 to the metal voice today on the show, I think the first time we've ever even been on this show with Ralph Sheepers. Thanks for having me. Of course, yeah, yeah, Primal Fear. Good news, the debut album is coming out as a deluxe edition. The band's 25th anniversary, it's going to be released July 15, 2022. All right, so right off the bat, we'll get into sort of the history of the album, but what can the people expect just as sort of extra bonuses on this album? Well, first of all, it's remastered from the master Jacob Hansen from Denmark. And yeah, I mean, that's pretty much the candy we have here. Just pinching up, pimping up the sound. I know everybody says it's a brick wall anyway, we don't need a master, but that's not true. It's Jacob is not brick walling stuff. He's just taking care that it sounds more solid. And of course, if you have a rudimental sound from the album, you can change so much. But in the end, the mastering is just bringing more brilliance to it. And yes, that's the major difference. And of course, as a special now, after all those years, re-releasing it with atomic fire. So that's the behind it. Yeah. And also, there's a bonus track of Breaker, right? Oh, yes, that's the accept cover we did once. Absolutely. Yeah, true. So it's Chain Breaker, Breaker. And of course, running in the dust live, right? That's the coincidence with Breaker Breaker. There was a Breaker theme going on. Yeah, we were just covering Breaker from the set, and then Chain Breaker was initially on the album anyway. So that was coincidence that now Breaker is on it as well as Bonnys. Yeah. So let's just dive into sort of the importance of this album, right? Now, I guess for the people who don't know you are going to get an or kind of know you, but a first time on this show, right? Just quick, I know you've talked about this in all interviews in the beginning, but just a quick overview, right? You know, I guess you came out in a time when metal was starting to start to go down, right? Like it's sort of, you know, with Gamma Ray, right? Tell us about, you know, you're in the band, you're in Gamma with Kai Hansen, of course, from Halloween. He leaves Halloween and you join the band. So tell me about that experience really quickly. Yes, that was earlier. That was 1986 when we already got in touch. I mean, we produced a demo together. He was producing a band from Hamburg and he wanted to have a singer for them. And so he knew me from time base back in the day. And he was still in Halloween then. And he was producing that band Mystic Pro. It's just prophecy, I guess. And then we got to know each other more closely in the studio. We worked pretty well together. And a year or two later or so, I heard that he left Halloween and I just got in touch with him again. And he said the same thing. He wanted to get in touch with me to write some stuff. That's what we did. And so Gamma Ray somehow was born. First, the record company wanted to have Kai Hansen's project because they didn't want to call it Hansen Sheeper. So they said it's Kai Hansen's project. And then we came at the same time with Gamma Ray. Kai came up with the name Gamma Ray. So that was the first three albums then with Gamma Ray. But coming back to Primal Fear, that was after the split with Gamma Ray that had certain reasons. One of them was of course because of my application for Judas Priest, which didn't happen in the end and everybody's lucky now. So that's all the history behind it. How many times have you said the Judas Priest thing? Million of times. But you know, it's all fine and everybody's happy now because Robbie's back anyway. And Tim also does a great job. He's a nice guy. We're all friends somehow. Let me ask you, when you join Gamma Ray, we're going to build up to the release. We're just getting some background here. You join Gamma Ray. I mean, to me, you could do Kiske, you can do Deris, you can do Halford, you're so versatile. Did he tell you? I'm sorry? Yeah, the funny thing behind all this, I always did somehow without knowing Kiske. I sung like I did before. And of course, you can tell that I was somehow a fan of Judas Priest in the early days. Absolutely. I was 16 years old when Unleashed in the East came out. So I was 13 actually when the album came out, but I listened to it later. And this all somehow got me into a new wave of British heavy metal and all the German bands are except Judas Priest and then Scorpions, not just with the Scorpions and except for German bands. It's not only the new wave of British heavy metal. So that was basically the metal time of the 80s. And that somehow really got me in the end in terms of influences for me as a singer. But in the end, you know, yeah, I mean, then Kiske joined Halloween back in the days. And that was the big bang here in the metal scene that listened to this singer. And he's amazing, absolutely. But I was doing my thing earlier already. So it's got nothing to do with that anyway. So yeah, that was it. Did Halloween ever say, oh, my God, Ralph is like an incredible singer. Let's let's look to him. They were they were looking for me. But I was still in my band tiring pace. And as a young kid, like being 16, 17 years old, starting with music, being with my family, starting my daily job and everything that just was not, you know, mature enough, let's say like that. I mean, I was not not not mature enough to decide those things to move to Hamburg and start a career as a musician, you know, but was was were there any like serious sort of like this guy can friggin sing later. But they never really somehow really asked me. You know, I just heard that they were interested. And Kai was the