{"id":19405,"date":"2012-03-21T16:34:59","date_gmt":"2012-03-21T21:34:59","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/?p=19405"},"modified":"2013-01-29T10:06:05","modified_gmt":"2013-01-29T15:06:05","slug":"axel-rudi-pell-circle-of-the-oath","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/2012\/axel-rudi-pell-circle-of-the-oath\/","title":{"rendered":"Axel Rudi Pell | Circle of the Oath<\/em>"},"content":{"rendered":"

by Justin Gaines<\/span>
\nStaff Writer —<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\"\"German guitar wizard Axel Rudi Pell is back, right on schedule, with a new studio album, titled Circle of the Oath<\/em>. This is Pell\u2019s fourteenth studio album (excluding the Ballads<\/em> series and the Diamonds Unlocked<\/em> cover album), and his eighth with Hardline vocalist Johnny Gioeli and journeyman drummer Mike Terrana on board.<\/p>\n

Axel Rudi Pell is nothing if not dependable, and in addition to knocking out a new album every two years fans can always count on each new album sounding almost exactly like the albums that came before it. The formula goes something like this: start with a short instrumental introductory track (for Circle of the Oath it\u2019s \u201cThe Guillotine Suite\u201d), then blaze right through a couple of high octane hard rockers (\u201cGhost in the Black,\u201d \u201cRun With the Wind\u201d and \u201cBefore I Die\u201d). After that it\u2019s time for a sweeping epic that clocks in somewhere around the ten minute mark (see the title track). Then do it all over again, with a couple more rockers and at least one ballad, before closing things out with another epic (\u201cWorld of Confusion\u201d). Another brief instrumental is optional. As for lyrics, just throw everything Ronnie James Dio ever wrote into a hat and pull lines out at random until you have enough to fill an album.<\/p>\n

OK, it\u2019s possible Axel Rudi Pell puts more thought into each new release, but the honest truth is that Circle of the Oath<\/em> sounds exactly like The Crest<\/em>, which sounded exactly like Tales of the Crown<\/em>, and so on. Now, if you love that formula then by all means pick up a copy of this album. You\u2019ll get Pell\u2019s dynamite guitar work, Terrana\u2019s very steady drumming and, perhaps most notably, a powerhouse vocal performance by Gioeli. What you won\u2019t get is anything you haven\u2019t heard at least seven times before.<\/p>\n

At this point what seemed so exciting on albums like Oceans of Time<\/em> and The Masquerade Ball<\/em> is all too familiar. It\u2019s enjoyable enough while it\u2019s spinning, but in the end Circle of the Oath<\/em> feels like just another safe and predictable Axel Rudi Pell album.<\/p>\n

Edition Notes: The limited edition version of Circle of the Oath<\/em> comes in a digipack and features a live version of \u201cThe Temple of the King\u201d (a Rainbow cover) as a bonus track.<\/p>\n

Genre: Melodic Metal, Melodic Rock<\/p>\n

Band:
\nAxel Rudi Pell (g)
\nJohnny Gioeli (v)
\nVolker Krawczak (b)
\nMike Terrana (d)
\nFerdy Doernberg (k)<\/p>\n

Track Listing:
\n1.\tThe Guillotine Suite (intro)
\n2.\tGhost in the Black
\n3.\tRun With the Wind
\n4.\tBefore I Die
\n5.\tCircle of the Oath
\n6.\tFortunes of War
\n7.\tBridges to Nowhere
\n8.\tLived Our Lives Before
\n9.\tHold on to Your Dreams
\n10.\tWorld of Confusion (The Masquerade Ball Part II)<\/p>\n

Label: SPV Records<\/p>\n

Website: http:\/\/www.axel-rudi-pell.de<\/a><\/p>\n

Hardrock Haven rating: 7\/10<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

by Justin Gaines Staff Writer — German guitar wizard Axel Rudi Pell is back, right on schedule, with a new studio album, titled Circle of the Oath. This is Pell\u2019s fourteenth studio album (excluding the […]<\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6772],"tags":[3439,2901,1460],"class_list":{"0":"post-19405","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-arcrvws2012","7":"tag-melodic-metal","8":"tag-melodic-rock","9":"tag-spv-records"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19405","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=19405"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19405\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=19405"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=19405"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=19405"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}