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If you are a metalhead and you
haven't heard Primal Fear, you are missing out on one of the most amazing
vocalists on the face of the planet !! Ralf Scheepers has a voice like
no other and I consider him to be the Most Powerful Vocalist in the Heavy
Metal industry today. To hear some mp3 clips of this man, click here
!!
I am blown away (to say the least)
that the story below was e-mailed to me by, none other than,
Ralf Scheepers HIMSELF!! Special
thanks to Ralf for finding the time to do such a cool thing like this,
but hey, I AM HIS BIGGEST
FAN!!!!!
The Ralf Scheepers Story
by Ralf Scheepers
When I was about 9 or 10 years old I always sung along with songs in the
radio when my mum used to listen to a "German Schlager" radio program.
In school I listened to bands like "Sweet" or "Bay city rollers"
hahaha...
I started to listen to Heavy Metal in late
1978 when I first heard the live album "Tokyo Tapes" from the Scorpions.
Then I heard „Unleashed in the East“ from Priest and it totally knocked
me out !!
After visiting many Heavy Metal concerts and headbanging to bands like
for instance: Maiden, Accept , Priest, Saxon etc. etc.... this heavy stuff
really got into my blood !! I started to get in trouble in school as I
kept on singing during the lessons ...... so I decided to team up
with musical friends just form a fun school band. (The funny thing is that
Klaus our drummer from Primal Fear was doing this with me..... so we met
very early)
After that I joined another hobby band where
I used to play the guitar (rhythm guitar – but not really good hehehehe)
and where I shared the vocal abilities with another guy.
But this was no real heavy metal stuff so
I looked out for a band who was playing my kind of thing. So I joined a
band from Stuttgart called "Beast of Prey". They really forced me to push
my way of singing as I had to compete against those fucking loud "Marshall"
and "Hiwatt" amplifiers !!
So it happened one day that "Beast of Prey" gave a concert in a school
hall. As a surprise the musicians from "Tyran Pace" have visited the gig
! This was somehow a great honor for me in those days as I heard them playing
a long time before and they were really good !! They somehow have gotten
a similar style like "Priest" and covered the song "The Sinner" as well.
So after the show of that band called "Beast
of Prey" they came up to me and asked me if I wanted to join "Tyran Pace“
!! This was like a dream come true to me when I was just 18 years old.
I got an offer from a german band called "Helloween" as they heard the
second album of Tyran Pace and liked it very much but I didn't join in
as they were coming from Hamburg which is in the North of Germany and I
am coming from the South. And of course I didn't wanna leave my friends
in Tyran Pace. Some years later they had huge success with the album "Keeper
of the seven keys" Part 1 with Michael Kiske as vocalist !! So of course
in the end I regretted it that I didn't join Helloween.... but that's the
way it goes......
After recording 3 albums with „Tyran Pace“
and collecting many experience in playing live or recording in the studio
we had some bloodsucking so called managers which got us in such a bad
situation money wise that we just had to quit Tyran Pace. The guitar player
Oli Kaufmann and me joined a cover band 150 miles away from our homes where
we covered songs from Guns’n’Roses to John Miles ... somehow we were musical
prostitutes but we had to do it to pay back money to court fighting asshole
managers, T-shirt companies, banks etc etc...
Then Kai Hansen called me up to sing a demo for a band in Hamburg when
Helloween was recording the "Keepers Part 2 album". So we got to know each
other personally and he very much liked the way how I sing. Some years
later Kai left Helloween but wanted to continue in making music so we teamed
up and formed Gamma Ray. We recorded 3 studio albums, 1 live album and
2 live videos. We did 3 video clips as well.
With Gammay Ray I somehow really stepped into
the heavy metal scene of the whole world. We were touring around
Europe, I got over to Japan for the first time in my life. It was just
another great moment to perform in the same concert hall where Judas Priest
recorded their live album "Unleashed in the East" in the famous "Koseinenkin
Hall"!!!
After being together for 5 years the guys from G-Ray wanted me to move
up to Hamburg. I said okay if you offer me the chance that I can live up
there (I mean having a flat and something to eat means to get money) I
will come. But nothing happened ! No offers !! So I didn't move. On the
other hand I found out that Kai wanted to sing on his own again as he did
in the early Helloween days. He sung a song of the 3rd G-Ray album "Insanity
and Genius". Then Dirk the second guitarist wanted to sing his song on
his own............. so I really thought ... these guys don't really want
to have a vocalist. We went separate ways.......
I knew for one year already that Rob Halford left Judas Priest but
I didn't do an application so far as I never thought they will ever take
me. But then Edgar my former band mate from Tyran Pace called me up and
gave me the phone number from, the personal manager from Priest.. Mrs.
Jayne Andrews. She said that I should send some material ..... so I did....
sending three albums of G-Ray and the live video from Japan.
After one month a letter came in saying that
the band (Priest) like the way I am singing so they put me one the
short list - oh my God - what a long short list !!!
After several of promises like: I promise you right now that you will definitely
gonna be invited to do an audition - it never happened !!! I didn't even
have contact to one of the band members - nothing , just waiting,
rehearsing Judas Priest songs with some friends of my hometown..... waiting
.... singing Priest songs 2 and a half hours every second day.... waiting.....getting
promises...... waiting.......waiting for Glenn Tiptons solo album.........promises..........
waiting ....... this whole process was taking two and a half years of my
precious time as I couldn't join another band ........ and there were many
offers....... but what should you do if you wait for an audition for one
of the top heavy metal bands in the world ?? You cant just team up with
some hungry musicians to create a new band !!
Then another letter came in:
I am
very sorry to have to inform you that we will not be holding any auditions
for the position of vocalist for Judas Priest as the band have found their
man. We had always intended to audition as I told you, but this singer
came totally out of the blue and is everything the band were looking for,
so they do not feel the need to try anyone else out.
The band send their apologies and thank you for being so patient – they
know its no consolation but they would like you to know that out of thousands
of applicants we received your vocal abilities stood out and you were amongst
the final ten who they felt had something special.
Once again, we are very sorry about this,
but wish you luck for the future.
Best wishes
JAYNE ANDREWS
WOW !!! What a hammer of disappointment !!!!
I had no more Gamma Ray, I had no Judas Priest , I had nothing ... just
sitting in a black whole of disappointment !!!
One year later I got a phone call from Tom Naumann the guitarist of Sinner.
He asked me if I want to join them in the studio singin‘ some lines for
the choirs for their new album. I had nothing to lose and said yeah of
course........
Somehow this is funny........ I knew the members
of Sinner for 15 years as we're living in the same city but we never really
got in touch as they were concentrating on their stuff and I on mine with
Tyran Pace and Gamma Ray.
So I had a great conversation with Mat (Sinner).
He just told me: Hey Ralf ! You have such a great voice............ you
cannot just sit around and do nothing !!! We joined forces and composed
some songs.............made a demo..........sent it to Japan (JVC) as they
were waiting for some material from me anyway.......... and...........
here we go............. had another contract.
That's the way how Primal Fear started and I am saying it over and over
again we are a real band !!! No project !!! After all these years of disappointment
I am back with my new friends from my hometown !! WE ARE PRIMAL FEAR and
we are about to kick ass with some aggressive melodic heavy metal !!! Showing
everybody that we have something to say in the world of heavy metal !!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Okay Jeff, I think that should be enough............... that's my whole story, it's more than I thought it's gonna be, but now you know more details than any journalist in the world !!
Take care and keep on doin‘ a good job in covering "Priest“
Best regards
Ralf Scheepers