singer back in the days with walls of Jericho and so forth. So so that he also did a great job. He's also great singer. So but they were looking for a singer because Kai, you know, as a guitarist and sheet, you know, you always want to do concentrate on one instrument. And he never said he always said to me to myself, layers, he was not considering himself as a singer. So that that's the reason why they were looking for one. And I heard that they were interested in me as well. But that came later. You know, what about when Kiske leaves, you know, he parts ways with Halloween, they go, OK, let's get that Ralph guy. No, no, that was a total different story. I was in gallery then already. And and I already knew that and we all knew in the scene that Michael was interested in having Andy because they were friends anyway, you know. So in the end, that was that connection with Deris and Michael. Yeah, to me, to me, to me, I gotta tell you, Ralph, you would have been like the perfect fit. Deris is a perfect fit, too. Don't get me wrong. You know, yeah, absolutely. And we are all once again, we're all happy like it happened. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Without without these stories, nothing afterwards would happen anyway. You know, so yeah, yeah, yeah. Okay. At what point were you in a Judas Priest cover band? Was that like before Gamma Ray or after Gamma Ray? I was after Gamma Ray somehow to prepare myself because I was waiting a long time for for answers from England. And of course, I wanted to come prepared whenever something happens, which in the end did not. So it's quite OK. Like once again, no, no, that was great. He's a friend. But I mean, was it just a management thing like management talking to management with priests? Yes, I was talking to the manager. Okay. All right. All right. But talking was back in the days, it was emails. Was it emails? No, it was letters. And phone calls with a with a dial phone. Did you and the last question on this, because I know you talk about this all the time, was there like, okay, give us like five songs and that, you know, and what were those songs? No, I sent demos there for my application anyway. And that was actually Gamma Ray demos and also heading for the East Video. So they got that stuff and that might impress them. Okay. And now you're going to like we were building up to Primal Fear, right? You know, you start working on this music, which is the first album. Can you tell us about that beginning? Because you said before that there was a time of when metal came down, this never really was in any interest of us, because we were, we didn't, we don't care about any trends, but we always composed and did what we felt we love to do. And that's what we still do. You know, no matter what's going on out there, we still love to compose the music we love from the heart. And that's exactly what happened back in the days who came together in 1997, we met Tom, Matt and I, because they wanted me to join in a senior album as a choir singer. And then we sat together and talked and they asked, hey Ralph, we know that's nothing going on with priests now and you're not in Gamma Ray anymore. So let's write some stuff. And is that that? That's cool, because you know, JVC, the company from Japan was waiting for material anyway for my side. So we composed five tracks. It was, I think it was the chainbreaker, it was dollars, it was silver and gold, nine lives, four tracks actually, and we sent it to Japan and got a record deal right away. So that was pretty simple at the time. And it's also very interesting that then after this, the European record companies were hunting us. So it was really great. It was a great position somehow to start a band. You know, Germany never, it's sort of like they're metal proof in the 90s with the bands were still sort of going strong where the rest of the world was sort of falling apart on metal. But you guys were cracking it out. There was still that, I mean, did you get that vibe? Like, you know, we're doing, oh, maybe Japan too was an exception, I guess, right? Yeah, yes. I mean, like, once again, I know that was a crunch time when I think the West Coast stuff, Seattle stuff, music was, and we didn't care. I mean, once again, we were metalheads and we have this in our blood. And that's why we somehow composed music we love. And in the end, when it's honest stuff, people realize that, you know, so we were not just hopping on a trend or whatever, we just did what we love to do. All right, so you start recording the album, you get a deal, a record, right, for the first album, right? And tell me about the next steps there. Yes, then the record deal was in the pocket with Japan. And then of course, like I said, there was a fight going on in between European record companies. And Marcus Steiger from Nuclear Blast, he was just giving everything to sign us and he succeeded in the end, which is a great story as well. So we were happy about that. And then the first three albums were there. And afterwards, there's always, they always somehow pulled the option. And we were all happy that it's going on. We're like like that. Yes, back in the days, a step 48 in the chairman chart, it was a different number than nowadays. 