I had sworn to myself never to buy another Axel Rudi Pell album, the "not so young" blond Teutonic guitarist. This is because, to be honest, Axel, with his photocopy albums (in "copy-paste style"), had literally made me fed up with it all. It's one thing to experiment. It's another thing to discover your own sound, the one that marks you for life. The one, just to be clear, that makes you yell out, "Holy moly! This is Axel Rudi Pell!!!" as soon as you hear the first riff. Axel, however, went beyond that. Yes, he found his sound, that hybrid between '80s heavy metal and the speediest and rockiest power metal, spicing it up with pop and AOR-like atmospheres (in his fabulous metal ballads), but in every darn album, he even respects the order in which to propose the songs! It starts with the usual intro, then the speediest power metal song imaginable, then a nice martial track, very eighties, and then the first ballad. And so on, until the end.

Well, after this initial diatribe, you would have guessed that, when faced with "Diamonds Unlocked," I approached it very cautiously. I took the album in my hand and... what?!?!?!? "A Beautiful Day"

Yes. It was indeed one of the names on the tracklist of Axel's album. Followed, in rapid succession, by other titles "borrowed"... It doesn't take much to figure out that, if you do 2+2, the album in your hand is a cover album. A reinterpretation of all kinds of songs, for the occasion, reviewed and corrected in heavy metal sauce. And that's how an "A Beautiful Day" by U2 (a band I've always appreciated too little) in a metal version is beautiful, and you find yourself singing it all the way through! Then you move on to "Love Gun" by Kiss, "Stone" by Chris Rea, "Fools Game" by Michael Bolton, and the bluesy "Heartbreaker" by Free. In short: a pretty good little album! Enjoyable and fun, all the way to the end, introduced, as usual, by a stupid and pointless intro that, quite frankly, has nothing to do with the rest of the album's songs. 

Well done, Axel! You've figured out how to create a great album: the important thing is that you don't write the songs yourself..... muah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah!!!!!

Tracklist Lyrics and Videos

01   The Diamond Overture (01:41)

02   Warrior (03:42)

Just a lonely hunter always
Searching for another prey,
Or another rival.

He's a cold assassin in a modern
Time of senseless hate,
It's all about survival.

Vicious and cold, with a passion to
Rule and control,
In for the kill, with a hunger to
Take your mind and soul,
Don't let go.

Get it out, reign of the warrior,
Get it out, it's the reign of the
Warrior.

Enter in to battle, more casualities
Lie just ahead,
'cause you fight 'til the end.

Malicious contentment, on the
front line of no man's land,
Hunt you down again.

Repeat bridge
Repeat chorus

Get it out, the fight of the warrior,
Get it out, it's the fight of the
Warrior.

03   Beautiful Day (04:46)

04   Stone (06:36)

05   Love Gun (04:04)

06   Fools Game (03:58)

07   Heartbreaker (06:55)

Not long ago we saw each other
For the first time at a show of a friend
We talked for hours in a round
We were glad that we've been found

And the sparkle in your eyes
Tells me (for) sure you don't know why
You left me alone

You're my Heartbreaker
I'm lost in the shadow of love
Heartbreaker
Alone and ready to fight

We shared the years, we shared each moment
Everyday on the phone late at night
You changed your mind, your heart was blinded
By your thoughts, that wasn't right for us

But the sparkle in your eyes
Makes me hope love will survive
And you'll come back to me

You're my Heartbreaker
I'm lost in the shadow of love
Heartbreaker
Alone and ready to fight

You're my Heartbreaker
I'm lost in the shadow of love
Heartbreaker
Alone and ready to fight

You're my Heartbreaker
I'm lost in the shadow of love
Heartbreaker
Alone and ready to fight

You're my Heartbreaker
I'm lost in the shadow of love
Heartbreaker
[Alone and lost]</i> forever

You're my Heartbreaker
Don't leave me, don't <i>[...]
Heartbreaker
Alone and ready to fight

Don't leave me alone

08   Rock the Nation (04:05)

09   In the Air Tonight (08:38)

10   Like a Child Again (04:48)

11   Won't Get Fooled Again (06:12)

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