Axel Rudi Pell - Circle of the Oath (Limited Edition) (2012) CD-Rip

For a while there things were a bit touch and go with the last couple ARP releases. But in a year that saw monumentally diabolical albums from heavy metal stalwarts Manowar and Running Wild, Axel Rudi Pell's "Circle Of The Oath"'s subtle charm and quiet grace quickly translated into a magnanimous sort of brilliance.

ARP can generally be considered high quality stuff but as a band that has existed for over twenty years now they have suffered from crippling monotony on a good number of occasions and the engine of creativity just wasn't running as smoothly as it did in the days of "Nasty Reputation", "Oceans Of Time" and the piece de resistance that was "The Masquerade Ball". They gradually became repetitive and derivative and each album although perfectly produced seemed rich with the same old ideas. Well, the mill is still running but on this record it is ringing through a different sound. "Circle Of The Oath" sounds tremendously fresh and full of energy. Johnny Gioeli is like a brand new revitalized singer and Axel's playing is the sharpest and most cutting it has ever been. Even the happy go lucky Mike Terrana is able to squeeze out a more vibrant side to him that gives each song extra soar for its flight. See they didn't have to change much, they've always been an immensely capable bunch, they just needed to add some big ole fuel to the fire.

Musically and structurally, the album does depart greatly from the usual Rainbow and Dio influences (read "trappings") that seemed inescapable and rampant from the first record. Granted, songs like "Bridges To Nowhere" and "Hold On To Your Dreams" worship at the altar of RJD and there's even a cover of "The Temple Of The King" but instead of heading down the straight forward path that many a Dio song did, "Bridges..." develops into a highly charged Queen-like anthem with Gioeli's strong vocals nearly thrusting it into the realms of Gospel. His voice is top notch from start to finish and the range he exhibits is truly something to admire. He doesn't hold himself back and while the raw emotion of songs like "Lived Our Lives Before" might overwhelm some, it is delivered expertly in a fashion that eludes so many heavy metal vocalists. Axel on his part takes the old trick of interweaving clean acoustic and heavy electric and lays atop a flurry sea of strings, a most rousing melodic guitar solo turning a rather formulaic track into one of the band's more essential ballads.

The man's genius has always lain in turning the elementary into something spectacular. Take "World Of Confusion" which is the second part of "The Masquerade Ball" series where his chugging riffs are given so much weight by a rich low end that elevates them beyond the dry and soulless attack flaunted by many a modern metal band. His sizable arsenal of riffs and licks moves the song through several dimensions-from calm and wistful behind Ferdy Doernberg's moving keyboard work to a speedy finale behind Terrana's steady pound and to a windy acoustic tone that gives it a nice elegant finish strongly reminiscent of Tony Iommi's on "Heaven and Hell".

Terrana shows some feathers on the weightier metal. On "Ghost In The Black" he is utterly ferocious, filling every space possible with pummels that pulsate like hammers. He is not some showy technical whiz but the man's dynamism is relevant and never wanes. Mid song, Axel and Ferdy treat us to a most thrilling exchange between guitars and keys and it is one that quickly goes as it came and doesn't divert from the high energy mood of the song. "Run With The Wind", "Before I Die" and "Fortunes Of War" are other truly masterful energetic pieces that shouldn't go unnoticed. Yes, the band won't score points for originality with those titles but the heavy metal pomp of each those songs is all their own.

The epic masterstroke of the album is the title track. Axel owns it with his dramatic guitar playing that employs Zeppelin-esque folk guitar plucking (helped by Johnny's mumblings about nature's birds crying out their pain), Oriental tinged chording (assisted by Volker Krawczark's thunderous bass and Ferdy Doernberg's mystical wall of keys) and a massively stacked solo that unfolds its layers like the siren song of our lives. Very apt considering the lyrical fascination with judgment day.

Altogether an incredibly admirable body of work. Axel Rudi Pell might seem to be headed into their twilight years but an album like "Circle Of The Oath" does much to rubbish that supposition. What it in fact does is to prove them very much relevant and still essential.