RALF SCHEEPERS Stays True To The Cause Amid Drastic Lineup Changes: 'I Have PRIMAL FEAR On My Arm And In My Heart'

By David E. Gehlke

PRIMAL FEAR has been so consistent and dependable for so long that any hiccups — like the departure of three members in 2023 — come as a sort of a shock. The out-of-nowhere split with guitarists Tom Naumann and Alex Beyrodt and drummer Michael Ehré threatened the German power metallers' very existence, leaving its co-founding members, vocalist Ralf Scheepers and bassist Mat Sinner, to pick up the pieces. For anyone with an inkling of PRIMAL FEAR's history knows that Scheepers and Sinner are a package deal. It was Sinner who took Scheepers off the scrap heap in 1997 after he was let go from GAMMA RAY, forming PRIMAL FEAR as a vehicle for his vocals. Therefore, quitting was a non-starter. It may have emboldened the band like never before.

With the assistance of long-time songwriter-turned-live member Magnus Karlsson, PRIMAL FEAR has rebounded with "Domination", yet another durable set of fist-banging melodic metal offerings that intertwine JUDAS PRIEST with a bevy of classy, rafter-reaching choruses from Scheepers, who remains one of European metal's most formidable singers. In a way, PRIMAL FEAR is practically the power metal version of MOTÖRHEAD, a feat that deserves some recognition in light of everything the band has recently endured, lest we forget the unwavering quality of nearly all their studio albums. Here to chat about his band's rejuvenation and "Domination" with BLABBERMOUTH.NET is Scheepers.

Blabbermouth: How did you handle the lineup changes? What was your reaction when you learned a good chunk of the band was leaving?

Ralf: "It was pretty hard for me. I was in between. I toured with the guys in the last years. We've been doing good stuff on tour. When you're on tour, you have a special feeling of family, so I'm not the guy who doesn't like the whole 'You're my friend one day, then the next day, you're my enemy.' It was a tough time for me. It was producing a bad picture of me. One person left; one got fired for internal reasons because two people couldn't get along. I was in between. I was asking, 'If this certain email will be written, are you staying in the band or going with the other guy?' Because of the reasons, I was having a hard time. But I have PRIMAL FEAR on my arm and in my heart, so I decided to stick with my buddy, Mat. I was negotiating; there was always a great team of songwriters, including Mat, Magnus and me. That's what we always had. We always invited everybody to write, so yeah, basically, the ideas came from us. Everybody was always invited to write. I decided to keep going with PRIMAL FEAR. We started the band in 1997. I did not want to change anything."

Blabbermouth: We've seen so many lineup changes turn into a soap opera. You and Mat were smart not to get into a war of words with the guys who left.

Ralf: "It would be better if it were amicable, but you know how it is: People get frustrated and bitter. I'd rather leave the battles to others. You know bad things about me. I know bad things about you. Why are we doing this online? In the end, there are only losers. I want to stay positive. I wish them well. There's nothing else to add."

Blabbermouth: Has this been the most difficult stretch for PRIMAL FEAR? I'm also counting when Mat got really sick. (Author's note: Sinner had an adverse reaction to the COVID-19 vaccine in 2021 that resulted in him requiring treatment in various hospitals for eight months.)

Ralf: "We didn't know for sure that he would ever step on the stage again. The first step was 'Code Red' [2023], where he played the bass. Step by step. It's a miracle the man is alive, and I'm really happy. He's back on the stage, and he's made amazing progress. No, that was not the biggest test. The biggest test was the lineup changes we discussed. But for Mat, it was a huge nightmare that he went through. I'm his friend. The first gig we did was so emotional. It was so amazing standing together with him onstage again. Of course, he's not jumping around anymore like he is 35. Neither do I! In the end, he has the focus to sing and play the bass. That's what he does so well. We're all happy he's back. He's getting better step by step. He's even coming with us to South America next year."

Blabbermouth: What was it like for you to see him in such a state? It sounds like it was touch and go for a little while.

Ralf: "It was pretty tough. I visited him in the hospital. You never knew what else might happen. I had tears in my eyes seeing my friend lying there. No one knew if he would be able to walk again. We're all happy that he can!"

Blabbermouth: Who was the catalyst behind getting everything together for "Domination"?

Ralf: "Magnus, of course, and Mat, wrote the majority of the songs on 'Code Red'. They're a great team. Now, for 'Domination', it's Mat, Magnus and me. I send my vocal melodies back and forth. It's different when they have a song completely written and send it over to me: 'Now, bring in your stuff.' Sometimes, I have melodies. Sometimes we have a conference, 'I have this melody.' You know how musicians talk. That's how we really work nowadays. We swap files. It's so easy nowadays. I remember the tape days of the 1980s, when we would stick together in the studio, write the whole thing there and record it right away. It's good to do both ways. The modern procedure and the old procedure."

