Kev Rowland Whatever you wish to say about Axel Rudi Pell you have to admire both his staying power and his knack for bringing together the right talent. Having worked with some strong singers, Charlie Huhn (ex-Ted Nugent, Gary Moore, Victory, now with Foghat), Rob Rock (ex-Impellitteri, Driver) and Jeff Scott Soto (ex-Yngwie Malmsteen, Talisman, now with progressive super group Sons Of Apollo), he finally linked up with ex-Hardline frontman Johnny Gioeli in 1998 and he has been there ever since. Ex-Rainbow/Black Sabbath/Blue Öyster Cult drummer Bobby Rondinelli joined in 2013 and is still the newbie as keyboard player Ferdy Doernberg (1998) and bassist Volker Krawczak (1989) also have very long tenure indeed.

Not long before putting this on the player I had been watching an Iron Maiden concert and of course hearing their concert introduction of “Doctor Doctor”, which in turn had me riffling through my collection and grabbing one of the ultimate live metal albums of all-time, UFO’s ‘Strangers In The Night’. When Pell and his band are at full bore it is almost as if we are back in time, as there are a great many similarities between the two. There is a German leading the guitar charge, a keyboard player who knows exactly how to fill in the gaps, a rhythm section which are always laying the foundation and a singer who is so much more than just a singer. Phil Mogg has always been one of the top crowd manipulators in the business, and Johnny Gioeli may be American, but he is a very similar mold. He has been fronting this band for more than twenty years, knows exactly what both the crowd and band need from him, and he consistently delivers.

True, there are times when he doesn’t get the crowd reaction he expects, but possibly that is down to language barriers as much of this double CD set was recorded in Budapest. Pell has always produced strong ballads as well as belters, and relies on Gioeli to carry them off, which he always manages with aplomb. The result is a classic metal concert, with plenty of dynamics, highs and lows. It may not be fashionable, but Pell shows that he and his band have found their niche and plan to keep moving in this area for quite some time yet. Consistently strong and powerful, this is for those who want their metal to shift and move, and there is plenty here on this lengthy set to enjoy.

martindavey87 Way back in 2002, 15 year-old me was browsing my local second hand shop when I came across this CD. Digging the artwork and a quick glance at the booklet showing me this was indeed a rock band, I thought I’d check them/him out. Here I am all these years later, still loving this album (and still unsure whether to address “them” as a band or an artist!).

By this point, Axel Rudi Pell’s formula is simple and effective (and also a tad repetitive). Opening instrumental followed by a few high-energy rock tracks, long “epic”, etc. You get the idea. And 1998’s ‘Oceans of Time’ is no different. A great mixture of hard rock and power metal, this is guitar-driven rock at its cheesy finest, full of energy, emotion and melody.

Renowned rock vocalist Jeff Scott Soto is gone, ushering in the bands forth vocalist, powerhouse Johnny Gioeli, and boy, does he make an impression! With his powerful voice and impressive range, it’s clear upon hearing the first couple of songs that he is a perfect fit for this band. As for the others, they all play their roles perfectly. While Pell’s guitar solos are pretty much all the same, there’s no denying his penchant for catchy hooks or riffs, and there’s an abundance of outstanding tracks here.

‘Carousel’, ‘Pay the Price’, ‘The Gates of the Seven Seals’, ‘Ashes from the Oath’, ‘Ride the Rainbow’ and the title track itself are all incredibly cheesy yet satisfying slabs of hard rock, that are easy to listen to and highly memorable. Arguably one of Axel Rudi Pell’s best releases, this album made me a fan, so I’d say it’s a great place to start, and definitely worth a listen for fans of the genre.

martindavey87 'Between the Walls' is the fourth album by German hard rock guitarist/band Axel Rudi Pell. Not only is it the first release to feature the same vocalist as its predecessor (I guess third time really is the charm) but it's a turning point in the groups discography, in which the standard of their music vastly improves upon their earlier days, and a string of high quality releases followed.

It's 1994 and the music world, in particular on the rock side of things, is a bit of a mess. Metal is "dead", although all these 90's groove bands like Pantera, Machine Head and Biohazard are slowly making headway, grunge has already peaked, and hard rock is, well... still living in the 80's. But that's not going to stop Mr. Pell and his motley crew! Having ditched the sleazy sex, women and nightly thrills 80's vibes of their earlier albums, the band have taken a more fantasy-themed style. Incorporating more melodic elements similar to bands like Deep Purple and Rainbow.