48 might be a little bit of a disappointment nowadays. But back in the days when there were still a lot of album, many albums were sold, there was a quite huge success for us, you know. Kai Hansen, it was at his studio, right? It was recorded there? Yeah, he was, yeah. The thing with Gamma Ray was we sorted things out right three weeks after our speak, we had a phone call and everything was fine again. But you know, things were decided that Kai is going to sing in Gamma Ray and that's not going to happen with me anymore. And that was all fine, you know. But we're still friends, like nowadays, it's still fine. We're good buddies. So I invited him and asked him if he wanted to play solo on the album and that's what he did. But I mean, it was at his studio, right? You recorded the whole album at his studio, if I remember correctly, right? Yeah, absolutely. That was the days when we still, I think it was still tape machine. Yeah, it was still the first album was, I think it was just the first time on a very old hard disk recorder, I think. But yeah, those were the times when the digital era began in the studios as well. So I can't remember. I think it was tape or the first big hard disk recorder. Probably, yeah, transitional right there, right? Either digital tape, right? That was that. Yeah, that was very popular, you know. Formula one. One of my favorite songs off the album. All right, are you a big car fanatic? Is that what it's all about? It was one of the biggest Michael Schumacher fan back in the days when he was winning one championship after another. I think it was the first, I think it was still a Beniton. No, I think it was in Ferrari already. I think it was in Ferrari already. And I just came up with the idea of doing something about Formula One. And I actually, I bought magazines for Formula One and there was the CD inside with the sounds of the V12 Ferrari. And that's exactly what is on the song. The beginning is. That's a V12 engine from a Ferrari Formula One car. So that was a little bit of a brave thing to do, but I think it's quite fine. Well, here in Montreal, we have the Formula One every year. Yeah. So, you know, Jacques Villeneuve is from here and you know, yeah. What other songs like, you know, that you're really proud of from the first album that, you know, this is, you know. Yeah. I mean, nine lives that you open the chain breaker, tears have raged the ballad, which is also somehow extraordinary back in the days with the synth intro and everything. So if dollars were dirt, it's raw rock and roll music. And I think that's, yeah, it's honest music. Like I said, it's exactly what we've done on the demo already, which is recorded in the proper studio. Nine lives is that sort of your nod to the Kai Hansen Halloween era? Not even. I think it's even, I think that's an idea of Mad. And yeah, it is a song idea from Mad. And we work together like everything, but everybody is always invited to have ideas and still and back in the base, which has brought stuff together. And in the end, yeah, it's my boy. By the way, House Mad Center is a health. Is it better? It's not a good path. Okay, good, good, good. Have you guys are tossing out ideas for the next album? Yes, many. Everybody's like, like crazy. So the next step is going to be decided to what's going to happen. Okay, all right. I'm not, I guess you can't reveal too much yet, right? Not at the moment. Okay, all right. What about, you know, so for me, the first album has always been a sort of a crossover between Priest and Holloway or Gamma Ray, we could say, right? I mean, over the years, do you find that people have said that as well? Yes, I mean, many times where this is the album, what priest supposed to record after pain killing and shit, you know, it's always this comparison. I mean, there's always there, of course, because yes, I mean, you know, if you if you listen to classic music, it's similar sounds also. So it's the similarities always there somehow. And of course, people always label my singing to rap singing, and which is an honor on one hand, you know, but on the other hand, you can also somehow be be somehow, well, Headcasting, we call it. Yeah, in the end, somehow it's over. Why do you always compare me? Am I my own voice? And I mean, you can listen to the songs. It's totally different to Priest here and there. Of course, there's rudimental Priest stuff as well, like that could be in Judas Priest as well. But Primal Fear is Primal Fear. You know what? I always love Speaking off the album, like the way you sing it. That's a great cover. I'm getting you. I'm reminding you about the album here as we speak. Thank you. I got it behind there. So I should maybe shoot the song list as well. But Speaking, I mean, is that one of the like, is Ian Gill in one of your, you know, your influences over the year, the way he kind of uses his head voice as falsetto there. And that's the era before Halford. And I mean, that's the rubber plant era, you know, and he they started with the belting already. So with the head voice belting. Yes, I mean, Gill Ian, I mean, I met him in Rock Meets Classic. He was a guest twice and I was a choir singer being fanboy back there, of course. I find the greatest vocalists, the most technical vocalists are when they go from their chest voice to the head voice and it's flawless. Like you can't even tell sometimes. I mean, and I think that's the case with you. I mean, I can't tell if you're born a baritone or a tenor. I, you know, I just can't tell. I mean, what were you born? Were you born a baritone? I think I'm a tenor. Okay, a natural tenor. You do tend to have that higher pitch on your chest. Yeah. Yes. Who are your favorite vocalists and why? Dio, Halford, Tate, Dickinson, yeah, planned back in the days, Gillian, exactly the reason why you said because they all of them can use the chest voice and the head voice without really, now as a vocal teacher, I know which register they use when they sing, but back in the days it was just, it sounded the same to me like just like for you now. So, so that's why I really, really