{"id":21238,"date":"2014-05-23T00:00:16","date_gmt":"2014-05-23T00:00:16","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/?p=21238"},"modified":"2014-08-17T10:13:27","modified_gmt":"2014-08-17T10:13:27","slug":"album-review-rik-priems-prime-rik-priems-prime","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/album-review-rik-priems-prime-rik-priems-prime\/","title":{"rendered":"RIK PRIEM\u2019S PRIME – Rik Priem\u2019s Prime (2014) | Album \/ EP Reviews @ Metal Forces Magazine"},"content":{"rendered":"

RIK PRIEM\u2019S PRIME
Rik Priem\u2019s Prime<\/strong><\/span>
\n\"\"
\nAvenue Of Allies (2014)<\/span>
Rating: 8\/10<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

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Rik Priem\u2019s Prime<\/em> is a surprisingly weighty affair from a new melodic rock band formed by Belgian guitarist Rik Priem (Frozen Rain).<\/p>\n

Priem is joined in his band project by vocalist Carsten \u201cLizard\u201d Schulz (Dead End Heroes, Domain, Frozen Rain, Lavalle, Evidence One, Midnite Club), bassist Vincent de Laat (Frozen Rain), drummer Rami Ali (Freedom Call, Iron Mask, Lavalle, Frontline, Evidence One) and keyboard player Geert Margodt.<\/p>\n

The result of this coming together of highly talented musicians is a 13-track composition that rocks from beginning to end. After the brief opening that is the synth-drenched instrumental \u2018Sunset Over Agartha\u2019, featuring a yearning guitar solo, we\u2019re pounded by what has to be one of the best metal tracks I\u2019ve heard this year; the excellent \u2018Babylon Rising\u2019.<\/p>\n

The track opens with a melodic chime before unexpectedly transforming into a thrashing chug which is injected by a throbbing synth. \u201cHaven\u2019t you heard about the new disease?\u201d<\/em> asks Schulz amidst an onslaught of raging, precise drums and that devilish riff lick. The metallic clunk leads to an ascending chorus which sets the stall out for the rest of the opus as the quintet mixes dark shades with lighter touches to create a splendid array of melodic, but above all metallic proposals.<\/p>\n

\u2018The Future Is Now\u2019 combines the epic nature of the aforementioned \u2018Babylon Rising\u2019 with further melodic strains as Schulz excels himself on that bombastic chorus over an avalanche of rip-roaring percussion and those thick guitars.<\/p>\n

But it\u2019s not just about that straight-up metal overload \u2013 although I\u2019m certainly not complaining. As one would expect from such an assembly, every instrument is given room to manoeuvre, adding unimaginable levels of progressive rock onto this platter, the sort which some musicians could only dream of. Whether it\u2019s the complex instrumental \u2018Chameleon\u2019 or the constant pattern shifts elsewhere which enables a free-flowing river of jazz fusion, blues and rock to entwine, one can only marvel at the complex textures on offer. The highlights are \u2018Flirting With An Alien\u2019 \u2013 with its choir-like chorus \u2013 and the gorgeous, almost fragile arrangements of ballad \u2018Kneel Before The Pieces (Of A Broken Heart)\u2019.<\/p>\n

In fact, the versatility expressed on this platter never bewilders and certainly doesn\u2019t give one a sense of over-indulgence, but instead the instruments marry together to create this vast, extravagant and above all, heavy motion of sound.<\/p>\n

Carsten \u201cLizard\u201d Schulz\u2019s voice is rich and clear and drifts effortlessly over the tracks, with the likes of \u2018Blindfolded\u2019 and \u2018Bloodrush\u2019 breathing hard melody and showcasing the fantastic percussive talents of Rami Ali. But throughout, it\u2019s just a record that mesmerises in its power, hinting at Michael Schenker and Axel Rudi Pell in its guitar mastery and heavy metal emotion, and all capped off with the brilliant album closer \u2018Child Of Anger\u2019.<\/p>\n

Neil Arnold<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

RIK PRIEM\u2019S PRIMERik Priem\u2019s Prime Avenue Of Allies (2014)Rating: 8\/10 Rik Priem\u2019s Prime is a surprisingly weighty affair from a new melodic rock band formed by Belgian guitarist Rik Priem (Frozen Rain). Priem is joined in his band project by vocalist Carsten \u201cLizard\u201d Schulz (Dead End Heroes, Domain, Frozen Rain, Lavalle, Evidence One, Midnite Club), […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[24,1379],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-21238","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-album-ep-reviews","category-rik-priems-prime"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21238","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=21238"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21238\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":21242,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21238\/revisions\/21242"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=21238"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=21238"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=21238"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}