Vocalist Jeff Scott Soto has proven himself a perfect fit with the band, with his incredible voice being a perfect match for the more serious (albeit, still pretty cheesy) lyrics. And Pell's guitar playing, usually impressive though excessively indulgent with the solos, has really started to become more coherent as well. The solo's are still a vast flurry of notes, but there's just more substance there now, as opposed to endless scales up and down the neck. And as expected, there's riffs aplenty here. With tight rhythm work and brimming with massive power chords, this is definitely something for the old school rocker in us all.

While this album is still very much a typical hard rock record, and probably would have fared better had it been released in 1984, it's still got some good, quality music that holds up well today. Songs like 'Talk of the Guns', 'Casbah', 'Cry of the Gypsy', 'Warrior', 'Outlaw', 'Innocent Child' and the title track itself all go to make 'Between the Walls' an essential hard rock album, and one of Axel Rudi Pell's finest.

martindavey87 Third album, third singer. Axel Rudi Pell is back... are back?... (I'm still not sure which one to use)... with more fist-pumping hard rocking that probably comes a decade too late, but is a pretty decent album regardless. Featuring powerhouse vocalist Jeff Scott Soto, at this point best known for his work with Yngwie Malmsteen and Talisman, this looks set to be a stable line up for the band which could last longer than one release.

The music is the same as before. Hard rock, power metal, call it what you will. It's got 80's rock stamped all over it. Long haired men with leather jackets (shirts optional), high pitched wailing, simple songs with crazy guitar acrobatics, and of course, at least one of them is probably wearing a bandana.

While Axel Rudi Pell's first two albums were fairly average, 'Eternal Prisoner' is where the band starts to really improve the quality of their work. In particular, Soto's voice lends itself to the music perfectly. Not that there was much wrong with former vocalists Charlie Huhn or Rob Rock, but Soto's voice is perfect for Pell's sound and style. And the songwriting as a whole sounds a lot more confident because of it.

Axel Rudi Pell's guitar playing though still struggles to truly catch on with the solos. The compositions are good, the vocal melodies work well, but it's the guitar solos that tend to drag on in similar fashion. There's a few moments where he does shine, but for the most part his rhythm work stands out far more than his mindless shredding. He's still miles better than me though.

'Long Time', 'Streets of Fire', 'Ride the Bullet' and 'Shoot Her to the Moon' are all fairly decent tracks, maybe even a bit of a guilty pleasure in their cheesiness. But in all honesty, 'Sweet Lil' Suzie' sees the band channel their inner Aerosmith and it is incredible! Easily the best song off the album, and all-round one of the bands best pieces, the album is easily worth the price just for this! Otherwise, this is a standard early 90's hard rock that probably would have been a raging success if it had been released in the 80's. It's got its merits, but overall there's much better stuff to come.

martindavey87 Axel Rudi Pell ushers in the 90's with another dose of 80's hard rock. Trying to keep the flame alive and harkening back to the sounds of Dio, Rainbow and Yngwie Malmsteen, 'Nasty Reputation' sounds almost identical to its 1989 predecessor, 'Wild Obsession'.

Fist-pumping, machismo-laced hard rock is the order of the day, so take your shirts off (keep your leather jacket on, though), let your hair down and wail away to the glories of the night life, women, lawlessness, and whatever other cheese-riddled thoughts are conjured up when you think of 80's rock. Because that's exactly what you're getting here.

The songs themselves are of a slightly better quality from before, but to be honest they're still mostly forgettable. Vocalist Rob Rock (with a name like that, he was hardly going to be a dentist, was he?) has an incredible range, but at times, hanging onto the last word of every sentence at a high pitch does get a bit annoying. And as for the man himself, Axel Rudi Pell has absolutely unlimited potential on the guitar, but more often than not his soloing just wonders off into a flurry of unrecognizable notes.

Thinking positively however, the title track is actually an incredibly pumping song, and 'Fighting the Law' also has its charm. But otherwise, there's not a lot here to really get excited about. 'Land of the Giants' could be really good, if not for the five-minute jam section which is boring as hell, followed by two minutes of the same riff while Mr. Rock reminds us constantly of the name of the song. A cover of Deep Purple's classic, 'When a Blind Man Cries', also fails to save this album.

Overall, Axel Rudi Pell will go on to release some incredible music, but his (or their?) early albums are mundane affairs. There's other bands out there that do this kind of music better, while these ones just feel like they've come about ten years too late.