AXEL RUDI PELL - Game Of Sins

February 16, 2016, 8 years ago

(AFM)

Mark Gromen

Rating: 8.0

review heavy metal axel rudi pell

AXEL RUDI PELL - Game Of Sins

Nine new contributions from the German guitar legend, plus an opening calliope intro (“Lenta Fortuna”) and the CD-only extra: his take on the Dylan/Hendrix staple: “All Along The Watchtower”. Know Axel has an affinity for late ‘60s/early ‘70s hard rock, but really, THAT as a "bonus" track? Musically, not a lot of surprises, the guy has recorded 16 studio albums, as a solo artist, in the last 25 years. By now, you're either in love with what Herr Pell constructs, or (more than likely, outside Europe) never heard of him. Shame. 

This time around, the guitar tone is both grittier and heavier, as on the true opener: “Fire”, complete with siren in the midst of its lengthy guitar break and the start-stop riffing on “Sons In The Night”. There's a little more forceful urgency in the vocals of Johnny Gioeli, one of the great "undiscovered" metal singers, despite 15+ years behind the mic for ARP. Tasty riff to open “Falling Star”, definitely the beefiest (yet still tuneful) of the choices. “King Of Fools” is the sort of mid-tempo number he's made a career out of, destined to be an in-concert favorite, while the slow, meandering guitar on “Forever Free” recounts his mentor, Ritchie Blackmore. Plenty to like! Thanks for bringing back the heavy in your metal, Axel.



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