German power metallers PRIMAL FEAR have completed work on their new album, "16.6: (Before The Devil Knows You're Dead)", at House Of Music studios in Winterbach, Germany with Dennis Ward and Achim Köhler. The CD, which is due in May via Frontiers Records, will mark the group's first release with guitarist Magnus Karlsson (ALLEN/LANDE, STARBREAKER), who replaced Stefan Leibing last year. Returning guitarist Henny Wolter and Karlsson participated in the songwriting and pre-production, which took place at Karlsson's Stuntguitar Studio in Sweden. The band spent four weeks at House Of Music recording the effort, which was mastered by Ted Jensen at the Sterling Sound in New York City.

Commented bassist Mat Sinner: "I'm really proud of our work. The guys of the band and the entire team did a killer job! I love the crystal-clear sound of the album and total dedication of the players. The fans of our first albums will really love the new tracks, plus there are a lot of sophisticated more stuff on '16.6' following the path of 'Seven Seals' or 'New Religion'."

Guitarist Henny Wolter commented on several of the tracks that appear on "16.6: (Before The Devil Knows You're Dead)":

* "Riding The Eagle": "[This track] is bringing back that 'Nuclear Fire' vibe with a full speed double-bass groove and those typical heavy guitar riffs and high-speed twin leads that PRIMAL FEAR stands for. Above all, it's that mix between full-throttle metal and melody with Ralf Scheepers powerful vocals on which PRIMAL FEAR built their reputation."

* "Six Times Dead (16.6)" : "The title track and a super-heavy guitar riff, stomping groove with a new approach and a message to the fans; 100% PRIMAL FEAR!"

* "Black Rain": "A nearly seven-minute epic with big instrumentation, and a heavy Arabian atmosphere. Lots of variations and sophisticated playing and singing. This song strongly carries the handwriting of the new bandmember Magnus Karlsson, who is known for these skilful and tasty arrangements."

* "Under The Radar": "Another traditional PRIMAL FEAR speed rocker, a hymn with the classic Scheepers vibe."

* "Torn": "Seven minutes of pure music and the most ambitioned song and riff we've ever recorded. Killer stuff, very groovy and a great melodic vocal line."

* "Soar": "Pure energy combined with a driving groove, a majestic halftime chorus and a great experimental breakdown part — one of my favorite tracks on the new album."

* "Hands Of Time": "This will be a real surprise for everybody. There is always at least one track on a new PRIMAL FEAR album that is different — this time it's 'Hands Of Time' with four guys sharing lead vocals. A very cool song!"

PRIMAL FEAR's last album, "New Religion", in 2007 landed on the Swedish chart at No. 67. It also entered the German chart at No. 60. The CD was released in the U.S. on January 29, 2008 via Locomotive/Ryko. Guest musicians on the album include Kai Hansen (GAMMA RAY, ex-HELLOWEEN) and Simone Simons (EPICA).