Pell is back with his 21st studio album from a career which has lasted for more than thirty years, and as with his last four studio albums the ARP band consists of singer Johnny Gioeli, bassist Volker Krawczak, keyboard player Ferdy Doernberg and drummer Bobby Rondinelli (ex-Rainbow), which means there is much more of a band feel about it and not just a guitarist and some hired hands. Mind you, it is only Rondinelli who has joined the band in the last 20+ years as Volker has been there very nearly since the beginning in 1989, Ferdy joined in 1997 and Johnny the following year. Over the years I have never been too sure what to expect from Axel as there have been way too many ballads’ compilations by my count (six now I think), but he is at his best when he is blasting out Teutonic melodic hard rock in a similar vein to country men Scorpions or Michael Schenker.

It is also when the band is rocking hard that Gioelli really gives his best – youngsters may know him from all his contributions to Sonic the Hedgehog, but I will always think of him as the mastermind behind the incredible Hardline, and to my ears it is when a band is giving its all that he rises above the chaos to deliver his wonderful vocals. I was somewhat surprised when I listened to this for the first time, in that it is to my ears one of Pell’s most complete and interesting albums to date. True, we get the obligatory power ballad (“Fly With Me”) but there are plenty of other where Axel pushes himself and the rest of the band into full on rock mode, with “The Rise of Ankhoon” having some wonderfully dated Uriah Heep style keyboards and some nice layered guitars in what is a very well-constructed instrumental which shows Pell has lost none of his passion.

This is a well-balanced release and if you have yet to come across Pell and his band ARP then this could well be a good place to start if you enjoy melodic hard rock.

Rating: 7/10

Links:
https://www.axel-rudi-pell.de/
https://www.facebook.com/SPVsteamhammer