Blabbermouth: Magnus is so good at writing in the classic PRIMAL FEAR style.

Ralf: "Yeah, his playing is amazing. Everyone else brought themselves in, too — André [Hilgers] on drums. We did pre-production with a drum computer. It totally changed when he came in. It sounded really cool when we had the real drums. Thalia [Bellazecca, guitar] wasn't able to write songs for the album because she came in late. She organized and proposed her own solos on the songs as well. That's the next step. On the next album, everyone's invited to write. Mat and Magnus are a great team. Let's say Mat, Magnus and me. Every song on the album is from us."

Blabbermouth: How is Thalia fitting in?

Ralf: "She's been amazing. She's fresh blood. There are smiles on our faces. Everyone is hungry to play. I'm not saying it wasn't that way before, but it feels that way to me, and as I mentioned earlier, it was a tough time. However, I'm so happy that everything is going smoothly and working fine live. We did the first two live shows, and they were flowing great. I'm basically so happy that it works. You've seen the pictures. It's an upgrade. Seeing Thalia and her being a lefty is coincidental to Tom. She's really something fresh, and we're all happy it's working this way. Some people might take things for granted, which sometimes I do, but not always. I'm happy, I'm really happy and grateful for the past, starting with TYRAN' PACE, then GAMMA RAY with Kai [Hansen]. I'm grateful for the opportunity to work with him, as it has greatly helped me in the next step of my career. That's how I've always approached things. I try to see the positive things, and the negative things are forgotten right away. At every step in my career, the ladder keeps going up. I'm grateful for the times I've had. I don't look back so much."

Blabbermouth: What made you do a song called "I Am The Primal Fear"? Putting the band name in the song usually means it's significant.

Ralf: "I was singing in the studio, and it was a two-take, not a first take. I split it somehow because it's tough to sing. In the end, that was my technical approach. It's about somebody who's facing it with a smile, like some kind of martyr feeling, like he's disappearing with a smile. Then, 'I am the primal fear.' Like, 'I'm still there, no matter what you say and do.' It's not to be taken too seriously, but there's always a story and truth and behind it all."

Blabbermouth: "A Tune I Won't Forget" is a nice way to end the album. You do a great spoken word.

Ralf: "I really worked a lot on that song. I had the melodies with the cello. Then I was ready, and I went down to try to watch a movie, but I was so into the song. I got the lyrics for the part and the atmosphere. I went up to sing it right away. Sometimes, you have a moment when you think, 'I need to record it right away, no matter if it's four a.m. in the morning.' That's exactly what happened to that song. Then, we tried it out in the studio. I had the first part, and when the guitars came in, but it really was a do or don't when we played it in the studio, when André put down his parts, and the entire band came in. Then we said, 'Yes. This needs to be on the album.' It was decided late, but I'm really proud of the song."

Blabbermouth: You're a vocal teacher. Has your technique gotten to be so good that you can do most songs in one take?

Ralf: "It depends. [Laughs] I'd be a liar if I said everything is one take. [Laughs] You have to double your vocals and harmonies. You sometimes have verses, bridges and choruses that are split. Other times, I sing everything at once, and I try to take the best part out of it. Or, I go over it again and repeat it until I'm satisfied. That's really the advantage I have in my little studio compared to the days in the '80s when you had to sing 13 songs in three days. [Laughs] You got the time. I'm my biggest enemy and critic. I criticize myself because I want to be great and in tune. I always want to have the right expression for the lyrics. Sometimes, it's not easy. I work at it until I'm happy. And the other guys as well. Then it goes to Mat. Ninety-nine percent of the time, he'll say, 'It's great.' There's that other percent, 'You need to change this.'"

Blabbermouth: The debut hit its 25th anniversary in 2022. Can you go back to 1997? It was your third shot at making it in a band. What was going through your head when the album started doing well?

Ralf: "We weren't thinking about it, we were just doing it. I knew JVC Japan was waiting for me: 'Whenever you have a demo, send it to us.' We recorded four songs: 'Nine Lives', 'Chainbreaker', 'Silver And Gold' and 'Tears Of Rage'. Then we just waited. We secured a record deal in Japan, and then Europe found out that something was being cooked here. We had a good start. We were really lucky. The first album hit number 48 on the German charts. It was a different time there — 25 years ago and longer. Things have changed significantly with the digital age and beyond. They are important to sell albums. But that was really great, hitting number 48 as a heavy metal band back in the day. We were happy. We always write without any focus on, 'We have to sell this many records.' We do what we want to do. It comes from our blood and our nature. We don't have to pretend to be somebody, which lets us do what we love to do. We have to love it first, which is what we've always done and we're still doing."

Photo credit: Heiko Roith