Fight the Fear is album number four from former Accept guitarist Herman Frank and, like his fellow former bandmate Udo Dirkschneider, he's had some ups and downs over the course of his solo career. It's with great pleasure that I can report that Fight the Fear is Frank's best effort since his debut. Thumping guitars, plenty of attitude and a huge slug of speed propel this album forward like the steel horse on the cover. Rick Altzi is in fine voice and while he isn't doing anything exceptional, he is doing exactly what these songs need. He's not wailing or overselling the choruses, he's letting Frank and fellow guitarist Heiko Schröder do what they do best; crank out trad metal riffage. This is another one of those albums, and I know it seems odd to complain about MORE music, where not all the songs are winners and it would have been better off leaving a couple in the studio. "Fear", "Sinners", "Hitman" and "Wings of Destiny" kick all kinds of ass but "Are You Ready" is forced (when some of the lyrics are "whao-oh-oh-oh, yeah yeah" repeated multiple times, your song might not be ready) and "Lost in Heaven" is dull. When all is said and done, however, Fight the Fear rocks hard and fast, just the way you want it to.
