AXEL RUDI PELL
Sign Of The Times
Steamhammer/SPV
5/5
Their eighteenth album in thirty-one years, it’s safe to say that Axel Rudi Pell are showing no signs of slowing down. With Sign Of The Times, they display one of their best performances yet. The pounding “Gunfire” is a great way to open up the record, with the insanely catchy “Bad Reputation” offering up a taste of classic rock. The lengthy title track carries a hefty eighties metal feel with an equally potent hook and a massive solo to boot. This is definitely Axel Rudi Pell at their best, reminding me of epics like “The Masquerade Ball.” Continuing with the eighties influences, we have “End Of The Line.” I’m not going to lie, folks – this one almost reminds me of the Sonic Adventure soundtrack, and I’ve no doubt that Sonic fans picked up on these guys long ago, especially now that Crush 40 is no longer being utilized in any Sonic Team projects.
No Axel Rudi Pell release wouldn’t be complete with a ballad, which is where “As Blind As A Fool Can Be” demonstrates that once again, Axel Rudi Pell are exceptionally proficient here and so much so that they’ve made several compilation albums of just their ballads. I cannot name very many bands who have done something like that. As one would expect, this ballad delivers everything I’d expect from them, including a spot for another brilliant guitar solo. But that’s not all, because the somewhat trippy but impossibly mighty “Wings Of The Storm” is without a doubt the most memorable cut on this entire album for me. That chorus is one of the best damn moments that Gioeli’s ever signed his name to and the song in general can illustrate so many things, whether that be standing up to adversity or just the symbol of our country and the efforts of our men and women in the military. If the band doesn’t play this live (well, that certainly won’t be happening now) then you should shout it out loud from the audience. Let them know that you want to hear this Hendrix-influenced masterpiece in it’s full majesty!
Moving on, we have “Waiting For Your Call” which lyrically rubs me wrong for several reasons. It’s more of an eighties radio rocker, but I guess you have to be really crushing on someone to get it on an emotional level. It’s still a killer number and as the press release states, one of Gioeli’s best moments. I can’t deny that, folks – there’s really not a mediocre song on this whole album, so they’ve delivered above and beyond my lofty expectations. “Living In A Dream” throws in a little bit of reggae and continues the trippy keyboard onslaught to finish off with an electrifying solo. That continues into the closing track “Into The Fire” which has a bit of a Robert E. Howard vibe to it, albeit with a tad of middle-eastern mysticism. It’s a very interesting way to end the album, but it fits and delivers another great guitar solo to top things off. After spending a great deal of time with this one, I definitely have to say that it is one of my personal favorite albums from the band and would find it difficult to top. Once again, there’s not one single song that I do not like on this album and it doesn’t feel too long or too short, either. Sign Of The Times is exactly as long as it needs to be, with no filler in sight. Intriguingly, keyboardist Ferdy Doernberg got a real workout the whole time through, as trippy synth-nodes are peppered throughout the entire album. The end result is nothing short of awesome and I’m satisfied with it. There are a lot of songs on Sign Of The Times that I know I will be committing to my playlist. I’ve considered the band’s previous efforts fairly decent, but this record came like a well-timed sucker punch out of nowhere. If you love the sound of rock and heavy metal perfectly preserved in their heyday, than you are going to fall head over heels in love with Sign Of The Times.