Quick Reviews: Stitched Up Heart & Primal Fear

It's another two-for-one special today.

Stitched Up Heart - To The Wolves

I liked the previous Stitched Up Heart album. It did a lot of good things in the world of modern radio rock, and I thought it was positioning them for growth in the upcoming years. Now that we've gotten to the next album, I'm not sure whether I regret saying that, or if this is a case of missed potential.

The band on this record goes heavier and harder than before, which is what I think works against them. The music is deep and grinding, with thick guitars and not much color in the mix. The electronic elements are similarly cold and mechanical. All of that means there isn't much room in these songs for melodies, which is why I'm scratching my head. The good hooks from their previous work are hinted at here, but they don't come through. Between the mechanization of the music, and a vocal delivery that gets buried a bit in the mix, the focus gets put on the wrong elements.

Combined with hints of harsh vocals here and there, what we are presented here is an album that almost feels like it wants to become a groove metal record, when the band's strength has always been accessibility. This record is much more for extreme metal fans who want to move toward the mainstream, rather than one for mainstream people who can tolerate a bit of extremity.

The balance is off, and I can't help but feel they slipped off the mark this time.

Primal Fear - Code Red

I've gotten grief in the past for not getting the appeal of Primal Fear. Other than a brief period where they did something a bit more interesting and melodic, they have spent decades pounding out classic Judas Priest style heavy metal. Like that band, they're a prime example of why I don't call myself a metal fan most of the time. The band keeps churning out these chunky songs with chugging riffs and piercing vocals, and I keep struggling to figure out why they're so popular. Ralf Scheepers is a good singer, but his high wail is the worst part of his range, and it's used all too often, because that's what counts as 'metal'. Likewise, I know damn well how good of a songwriter Magnus Karlsson can be, but he doesn't get to display much of that in this band.

The talent is in this band to do really good things, but they love their metal tropes way too much. "Bring That Noise" is a great example, as it eschews any sort of melodic chorus for a horribly layered chant, which happens to be so distorted you can barely make out the song's title. It's trying so hard to be 'metal' that it's entirely phony, and altogether unmusical.

And let's not forget their nearly seven-minute ode, "Cancel Culture". Nothing says how tough and 'metal' you are like complaining that people aren't forced to support people, bands, and brands they don't agree with. How dare those people use their free speech to not listen to yours. They literally say it's "the fall of democracy", which just tells me they don't have any understanding of what 'cancel culture' is, beyond the right-wing talking points put out by people who have to lie about it to keep their ugly and bigoted views on the airwaves.

In case you can't tell, no, I am not a fan of this record. In fact, I think "Cancel Culture" might just lead me to cancelling any future thought of listening to another screed from these guys. Oops, there I go ending the world as we know it.