Herman Frank – Fight The Fear

7/10

If you like Accept but have a hard time with Mark or Udos kind of grater vocals, look no further than Herman Frank( you all know what band he once was a member of?). “Until the end” kicks off in a somewhat traditional “Melodic German Heavy Metal” groove, or as it says in the bio that follows this release “Unconditional Metal”. Rick Altzi seems to be doing a lot of stuff outside of Masterplan, which for me is completely ok since he´s become one of my favorite singers for the moment. “Fear” steps up a bit in tempo from the opener, a fast song and familiar Accept style of melodies comes in for the first time(no surprise there). “Terror” has a bit of a doomy vibe to it but nothing that a classic “German heavy metal solo” can´t change. “Sinners” is Accept for those who wants a singer who doesn´t sound like a grater. A fast song that should make it to a future setlist, “Hatred”, slower song again to catch our breaths.

“Hail & row” is as close to a power ballad the album might come. “Hitman” sees the band climb out of the Power ballad areas back to normal pace again, maybe a bit repetitive. “Stay down” and “Rock You” is just pass through kind of songs. Never really lifts off and hasn´t that catchy focus to it as the first part of the record had. “Don´t cross the Line” wakes us up from that slumber; the recognizable melodies are back again. “Are You Ready” makes me wonder why they put those two tracks (“Stay Down” and “Rock You”)in the middle of a great flow of songs. Did I mention Accept? Well the albums second to last song is kind of a tribute to that band named “Wings of Destiny”, it is always dangerous to compare modern songs to classic tracks but if you listen to the song I think you know which I am thinking of. “Lost In Heaven” leaves us with a great record I hope a lots of people can find just as enjoyable as I did.

Artist: Herman Frank
Title: Fight The Fear
Label: AFM
Date of release: 8/2 -2019
Rate: 7/10
Stand out track: Wings of Destiny