Axel Rudi Pell - Into The Storm (2014) - The simplest ingredients make the best dishes - 83% (26/05/14)

Axel Rudi Pell already comes around with his sixteenth studio record entitled “Into The Storm”. Despite the band’s regular high quality releases, the group around the guitarist from Wattenscheid where even local legends like the punk band Die Kassierer haven’t heard about him for many years has always remained an underground act. The group still has close ties to the European heavy and power metal scenes of the late eighties and a few American hard rock ballads of the same time. Sometimes the band seems to be stuck in the past. Another reason why this band never got the credit it deserved is maybe due to the fact that the old guitar player of Steeler fame gave his project a rather odd name which is simply his own. Another point could be the fact that the band never really revolutionized the genre or tried out any experiments. You really know what to expect when you pick up an Axel Rudi Pell record which can be seen as a charismatic strength but also as a repetitive weakness. Last but not least, the somewhat cheesy lyrics are also a considerable issue. One still hears worn-out high school rhymes like “fire” and “desire” or “pain” and “rain” on this album. Oh boy!

The band’s lack of success is surely not due to its musical song writing qualities and sound. The German band delivers once again a balanced mixture of gracious nostalgia and fresh power on this record. The mid-tempo songs have an epic touch and are carried by melodic but gripping riffs. The new rhythm section is more than just solid as well. The keyboards add some more epic atmosphere to the tracks without taking too much space. Almost all songs have extremely catchy hooks carried by the powerful and charismatic vocals by Johnny Gioeli who is definitely one of the genre’s most underrated singers.

While some songs obviously sound quite alike on here, this album includes no stinker and has a constant high quality. Highlights include the heavy but atmospheric heavy metal anthem “Tower Of Lies” which is a well chosen opener. Another outstanding piece of music is the diversified “Touching Heaven” that starts as a keyboard driven half ballad before a much darker tone categorizes this epic somewhere between Iron Maiden, Rainbow and Scorpions. The powerful and bass guitar driven mid-up-tempo banger “High Above” is also quite solid. Last but not least, the somewhat lengthy but nevertheless addicting closer “Into The Storm” that includes some keyboard driven folk elements and an atmospheric closure is another track that stays on your mind after the first few spins. Let's add that even the Neil Young cover "Hey Hey My My" is performed with passion and convinces as an orchestrated hard rock ballad with goosebump vocals.

In times where comparable German bands such as Axxis, Edguy, Gamma Ray, Primal Fear and Sinner are releasing somewhat lackluster records, Axel Rudin Pell still incarnates the power other power metal bands seem to have lost. Fans of Dio, Jorn, Lizzy Borden and even Whitesnake will also feel at home when they are listening to this release. The veterans are really attacking the genre thrown this year. They don’t do it with a big bang but prove their honest consistency that their colleagues have lost over the last years. That's why I'm so particularly impressed with this release. Sometimes, the simplest ingredients make the best dishes. Fans of all aforementioned bands should check this album out as it’s never too late to discover Axel Rudi Pell.

Originally written for The Metal Observer