HERMAN FRANK - review added 27th March 2009
Album Review: Loyal To None (2009)
For fans of: heavy metal... and thrashy melodic thunder
Guitarist Herman Frank is something of a legend in the metal community. He was in Accept for two albums, including their biggest release 'Balls To The Wall'. He has also played with Hazzard, Victory, Sinner and more...
Deep breath...
...And on top of that, the man has produced albums by Saxon, Molly Hatchett and Rose Tattoo... amongst others.
Amazingly, even though he's been in the industry since the early 80's, Herman has only just released his first solo album. You know what? It was almost worth those twenty-ahem years.
Alongside Mr Frank are Jiotis Parachidis (Victory) on vocals, Peter Pichl (Running wild) on bass and Stefan Schwarzmann (Accept, Krokus, Helloween) on drums. The line-up isn't quite all-star, but it is all-f*cking-great. Jiotis at times sounds similar in tone and style to the love child of Jorn and Eric Adams. He's not as pant-wettingly good in the extremes, but he's so close it doesn't matter. The drumming however is exceptional in all ways. The production (unsurprisingly by Herman Frank) gives all the instruments chance to shine, and the rhythm section certainly benefits. The double kicks and sheer power and speed of the tom and high hat combos are astonishing.
Of course the real star of the show is Herman himself. The guitar work is not as immediately impressive as your Malmsteens and Impellitteris of this world, but the intricate balance of speed, heaviness and demonic expressionism is something to behold. The fact that Peter Pichl's bass work throbs with aplomb, and on any other album he would be the stand-out contributor, seems utterly unimportant.
The songs, although expertly performed, perhaps lose a small edge on the composition side. Every track sounds heavy and accessible, but not all can boast a huge catchy chorus or unshakably memorable main riff. It's a real shame because the aura resonating from this album is irresistible.
'Moon II' is properly old school. Very thrashy and more meaty than a butcher's shop, it opens the album in full hammer-to-anvil Manowar style. 'Father Buries Son' is both brutal and beautiful. It's like a female tiger with eye lash extensions and a knuckle duster. Again speedy and aggressive, this is one of the songs that gets closest to the big verse, towering chorus structure.
'Heal Me' heads in the direction of balladry. It stops short of dawdling melodrama so, rather than lighters, this is flamethrowers and napalm grenades in the air. The chord progressions and singing, especially the harmonizing, are utterly charismatic. 'Hero' is another song that gets a gnats whisker away from a monster chorus. It's a sing along beast of a song; very, very loud, and great fun.
Listening to 'Down To The Valley' is like being dragged behind a race car down a cobbled street. It's stupendously fast and as rhythmically scary as a firing range. I dare you to try listening to it whilst remaining still. It can't be done. The opening and main riff to the final song, 'Welcome To Hell', is what Beelzebub's doorbell should sound like. Guitars rarely sound any better than this. The chorus is reasonably handy too, if a little derivative and obvious.
This is an exquisite album. It deserves to score 100% just for the balance and ferocity of the sound... but the lack of true stand-out songs pulls the reins back to reality. There isn't a bad track from start to finish, and a few of the songs get so close to greatness you could pin a rosette on their nipples, but ultimately there is still room for improvement. I really hope Herman Frank doesn't wait this long to do another solo album!
Check out...The musicianship and production. It's the best I've heard for a long time.
Track List:
1. Moon II
2. Stars
3. Father Buries Son
4. Heal Me
5. Hero
6. Kill The King
7. Down To The Valley
8. Lord Tonight
9. Bastard Legions
10. Welcome To Hell
Label: Metal Heaven
Artist's websites: Herman Frank , MySpace
