Search - Axel Rudi Pell :: Kings & Queens

One more solid ARP album

Chad W. Armstrong | 01/30/2005

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Most artists rise to a pinnacle in their career and then descend from there, whether it be due to the band breaking up, change in musical direction, or a shift in the popular media's interests. Axel Rudi Pell seems to have the fortune (or misfortune, depending on your point of view) of never having quite reached one defining point in his career. Instead, his message has been continually spread out over the past 15 years across 15 CDs. In this time, many golden nuggets such as "Broken Heart", "Casbah", "Fool Fool", and "The Masquerade Ball" have emerged. Kings & Queens is just the next step of Axel's evolutionary path to spread his message of melodic hard rock.



Kings & Queens uses a similar template from which albums such as Magic, Shadow Zone, or The Masquerade Ball were crafted. The album starts out with an interesting instrumental number, featuring a glockenspiel, which has a cool sound to it, yet this song never quite seems to meet its full potential. Oceans of Time's "Slaves of the Twilight" is similar, but SotT felt a little more complete. Another 30 to 60 seconds on "The Gate" might have improved this song.



The next song, "Flying High" is a typical ARP rocker, but this song holds no true surprises. A decent song in itself, reminiscent of songs like "Pay the Price", "Earls of Black", or "Nightmare", yet this song almost seems a little stripped down in comparison to Axel's other works.



"Cold Heaven" initially turned me off because the opening riff sounds a little too close to The Cars' "Just What I Needed". After numerous listens, the song has grown on me, and is another decent song, but the best has still yet to come.



"Strong as a Rock" is where this album really begins to take off, starting a string of great songs such as itself, "Legions of Hell", "Forever Angel", and "Take the Crown". "Forever Angel" just might be the successor to "Broken Heart" for Axel's power ballads, just as "Take The Crown" has the power and ferocity found in the classic "Fool Fool". With the epic "Legions of Hell", Axel Rudi Pell once again pays homage to Dio, with his own equivalent of the Black Sabbath cut "Heaven and Hell".



The album finishes off with "Sea of Evil", a song which harkens back to songs such as "Temple of the Holy" or "Eyes of the Lost".



Axel's predictable musical style has provided his fans yet another gem to add to their collections. Despite a few weak sections, this album comes out quite strong without too much excess fluff. Just great melodic hard rock, which will settle in well with Axel's many other albums."

Great, but that omnipresent squeaky sound disturbs a lot

Marcel Wild | Matieland 7602 South Africa | 08/13/2004

(4 out of 5 stars)

"ARP did it again. His newest release is in the same league as

Shadow Zone and Oceans of time. As usual I like his slower tracks (ballads or not) better than the faster ones (e.g. Flying high). I am still looking for a heavy metal band that matches ARP in matters of melody. But my complaint: What about this nerve racking squeaking sound that creeps into many

songs?? It is most hearable in the last minute of acoustic guitar playing on "Legions of hell", but spoils other songs as well. It's not my faulty cd because I hear it also on other ARP cd's. Is there a problem with his recording equipment? I can't believe it's meant to be like that. Somebody please explain."

Égal à lui même......sans plus ni moins!!!

Mario Brazeau | Longueuil, Québec Canada | 03/14/2004

(3 out of 5 stars)

"Le guitariste allemand Axel Rudi Pell nous présente son 10e album studio Kings & Queens. La première pièce Flying High nous annonce un album power métal énergique, dès la deuxième pièce on revient vite à du Axel Rudi Pell dans la plus pure tradition, c'est à dire un album de pièces mid-tempo et de ballades.
Axel ne nous apporte rien de neuf avec ce cd, il semble tourner en rond depuis quelque années!!!
Comme toujours la production est sans bavure et avec un son énorme, le produit est de qualité sur toute la ligne. En bref, un album tout à fait recommandable..."