AXEL RUDI PELL — Eternal Prisoner (review)

AXEL RUDI PELL — Eternal Prisoner album cover Album · 1992 · Heavy Metal Buy this album from MMA partners
3/5 ·
martindavey87
Third album, third singer. Axel Rudi Pell is back... are back?... (I'm still not sure which one to use)... with more fist-pumping hard rocking that probably comes a decade too late, but is a pretty decent album regardless. Featuring powerhouse vocalist Jeff Scott Soto, at this point best known for his work with Yngwie Malmsteen and Talisman, this looks set to be a stable line up for the band which could last longer than one release.

The music is the same as before. Hard rock, power metal, call it what you will. It's got 80's rock stamped all over it. Long haired men with leather jackets (shirts optional), high pitched wailing, simple songs with crazy guitar acrobatics, and of course, at least one of them is probably wearing a bandana.

While Axel Rudi Pell's first two albums were fairly average, 'Eternal Prisoner' is where the band starts to really improve the quality of their work. In particular, Soto's voice lends itself to the music perfectly. Not that there was much wrong with former vocalists Charlie Huhn or Rob Rock, but Soto's voice is perfect for Pell's sound and style. And the songwriting as a whole sounds a lot more confident because of it.

Axel Rudi Pell's guitar playing though still struggles to truly catch on with the solos. The compositions are good, the vocal melodies work well, but it's the guitar solos that tend to drag on in similar fashion. There's a few moments where he does shine, but for the most part his rhythm work stands out far more than his mindless shredding. He's still miles better than me though.

'Long Time', 'Streets of Fire', 'Ride the Bullet' and 'Shoot Her to the Moon' are all fairly decent tracks, maybe even a bit of a guilty pleasure in their cheesiness. But in all honesty, 'Sweet Lil' Suzie' sees the band channel their inner Aerosmith and it is incredible! Easily the best song off the album, and all-round one of the bands best pieces, the album is easily worth the price just for this! Otherwise, this is a standard early 90's hard rock that probably would have been a raging success if it had been released in the 80's. It's got its merits, but overall there's much better stuff to come.
Share this review
more

Review Comments

Post a public comment below | Send private message to the reviewer
Please login to post a shout
666sharon666 wrote:
more than 2 years ago
Reviewer's Challenge points: 3

Review Index

Member Zone

Username:
Password:
Stay signed in

Metal Subgenres

Artists Alpha-index

MMA TOP 5 Metal ALBUMS

Rating by members, ranked by custom algorithm
Albums with 30 ratings and more
Master of Puppets Thrash Metal
METALLICA
Buy this album from our partners
Paranoid Heavy Metal
BLACK SABBATH
Buy this album from our partners
Moving Pictures Hard Rock
RUSH
Buy this album from our partners
Powerslave NWoBHM
IRON MAIDEN
Buy this album from our partners
Rising Heavy Metal
RAINBOW
Buy this album from our partners

New Metal Artists

New Metal Releases

Zona De Aprendizaje Hardcore Punk
MATAR A GRAX
Buy this album from MMA partners
Metropolitan Hardcore Punk
NOVA CHARISMA
Buy this album from MMA partners
The Bizarre Adventures Of Grapeboi Hardcore Punk
GRAPEVINE GOSSIP
Buy this album from MMA partners
Eviscerate Metalcore
EIDOLA
Buy this album from MMA partners
Live From Exile Deathcore
IMPENDING DOOM
Buy this album from MMA partners
More new releases

New Metal Online Videos

Orphan - Porcelain (OFFICIAL VISUAL)
ORPHAN (OK)
Bosh66· 3 days ago
Orphan - Vacant (OFFICAL VIDEO)
ORPHAN (OK)
Bosh66· 3 days ago
Orphan - Mag Dump (OFFICIAL VISUAL)
ORPHAN (OK)
Bosh66· 3 days ago
Orphan - Act One: Calluses / Dying Light (OFFICIAL VIDEO)
ORPHAN (OK)
Bosh66· 3 days ago
ORPHAN - Revenant (Visualizer)
ORPHAN (PA)
Bosh66· 3 days ago
More videos

New MMA Metal Forum Topics

More in the forums

New Site interactions

More...

Latest Metal News

members-submitted

More in the forums

Social Media

Follow us
Follow us on Twitter Become a Facebook fan RSS Feed