Jaws of Death (CD - 1999)

Personnel: Klaus Sperling (vocals, drums); Ralf Scheepers (vocals); Stefan Leibing, Tom Naumann (guitar).

Photographer: Matthias Moser.

Publisher: Warner Chappell.

Primal Fear's sophomore effort, Jaws of Death, is essentially more of the same -- catchy riff-driven British-style metal a la Priest and Maiden, with European power-metal undertones, not unlike Helloween (unsurprisingly, since Ralf Scheepers was in the Kai Hansen project Gamma Ray). It may be derivative and too faithful to the style (especially Judas Priest's) to sound very contemporary, but it's well done nonetheless, and it is nice to hear a late '90s metal band that prizes songcraft. ~ Steve Huey minimize