Axel Rudi Pell
Knights Call

"A winning team doesn't change."

Or maybe it's better to say composition. Yes, because in a 35-year career, Axel Rudi Pell has never had the slightest idea of changing. Unlike many others, however, "The German Guitar Wizard" has always wanted to convey to those approaching his albums that sense of diversity from the previous albums, sometimes in the sounds, other times in the type of themes addressed, though never deviating by an inch from the heavy metal that made him famous over the years.

I must say, I never expected anything different from old Axel, I knew at the moment of purchase what I was getting, I knew I would find the usual riffs, the same Johnny Gioeli on vocals with his magnificent voice, I even knew the order of the tracks on the record, acoustic intro, fast-paced track, long and epic pieces, practically if I had brought Pell's discography to the graduation exam, I would have passed with 100/100, and with honors.

Though criticized by many as a simpler emulator of Ritchie Blackmore's style, Axel has always managed to leave his indelible mark on his records, especially on more complex tracks like "Comin' Home", "Black Moon Pyramid", or "The Gates Of The Seven Seals", famous for Gioeli's fantastic vocal performances, Mike Terrana's furious drumming, and Pell's solos, as predictable and clichéd they might be for some, as thrilling and spine-chilling they are for others.

And album after album, Axel is still here.

Since 1998, always present every two years with his new release, and punctually again this year with the new, let's say, "Knights Call". The first thing that strikes is the album's production, decidedly cleaner compared to the previous "Game Of Sins" (2016), allowing more immediate tracks like the opener "The Wild And The Young" and "Slaves On The Run" to stand out, with the latter boasting an excellent riff that keeps the listener's attention. Even the intro track to the album, "The Medieval Overture", manages to serve as a good preamble to what's to come, avoiding the two-chord and synthesizer usage Axel has been prone to for a couple of albums now. Songs with longer durations that stand out include "Beyond The Light", with a top-notch vocal performance by Gioeli and an inimitable atmosphere created by Axel's guitar, and "The Crusaders Of Doom", a track that seems to blend the heavy/epic sounds of early Warlord with the Saxon from the early '80s. However, there are less successful episodes like the simplistic and avoidable "Long Live Rock", which aims to serve as a sort of musical anthem but ends up too elementary, and "The Wildeast Dreams", which completely lacks the vigor that has instead defined Axel's musical fame. The performance of Bobby Rondinelli on drums is impeccable, masterful and precise like few others, especially on the aforementioned "Tower Of Babylon".

What more can we say about an artist who, after all these years, still manages to prove he can publish material worth more than a few listens, with a formation that remains almost as inspired as it was 15 years ago? Little to nothing, Axel Rudi Pell stays true to himself, many will criticize him for his rare stubbornness, but others will appreciate him for what he does, giving each listener a piece of his passion and transforming it into emotions. And if I, who regularly buy each of his albums the day they are released and listen to them multiple times with the same passion as years ago, then old Axel must have left me with many emotions, and I can only thank him.

3.5