Axel Rudi Pell \u2013 Knight\u2019s Call
\nRelease Date: March 23, 2018<\/p>\n
Here\u2019s the deal with Axel Rudi Pell.\u00a0 Axel and Company are like your favorite burger place.\u00a0 No matter how long you wait between visits you can always be guaranteed it\u2019s the best burger you\u2019ve ever had.\u00a0 Sometimes the formula may stray and results may vary in a burger that wasn\u2019t as good as the last one.\u00a0 Well this time around, ARP has grilled up a masterpiece with Knight\u2019s Call that would have the Iron Chefs themselves crying in defeat.\u00a0 Ok, now I\u2019m hungry.\u00a0 Where was I?\u00a0 Oh yeah, Axel Rudi Pell.<\/p>\n
When I was first introduced to ARP back in 2010 with The Crest album.\u00a0 My first two thoughts were, \u201cI love this fucking music\u201d and \u201c This fucking singer is blowing my goddamn mind.\u201d\u00a0 While I knew nothing of ARP, I was surprised to find that the vocalist was none other than Hardline vocalist Johnny Gioeli.\u00a0 That album was the perfect album for me to hear at that time because at that moment, I was being bombarded by screaming bands such as In This Moment, Killswitch Engage, and any other fucking loud, obnoxious screaming imbeciles that were putting out music.<\/p>\n
What ARP brought to the table was the classic metal that I fell in love with as a kid.\u00a0 ARP was all about standard tuning, Fender Strats into a wall of Marshalls, and a singer that embodied the spirit of great metal singers like Ronnie James Dio and Bruce Dickinson.\u00a0 Over the years ARP would put out a few albums that just seemed to slip through the cracks for me for one reason or another.\u00a0 Maybe it was that they weren\u2019t quite as good as the previous ones.\u00a0 You know, like someone messed a bit with the recipe and burgers just didn\u2019t site right with me.\u00a0 The magic moments Live album was something spectacular that really put ARP back on the map and with this year\u2019s release Knight\u2019s Fall, it\u2019s safe to say that the secret recipe has returned \u00a0and is better than ever.<\/p>\n
Knight\u2019s Call opens with a signature overture of sorts called \u201cThe Medieval Overture\u201d which I love.\u00a0 It\u2019s like heavy metal foreplay.\u00a0 They come in all cozy and slow and then all of the sudden \u201cThe Wild and the Young\u201d kicks in and it\u2019s a Power Metal tour de force from there.\u00a0 This song resonated with me so much.\u00a0 Maybe it\u2019s because as an older man I can look back on being young and remembering those innocent days when the only thing that mattered was going to shows and buying our band\u2019s favorite albums.\u00a0 \u201cWildest Dreams\u201d (not to be mistaken for Iron Maiden\u2019s song) is another one that really tugged at my heartstrings and just made me smile reminding me that no matter how old we are, we are never too old to dream and to chase those dreams.<\/p>\n
\u201cLong Live Rock\u201d is just a good ol\u2019 metal anthem that while it\u2019s been done a million times, ARP pulls it off, in my opinion, better than Doro Pesch who\u2019s iconic for this kind of song.\u00a0 Sorry Doro, I love ya but ARP kinda beat you at your own game on this one.\u00a0 \u201cThe Crusaders of Doom\u201d was without the show stopper on this album.\u00a0 The intro just took my breath away and reminded me of Rainbow meets Dio with a hint of Deep Purple thrown in to sweeten the pot.\u00a0 This song was so perfectly placed in the album that it\u2019s almost like I feel like this was the song I was waiting for even as much as I loved the other songs.\u00a0 \u201cBeyond the Light\u201d was a very unexpected piano, guitar, and vocal track that blew my mind just as the full band kicked in to drive it home.\u00a0 Hearing Axel\u2019s guitar playing dialed back so sweet and tuneful showcased his ability to not be a typical egotistical \u201clook at me, more is more\u201d Yngwie type.<\/p>\n