Review by Richard Henry for MPM
It’s some achievement to get to 22 solo albums, you know what you are getting, that classic Purple via Rainbow-tinged rock, joining Axel is Johnny Gioeli on vocals who is just phenomenal, Boddy Rondinelli on drums who has a damn good CV of acts and rounded out by regulars Ferdy Doernberg on Keys and Volker Krawczak on bass, let’s get stuck in and see what we have in store!
The Resurrection
An eastern tinged intro, droning keys and then an eastern inspired melody comes in with it, building into the first track proper…
Forever Strong
Thats a roomy production there and nice to hear proper room drums, there doesn’t sound like any sampling or triggers on those, boom in with the double kicks, to be fair there is a decent amount of heft to this one, its nearly like a power metal riff and not unlike Priest, that is till you hear Johnnys voice, full of body and power and more mid voice than a Halford wail, even when he climbs into the chorus you can feel the power, the riff gets slower in the chorus and it gives it room to breathe and let the vocal take over in prominence, the solo is as expected, mostly melody even when he opens up a bit there is a little shred but it’s all about having a melody and a screaming lead, then back into the chorus, great opener!
Guardian Angel
Now that is a classic ARP riff, like Carousel, that’s the first thing that came into my head, when the verse comes in its just the bass and keys as the guitar cuts out, then comes in halfway through with an arpeggiated riff, then there is a really cool pre-chorus part, that chorus is so singable, that’s one for the crowd for sure, this one is definitely more in the classic rock vein than the first track, that chorus though, again the solo starts with melody and sucks you in then there is a little speed picking before we come in with another melody that then goes into a harmony part and it all melds so well together with the band then another burst of speed before we get a break for the riff before the on the beat floor toms and then back into the chorus, another banger!
Immigrant Song
Swirling keys with an eastern melody coming in then you get an almost funky Wah Wah riff which is what you would not expect then the band drops in, yes it is a Zeppelin cover, I have to be honest, I would have put this as a last track or a bonus track instead of the third track into the album, it just doesn’t make any sense to me to break up your new songs with a cover, it’s a decent cover but for me it’s just not in the right place on the album!
Darkest Hour
Really slow chordal riff to this one and it sort of drives along at a mid-pace, the keys enveloping the riff, I like how the when the vocal stops between phrases that is when the riff goes off the single note line, well arranged, then Johnny lifts us into the pre-chorus and the harmony vocals come into the chorus, again it just opens up to a massive chorus, the little unison bends between the vocal phrases on the second chorus add to the whole feel as well, then we change riff in the middle with the keys just filling in below before we hit the solo, again straight off there is the melody to suck you in, in fact very little shred on this solo, huge chorus, another fantastic track!
Ankhaia
Clean phased guitar to open this epic track, again there is a huge eastern feel, very like Masquerade Ball, then this ominous single note riff comes in before it goes into an almost Kashmir feeling riff, the vocal on the verse is just epic and massive, Johnny stretching himself, I love the keys adding the eastern vibe again on the verse part while Johnny sings a melody just over the top of that, there is a really cool break where there is a load of eastern percussion and it’s a really awesome break in the song where it goes from heavy to that section, adds so much to the track, the feel changes for the first solo breaks and then again for the next part where you have a slow melody just before the solo kicks in , again really just showing the melody. I love all the changes in feel in that middle section, the next thing we are back into the verse, but 8 mins has passed already, this track really takes you on a ride, that’s for sure, nice change of tempo on the way out as well, taking the riff and making it feel different, awesome track!
Hells on Fire
A fast counter point riff for the start of this one with the keys building and swirling around it, Ferdy adds so much texture to some of this stuff and it’s easy to miss as it may be pads in the background, this is a well-trodden chord progression for the chorus so you know exactly where it is going, not sure about the low devil type vocal effect before the second verse, I think this is a perfect track for ARP to really rip on and the solo sort of sticks mostly to melody with a bit of flash, on this occasion I think more would be more to quote another guitarist, another solid track!
Crying in Pain
Keys come in to start this one, then you get a minor chord riff and some solo unison bends, before a strong vocal from Johnny over the keys and piano on the verse and it just sounds so epic and huge, then as it comes into the pre-chorus the band kick in with slow purpose as we build into a huge chorus vocal, then it breaks down to a melody guitar and the piano and band taking the mainstage, it just builds so majestically into that chorus, then backs off to the solo, which is perfectly suited to ARP’s style of soloing where it’s all melody and it just hooks you right in, short and sweet and then back to the chorus, perfect!
Right on Track
A bit more up-tempo for this one, this is a headbanger for sure, the keys and guitars both prominent at the start then a melody line comes in, slow riff over the verse, letting the vocal really take center stage, key change into the pre-chorus and then again into the chorus, some nice arrangements in there and also some nice drum work that could easily go unnoticed from Bobby, solid but some nice fills there, such a big chorus though, then another change into the solo, nice to hear him let rip a bit on this one like we know he can do, then hitting a bit of melody in the middle of the solo that leads into a descending melody line that takes us back into the chorus again, good track!
Taken by Storm
Synth comes in and then a clean guitar part accent’s along with it, then the vocals come in over the top of it, very heartfelt and sorrowful as Johnny can do, some nice layering of vocals in this part as well, then bang in comes the riff, that’s a slab of riff right there, almost like a Sabbath vibe to this one I would say like Headless Cross sort of, in fact that vocal on the verse really does remind me of Dio for sure, the chorus just opens up the whole song, loads of space from the instruments and supporting the vocal melody, the organ that comes in during the section after the second chorus just gives huge Purple vibes, before Axel gives us another solo, again full of melody and soul, I do think a keys solo would have been nice in this one as well as a guitar solo, before we have an instrumental section that takes us back to the vocal following the riff, before hitting the chorus again then the song flows out with the riff and vocal,
8 out of 10
Are you in for any surprises, bar the first track the was a bit heavier, not really, is it a really solid album, absolutely, should Kashmir have been the last track so not to wreck the flow of the album, absolutely for me it should have been, so for me those two things lose two points, it’s a good album and it has some great moments but for the most part you can reference each song to something on another album and it’s definitely a bit formulamatic in that way.
AXEL RUDI PELL is
Johnny Gioeli – Lead and Backing Vocals
Axel Rudi Pell – Lead and Rhythm Guitars
Ferdy Doernberg – Keyboards
Volker Krawczak – Bass
Bobby Rondinelli – Drums
