Axel Rudi Pell – The Circle of the Oath
Release Date: March 23rd (Germany), March 26th (Europe) March 27th, 2012 (USA/Canada)
Highlights: Ghost in the Black, Run With The Wind, Circle of the Oath, Fortunes of War, Bridges To Nowhere, World of Confusion,
German guitar god Axel Rudi Pell has returned along with singer Johnny Gioelli, drummer Mike Terrana , keyboard player Ferdy Doernberg and bassist Volker Krawzak to deliver “Circle of the Oath.” Axel & Co. have been responsible for putting out some of my favorite Metal albums of the past 20 years or so and 2010’s “The Crest” saw them with the best album of Axel’s career. In my opinion, “Circle of the Oath” picks up where The Crest left off with a sonically stellar and beautifully melodic sound. Axel has a formula that works really well for him. He is not afraid to wear his heavy Dio and Rainbow influences on his sleeve and this totally works for him. Axel makes the kind of Metal that I love. Melodic, heavy, and full of punch. The performances on “Circle of the Oath” are as good as you would expect them to be while not diverting or straying from this formula that Axel & Co have perfected.
The album starts off with a bang with “Ghost In The Black” which bears that Axel Rudi Pell signature riff right off the bat. “World of Confusion” is very reminiscent of that “Headless Cross” era of Black Sabbath and is probably one of the best songs I have ever heard from Axel. The title track “Circle of the Oath” opens with an acoustic guitar/vocal intro that is his own little nod to another set of heroes of his, Led Zeppelin, before kicking in heavy. This is a great song but I did feel that the intro went on for a bit too long and felt slightly dragged out. “Lived Our Lives Forever” and “Hold On To Your Dreams” are the only two songs that seemed to just miss the mark. Lyrically they just weren’t as strong as they could’ve been. I can see the concept Axel was going for on these songs and I feel that if proper time had been taken, they could’ve been quite stellar.
All in all, “Circle of the Oath” is another great album. It’s an album that is far better than most but unlike “The Crest” contains a few missed marks. “Circle of the Oath” lacked the cohesion that “The Crest” boasted but it is still a fantastic album. You have to understand something about Axel Rudi Pell. He has a sonic formula that works for him and from album to album he doesn’t stray from it. With “Circle of the Oath” the formula is there but a few of the songs in general sound less thought out than on previous albums. With that being said, they don’t suck. They’re not even close to sucking. It’s kind of pizza. The quality may vary but regardless, it’s fucking pizza and it’s still going to be good. Maybe it won’t be amazing but it’ll be good.
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