Good CD, not his best
MA | brazil | 10/01/2003
(4 out of 5 stars)
"While Shadow Zone is a good CD, it's not ARP's best. If you are to buy your first ARP CD, I would recommend "Magic" or "Black Moon Pyramid" instead - those were the peak of ARP, with the mighty Jeff Scott Soto singing. I think the other albums with Gioeli's vocals ("Oceans" and "Masquerade") are superior to this one, basically because songs are more diverse, vocals are more dynamic and those CDs have fewer ballads than this one. In time, Shadow Zone would be a far better CD if ARP dropped one ballad and included one more rocker, especially because the slow tunes here are not as diverse and inventive as in past efforts (listen to "Eyes Of The Lost" off of "Magic").The top songs here are "Follow the Sign", "Edge Of The World" and "Coming Home".Anyway, with ARP you don't go wrong, even if you don't get one of his top works. The guy plays classic metal with good guitar riffs, strong vocal melodies and a powerful rhythm session."
The final proof: Heavy metal can be beautiful!
Marcel Wild | Matieland 7602 South Africa | 09/03/2003
(5 out of 5 stars)
"I am essentially prog-rock oriented, mostly early 70's. Though a couple of years ago I came across AC/DC's Men in black (from 1980) which is great and hinted that checking out other heavy metal bands might be worthwile. So I listened to Black Sabbath, Iron Maiden, Metallica, Megadeath, Judas Priest, Def Leppard, and others. Not at all impressing. Recently I was in Germany and gave Axel Rudi Pell a try. What revelation that was! There is an almost orchestral sound (presumably created by keyboard, bass, and playback tapes, I don't care) which reminded me a bit of the unique orchestral sound - without the metal component of course - of the Moody Blues in their heyday (67-73). And there is a lot of m e l o d y, something that lacks in AC/DC, let alone the other bands mentioned. There is n o weak track on this cd. So, now I am convinced to further explore the heavy metal scene for similar juwels. I started by ordering Axel's Masquerade Ball which features a cover version of Uria Heep's July morning. I can't go wrong with this one."
Another ARP gem !
MA | 05/20/2003
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Hail !Another great studio album from the German Axe Master.Nice cover, nice intro, great rockers, great ballads, great epics... all that we expect from Axel Rudi Pell.Listen to "Edge Of The World", "Follow The Sign" and "Saint Of Fools"."