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Take "World Of Confusion" which is the second part of "The Masquerade Ball" series where his chugging riffs are given so much weight by a rich low end that elevates them beyond the dry and soulless attack flaunted by many a modern metal band. The man's genius has always lain in turning the elementary into something spectacular. Axel on his part takes the old trick of interweaving clean acoustic and heavy electric and lays atop a flurry sea of strings, a most rousing melodic guitar solo turning a rather formulaic track into one of the band's more essential ballads. He doesn't hold himself back and while the raw emotion of songs like "Lived Our Lives Before" might overwhelm some, it is delivered expertly in a fashion that eludes so many heavy metal vocalists. His voice is top notch from start to finish and the range he exhibits is truly something to admire. Granted, songs like "Bridges To Nowhere" and "Hold On To Your Dreams" worship at the altar of RJD and there's even a cover of "The Temple Of The King" but instead of heading down the straight forward path that many a Dio song did, "Bridges." develops into a highly charged Queen-like anthem with Gioeli's strong vocals nearly thrusting it into the realms of Gospel. Musically and structurally, the album does depart greatly from the usual Rainbow and Dio influences (read "trappings") that seemed inescapable and rampant from the first record. See they didn't have to change much, they've always been an immensely capable bunch, they just needed to add some big ole fuel to the fire. Even the happy go lucky Mike Terrana is able to squeeze out a more vibrant side to him that gives each song extra soar for its flight. Johnny Gioeli is like a brand new revitalized singer and Axel's playing is the sharpest and most cutting it has ever been.
#Axel rudi pell the ballads iv tracklist full#
"Circle Of The Oath" sounds tremendously fresh and full of energy. Well, the mill is still running but on this record it is ringing through a different sound. They gradually became repetitive and derivative and each album although perfectly produced seemed rich with the same old ideas. But in a year that saw monumentally diabolical albums from heavy metal stalwarts Manowar and Running Wild, Axel Rudi Pell's "Circle Of The Oath"'s subtle charm and quiet grace quickly translated into a magnanimous sort of brilliance.ĪRP can generally be considered high quality stuff but as a band that has existed for over twenty years now they have suffered from crippling monotony on a good number of occasions and the engine of creativity just wasn't running as smoothly as it did in the days of "Nasty Reputation", "Oceans Of Time" and the piece de resistance that was "The Masquerade Ball". For a while there things were a bit touch and go with the last couple ARP releases.