Axel Rudi Pell – Into The Storm (2014)

Axel Rudi Pell and Co. have embarked on a new adventure in the beginning of 2014, called “Into The Storm”. Aboard the ghost ship from the cover, together with Axel Rudi Pell are Johnny Gioeli – vocals, Ferdy Doernberg – keyboards and Volker Krawczak – bass. Mike Terrana could not join the crew this time and his place was taken by none other, but the legendary Bobby Rodinelli, well known for his work with Rainbow, Black Sabbath, Blue Oyster Cult and other musicians and projects. The sound, the recording and the quality of “Into The Storm” definitely do not suffer from this change, quite the contrary- with Rodinelli behind the drums the German guitar virtuoso is, as if even one step closer to the sound of Rainbow.

“Into The Storm” consists of 10 compositions and the first one is the obligatory intro with man choirs, which have become an invariable part of Axel Rudi Pell‘s means of expression, used for depicting the epic tales of battles with demons, witches, inquisition and medieval obscurantism. The last composition respectively, is the self-titled ten minutes long “Into The Storm” which carries the typical Rainbow and Dio spirit by its slow and heavy rhythm and Egyptian motives. In thematic, musical and lyrical aspect, the album follows the formula of its predecessors and this definitely is not a drawback. By the more aggressive guitar riffs in „Tower of Lies“, „Long Way to Go“, as well as by the dynamic charge of „Burning Chains“, „Changing Times“ and „High Above“ , the musicians prove it is not necessary to change the music direction in order to create a beautiful, valuable and mature album.

It would be unfair not to mention the leading part of Johnny Gioeli. For years Axel Rudi Pell had been seeking to find a permanent vocalist and worked with some of the best known voices in rock. And 1998 welcomed the magnificent „Oceans of Time“  with the totally unknown American as a vocalist. And ever since this release, Johnny Gioeli and the German guitarist have been working together, leaving no doubts why he remained permanently behind the microphone. And in this last album Johnny Gioeli is brilliant from the beginning to the very end!

“Into The Storm” does not suffer from lack of cover songs as the fans of the band have already been used to them. Neil Young‘s “Hey Hey My My” is on the general release of the CD, and those who choose to buy the limited edition may relish “Way To Mandalay” originally performed by Blackmore’s Night.

As a conclusion, I will state that “Into The Storm” is not a release for those who expect some generally new materials and ideas from Axel Rudi Pell, but it is a beautiful present, indeed, for the die-hard fans in the beginning of 2014!

Rating: 8/10