In July 1999, the 2nd album Jaws of Death was released. Shortly after its release guitarist Tom Naumann left the band due to health problems. During the tour through Europe, Brazil and Japan he was replaced by Alex Beyrodt. In January 2000, Henny Wolter joined the band as a permanent replacement. In early 2001, the third album Nuclear Fire was released. At the following world tour the band played in the US for the first time and were guests at the Metal Meltdown Festival and the Milwaukee Metalfest.
The next album Black Sun was released on 29 April 2002 and entered the German LP charts at place 55. Halford-Guitarist Mike Chlasciak contributed the guitar solos for the songs "Fear" and "Armageddon". The highlight of the following double-headliner tour with fellow band Rage was a gig at the Scala in London. The same year Henny Wolter left the band and was replaced by the returning Tom Naumann. With this line-up the band again toured through Brazil and ended the Black Sun tour. In April–May 2003, the band participated in the "Metal Gods" tour together with Rob Halford, Testament and a few other bands and toured through the US and Canada. During the Tour drummer Klaus Sperling was replaced by Randy Black. After the tour, Randy joined the band permanently.
In February 2004, the 5th album Devil's Ground was released and entered the German LP charts at place 67. April of the same year the band started another world tour in which the band toured through Europe, Japan, the US and South America including one of the band's biggest hits "Metal Is Forever". Directly after the tour the band recorded their 6th album Seven Seals in Vancouver and Stuttgart. It was released in Fall of 2005 mixed by Mike Frazer in Vancouver. To promote the album the band went on Europe and Japan tour together with fellow power metal band Helloween.
In July 2006, the band surprisingly left Nuclear Blast Records and signed a long-term contract with Frontiers Records. As a "parting gift" Nuclear Blast released the best of compilation Metal Is Forever.
In February 2007, during the recordings for the next album New Religion, the band decided after long discussions about the future of the band that Henny Wolter would return as 2nd guitarist and Tom Naumann would leave the band. The album was finished under the direction of producer Mat Sinner and engineer and co-producer Charlie Bauerfeind and was mixed by Roland Prent in the Galaxy Studios in Belgium. It was released in September 2007 and entered the German LP charts at place 60. They started their New Religion tour as co-headliner of the sold out ProgPower USA (PPUSA) VIII festival in Atlanta, US. Afterwards they toured together with U.D.O. through Europe. They continued the tour in January 2008 due to the band's 10th birthday and once again toured through Europe.
Early March 2008, the band announced that longtime guitarist Stefan Leibing had left the band because he wanted to spend more time with his family and his business. On future releases and tours he would be replaced by Swedish guitarist Magnus Karlsson, who already contributed two guitar solos for the New Religion album. In December 2008 the band entered the House of Music Studios to record their next album 16.6 (Before the Devil Knows You're Dead). They said that "the music includes a lot of the vibe of our very first albums" and that "a new Primal Fear album always contained some new musical challenges, real surprises". The Album was released on 22 May in Europe and 9 June in the US. The Video for the song Six Time Dead (16.6) has premiered on 8 May on the band's official MySpace channel. The Album reached No. 46 on the German, No. 52 in Swedish and No. 28 in the Japanese album charts. The band started their longest tour ever in South America, North America, Canada, Europe and Japan to promote their new album. A new live CD and DVD was recorded during every leg on the tour. In 2010 the band spent their longest time on the road in North America tour, followed by another European Tour in September–November 2010.
On 8 July 2011, the band announced their next album Unbreakable. The album was released on 20 January 2012. The band toured extensively throughout 2012 in support of the album on the "Metal Nation" tour, of which the European leg included dates in Italy, Germany, Brazil, Chile, Argentina and Bolivia among others. The band also played several more shows in 2013.
On 20 May 2013, it was announced on the band's official website that they would begin recording their next album the following day. On 4 October, Primal Fear announced their new album Delivering the Black. It was released on 24 January 2014 by Frontiers Records.
On 11 August 2014, drummer Randy Black parted ways with the band due to "irreconcilable differences" between him and Ralf Scheepers. His last appearance was at the Summer Breeze festival in Germany. His departure became effective on 16 August. On 13 June 2015, the band announced that former U.D.O. drummer Francesco Jovino would replace him along with returning guitarist Tom Naumann.
On 22 January 2016, the band released their eleventh studio album Rulebreaker. In November 2017, Primal Fear entered the studio to begin work on their twelfth album Apocalypse, which was released 10 August 2018.
On 3 April 2020, Primal Fear announced the title of their thirteenth studio album Metal Commando, along with a release date of 17 July 2020. A single titled "Along Came the Devil", in support of the upcoming album was released on 15 May 2020. On 9 April 2021, Primal Fear released an EP titled I Will Be Gone, featuring Tarja Turunen.
