “Bullets & Tears” owes a debt to Metal Heart era Accept. 

Listening to the title track, just days after Lemmy's death, the chorus seems (Filthy Animal?) tailor-made for the late Motorhead bassist/frontman: "He's a rule breaker, Born a rebel and born to die alone. Hell on wheels". Another speeding ode to the music we all love, “In Metal We Trust” features a real run around the drums. Music box & ticking clock introduce/end the 11 minute, symphonic laced “We Walk Without Fear”, which ventures from near ballad solitude, to mid-tempo romp, at the flick of a switch. Scheepers is back into the higher register on “At War With the World”, plenty of other voices, come the titular chorus. A thumping, minimalist “The Devil In Me” utilizes the "whoa whoa", fist thrusting pace. Double bass charging “Constant Heart” begins with a sustained, Scheepers scream, repeated throughout this Judas Priest Painkiller inspired winner. On the opposite end of the sonic spectrum is the acoustic tinged “The Sky Is Burning” ballad. The proper disc ends with a staccato “Raving Mad”, the singer almost exclusively in the stratosphere. A two-disc, bonus edition is available, with an extra pair of songs (“Final Call” and “Don't Say You've Never Been Warned”) as well as two videos and Making Of featurette. Start to finish, a cohesive effort whose strongest moments are “Angels Of Mercy”, the risky, gargantuan “We Walk Without Fear”, “Constant Heart” and aforementioned closer. Hopefully a couple of them will be included in the North American live set, come this April/May.