Register Forgot login?

© 2002-2024
Encyclopaedia Metallum

Privacy Policy

Herman Frank > Right in the Guts > Reviews
Herman Frank - Right in the Guts

Right In The Guts! - 98%

Troodon_metallicus, March 22nd, 2015

In Serbia, there is a saying “bez starca nema udarca” and it is used when a veteran in any field shows that you can still count on him. Now, what’s the point of this? You see, Herman Frank IS a veteran of the metal scene. He was in Accept when the band recorded Balls to the Wall, returned to Accept some years ago and played in a few bands in the meantime. In 2009, he recorded Loyal to None. In 2012, he returned with Right In The Guts, the album I chose to review.

Blazing riffs that quickly stick in your head? Check. Face-melting solos? Check. A great vocalist? Check, check, check. It’s all great, but this album’s biggest virtue is consistency. The tracks on this album and the album itself as a whole are consistently excellent. Every track starts with a blazing riff, gets to the point and keeps the pace throughout. There are no dull moments you would gladly skip. Hell no. Herman knows what normal people want, songs that can be listened in their entirety, and delivers accordingly. Well, that takes care of guitars. Drums are competently played, but the bass could’ve been a bit louder in the mix. No, don’t get me wrong, it can certainly be heard, but is generally harder to hear. That’s the only thing that can be considered a flaw.

Now, let’s talk about the vocalist. Jioti Parcharidis left and Rick Altzi came along. but these two vocalists sound similar to me, so I really had no problem with that. I said ‘similar’ and not ‘same’. Rick sounds like the guy that sang for Axel Rudi Pell before Johnny Gioeli came; I cannot remember his name, but he sang Hole In The Sky and Streets of Fire. Jioti, on the other hand, has a bit of a Matt Barlow edge to his voice. Either way, Herman obviously knows how to choose a vocalist. The tracks would be excellent anyway, but Rick gives them even more punch, so to say.

Favorites? If I really have to choose, I’ll choose Roaring Thunder, Right In Your Guts, Lights Are Out and So They Run, but every single track here is excellent. In fact, this album should be listened to as a whole. All in all, this is an album I would definitely recommend to anyone and it can definitely compete with Loyal to None in every possible way. Hell, as far as I’m concerned, this should be considered a classic. Also, the cover is awesome.

Air guitaring, head-banging brilliance - 92%

Andromeda_Unchained, July 10th, 2012

It has been a while since I’ve hit the play button and almost immediately had my air guitar out and head a banging. I dabble in the vast majority of the labyrinth of metal subgenres but you know what it is? Sometimes the genre works best when played like it was meant to be. From the get go, I’d say to anyone who has maybe found themselves drowning amidst a sea of clinical extreme metal, almost suffocated by regressive progressive metal and possibly just a little sick of the genre as a whole to buy this immediately.

Taking everything we loved about Rainbow, Judas Priest, Accept and Saxon, and catapulting the sound bang up to date with vibrant production Herman Frank's sophomore effort couldn’t be any more fun if it tried. Ever so slightly surpassing Loyal to None in terms of quality if not content, Right in the Guts is pure magic. One thing I can wholeheartedly say is superior to the debut is the addition of Rick Altzi’s vocal talents, never have I been as sold on his vocals as I have here. He sounds powerful, confident and the actual vocal lines are quality, even rivaling Mr Frank as the star of the show.

On the subject of Herman Frank himself, he really puts forth an energetic performance, wielding some of what I think are the best riffs he’s penned. The verse riff in “Vengeance” has basically had the effect of musical crack on me, I just can’t shake it and keep coming back for more, pure awesome. Although really everything is smoking across the board, there isn’t one moment where I’m sat thinking “well this part is a little dull”. From the glistening melodic tendencies of the Whitesnake on steroids semi-ballad “Falling to Pieces” to the blazing riffage of opener “Roaring Thunder”, the smoking lead guitars in “Hell isn’t Far” to everything around, and in between; Right in the Guts kills.

If I were to pick any slight faults it would be that the title track is slightly below the quality of the others, sounding fit for an UDO album - especially in the chorus – which is good enough but wasn’t exactly what I was looking for, especially from track two. That aside, Right in the Guts is sheer bliss, and any self respecting Metal fan should pick it up without hesitation. Performances are quality across the board, the songs are well written with enough hooks to keep you coming back, but above all this just full on kills. Highly recommended!

Originally written for http://www.metal-observer.com

A treasure of heavy metal. - 90%

Empyreal, July 9th, 2012

Herman Frank’s first album Loyal to None was one of the best metal albums of any genre of the last few years, and it was going to be a tough job to surpass it. I had my doubts as to whether the project would continue at all after Jioti Parcharidis left the vocals spot wide open, so epochal was his performance on that album, but it turns out Herman Frank has soldiered on with At Vance vocalist Rick Altzi for his sophomore album Right in the Guts, which is not so much an album title as it is a description of what’s about to happen to you when you press ‘Play.’

This is easily within a hair as good as Loyal to None. It’s a little bit less kinetic and energized, but only in comparison to its predecessor – where the first album was a wild bonanza of shredding guitars, searing, epic riffs and insane screaming vocals, this one is toned down to a more traditional German-style power metal album in the mold of Paragon, Running Wild and Primal Fear, albeit refined in light of the genre’s 30 year history as well as Frank’s 30 years of experience.

Altzi isn’t Jioti Parcharidis, either, and his performance isn’t as unhinged as Parcharidis was on that album. He has a good voice, though, with a solid husky mid-range and a cool, professional tone, and only suffers from not being Parcharidis. Frank really has a knack for getting the best out of these singers. So really, the only complaints about this come from the fact that it isn’t genre transcending like Loyal to None. It’s more genre defining, which is just one small notch below that. On Right in the Guts you get a host of big, stomping riffs and anthemic sing-along choruses the way only the Germans can do it. The production is loud and clear and heavy as an anvil. Pretty much every song kills, and though it could be trimmed down to 9 or 10 songs instead of 13, it’s still a blast to listen to. Killer tracks like “Roaring Thunder,” the anthemic title track, the epic “King’s Call” and the speedfest of “Waiting” blaze through the speakers like miniature hurricanes, all of them.

If you love heavy metal in the German style, Right in the Guts is a prime choice. Herman Frank is a treasure of heavy metal and does everything good about the genre in his own inimitable style. Go listen to this or be forever a poser.

Originally written for http://www.metalcrypt.com