somehow appreciate very much. You know, it's, it's amazing. Do you think Pratt and Plant is, from your experience, planned the baritone or tenor naturally? I think it's a tenor. Yeah. Yeah. You just tends to always flip into that head voice a lot easier. Like, yeah, it was, yeah, it was pretty yeah, that's the belting head voice. But, you know, he doesn't, doesn't like push his chest voice in the higher notes, you know, he just kind of just eases into that sort of higher. So, tell me about your teaching. Your teaching, do you only teach heavy metal or what are there? Well, you know, the rudimental stuff is always the classical background. I mean, that's the first steps we do in our lessons to learn breathing, to learn exactly just what we said to, to somehow distinguish the registers somehow, where they're located and the different singers always, there's a different key where the flip is, you know, where the head voice begins. And that's what we somehow find out first together. And then I get a lot of hints of, you know, maintenance of the vocals, which is pretty important for us as vocal, as metal singer, because we're really screaming and we're a little bit more louder than pop musicians. So that's pretty much built on maintenance. And you're still doing that, right? You're still a teaching, right, on a daily basis or weekly basis, right? I'm also teaching a music school. I have kids like starting from 9 to 16, 18, 19. And yeah, that's pretty, pretty, pretty well also for me. So I always give myself a new impression, those kids are really learning fast. And you can really tell that they are listening and the ears are really teaching you a lot already. You learn so much from hearing that. It's a good thing. Yeah, that's exactly what happened to us back in the 80s when we listened to bands like Saxon and Iron Maiden and Judas Priest and Scorping and so forth. If you listen to much stuff and you're somehow you're talented in music, you can really adapt quick. You know, what do you think about deaf metal vocals? Like to me, as I probably were the same age more or less. Yeah, it's an interesting technique, but it doesn't suit me at all. And whenever I try, I'm hoarse right away. So I know I could also learn the technique, but I don't want to somehow maybe some sometimes I use a little bit of an effect in the background doing those kind of stuff. It's actually it's the false vocal cords doing that technique. So but I don't consider myself as a growl. Is it like a discredit to vocalist? Like it's back in the day punk, the reason why punks sang because they couldn't sing. So they just yelled. Is it not the same thing? I don't think it's a discredit because it's a certain technique and it's not everybody can do it. So in the end, it's not a discredit if somebody can do it. Okay, all right. Well, I mean, tell me about I guess last question is the legacy of the first album since that's what we're talking about. What has been the legacy of the album over the years? That we're still playing songs live and people still asking for songs from the first album which is which is a sign again that they liked it and we can be proud of that album and we still play songs live like a second chain breaker and so forth. So it's pretty much like a red line. There's always one or two songs on the later albums, which also could easily fit on the first one. Was the first one sort of like the blueprint to the rest of the career kind of like that's who we are? Yes, I think we somehow set our style back in the days and of course you always have albums where you try out different things because you don't want to just step on one spot all the time. You just want to also somehow learn and explore without somehow losing contact to what you started from and without somehow being dishonest because like I don't think I repeat myself whatever we do we do honest and we release something we are 100% behind what we release. And I guess I should ask you one last question. Your favorite band touring with over the years, you know, why are we touring these guys? I can't believe it. Oh, for me as a dorer, it was Halford when we did the Halford gigs in America. I think it was the Metal Gods tour which somehow they had to stop, unfortunately, but that was somehow a great experience for me. I've seen my idol every night. Did Rob say, wait a second, you kind of sound like me. You're delivering the goods every evening. You know what, Halford's a great guy, you know, and he's always supportive of all metal musicians. I'm sure you had a great time with him. Absolutely. A gentleman and a really nice guy. All right, on that note, everybody on July, I'm trying to see here the day July 15th, the re-release of Remastered with bonus tracks of the Primal Fear debut album, which is a classic today. And Ralph, if there's anything you want to say as a last note, promote? Yes, I mean, of course, we are all grateful for all those years the fans gave us as well. I mean, it's a give and take, you know, so I now always say, I consider the whole family as a family because once again, without you, we would be nothing and without us, maybe you- Without me personally or just in the fans in general? Everybody personally, so yeah, I'm just kidding Ralph, that's the sense of humor. We don't always give a take and it's just whenever we're in the lockdown, we're missing the time and then we still miss the time to go out there live, but be sure we will be back and so we're all looking forward. We look forward to seeing you on tour and your new album whenever it comes out, we look forward to that too. Thank you so much. Thanks to Jimmy, so have a wonderful evening.