Full Wikipedia article: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Primal_Fear_(band)
Studio albums
Primal Fear (1998
Jaws of Death (1999)
Nuclear Fire (2001)
Black Sun (2002)
Devil's Ground (2004)
Seven Seals (2005)
New Religion (2007)
16.6 (Before the Devil Knows You're Dead) (2009)
Unbreakable (2012)
Delivering the Black (2014)
Rulebreaker (2016)
Apocalypse (2018)
Metal Commando (2020)
Two Minutes To Midnight
Primal Fear Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
But we don't need a reason
The Golden Goose is on the lose
And never out of season
Some blackened pride burns inside
This shell of bloody treason
Here's my gun for the barrel of fun
For the love of the living death
The killer's breed, or the demon's seed
The glamor, the fortune, the pain
G o to war again, blood is freedom stain
But don't you pray for soul anymore.
2 minutes to midnight
The hands that threaten doom
2 minutes to midnight
To kill the unborn in the womb
The blind men shout, let the creatures out
We'll show the unbelievers
The NAPALM screams of humans flames
Of a prime time Betson feast yeah!
As the reasons for carnage cut their meat and lick they gravy
We oil the jaws of the war machine and feed it with our babies
2 minutes to midnight
The hands that threaten doom
2 minutes to midnight
To kill the unborn in the womb
The body bags and the little rags of children torn in two
And the jellied brains of those who remains to put finger right on you
As the Madman play on words and makes us all dance to their song
To the tune of starving millions to make a better kind of gun
The killer's breed, or the demon's seed
The glamor, the fortune, the pain
G o to war again, blood is freedom stain
But don't you pray for soul anymore.
2 minutes to midnight
The hands that threaten doom
2 minutes to midnight
To kill the unborn in the womb
Midnight, midnight, is all night
Midnight, midnight, is all night
Midnight, is all night
In Primal Fear's song "Two Minutes to Midnight," the lyrics discuss the justification for committing violent acts, such as killing or maiming for no particular reason, and the glorification of war and violence. The idea of a "Golden Goose" always being in season implies that there is a constant need for something to be destroyed, and this violent nature is embedded in humanity. The song talks about the pride that comes with committing bloody treason and the idea that death is a love for living.
The chorus talks about the impending doom that is two minutes away, and how humans have the potential to destroy themselves and the unborn children in the womb. The lyrics also mention how the war causes the deaths of children and how their little rags are left behind while the war machine is fed with more babies. The line "We'll show the unbelievers" suggests the idea of using violence to make people listen and obey, indicating that violence is a tool to enforce power.
Overall, the song suggests that humans tend to ignore the harsh realities of war and its effects on humanity. It stresses that the glamor, fortune, and pain related to war cannot justify the killing of innocent human lives.
Line by Line Meaning
Kill for gain or shoot to maim
We are willing to kill and hurt people just to achieve our goals
But we don't need a reason
We will do it even without a valid motive to justify our actions
The Golden Goose is on the lose
We are after something incredibly valuable and important, but it is evading us
And never out of season
This opportunity is always there and available for us to pursue
Some blackened pride burns inside
We have a dark and unhealthy sense of being excessively proud that fuels our actions
This shell of bloody treason
We are betraying others and causing harm without regard to the consequences
Here's my gun for the barrel of fun
We take pleasure in the destruction and mayhem that we create
For the love of the living death
Our actions are driven by a desire for self-destruction and the death of ourselves and others
The killer's breed, or the demon's seed
We are a product of our environment, either raised to be violent or influenced by evil forces
The glamor, the fortune, the pain
We are drawn to the allure and riches that come with being a killer, even though it comes with great suffering
Go to war again, blood is freedom stain
We see war as necessary to gain or maintain our freedom, and are willing to spill blood to achieve it
But don't you pray for soul anymore.
We no longer believe in the value of praying for our own souls, suggesting we are too far gone
2 minutes to midnight
Time is running out, and we are dangerously close to a catastrophic event
The hands that threaten doom
We are the ones who hold the power to bring about destruction and chaos
To kill the unborn in the womb
We are willing to take extreme measures, such as killing innocent children, in order to achieve our goals
The blind men shout, let the creatures out
Those who can't see the bigger picture are calling for us to release our destructive tendencies upon the world
We'll show the unbelievers
We are trying to prove to the non-believers that our way is the right way, regardless of the cost
The NAPALM screams of humans flames
The screams and flames of those we harm are a small price to pay for our ultimate goal
Of a prime time Betson feast yeah!
We are enjoying the spectacle and excitement of the destruction we cause, much like a feast or entertainment event
As the reasons for carnage cut their meat and lick they gravy
We are enjoying the spoils and rewards of our violent actions, and have no qualms about it
We oil the jaws of the war machine and feed it with our babies
Our society is perpetuating a cycle of violence, feeding our offspring into the machine that causes destruction
The body bags and the little rags of children torn in two
We are causing great harm and devastation, even to the innocent and vulnerable
And the jellied brains of those who remains to put finger right on you
Even those who try to stop us will face brutal and deadly consequences
As the Madman play on words and makes us all dance to their song
We are being manipulated and controlled by those who act irrationally or maliciously
To the tune of starving millions to make a better kind of gun
We are valuing the creation of powerful weapons over the lives and well-being of those who are starving or suffering
Midnight, midnight, is all night
We are always in a state of darkness and danger, with no end in sight
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: Adrian Frederick Smith, Bruce Dickinson
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind