AXEL RUDI PELL — Oceans of Time (review)

AXEL RUDI PELL — Oceans of Time album cover Album · 1998 · Heavy Metal Buy this album from MMA partners
4/5 ·
martindavey87
Way back in 2002, 15 year-old me was browsing my local second hand shop when I came across this CD. Digging the artwork and a quick glance at the booklet showing me this was indeed a rock band, I thought I’d check them/him out. Here I am all these years later, still loving this album (and still unsure whether to address “them” as a band or an artist!).

By this point, Axel Rudi Pell’s formula is simple and effective (and also a tad repetitive). Opening instrumental followed by a few high-energy rock tracks, long “epic”, etc. You get the idea. And 1998’s ‘Oceans of Time’ is no different. A great mixture of hard rock and power metal, this is guitar-driven rock at its cheesy finest, full of energy, emotion and melody.

Renowned rock vocalist Jeff Scott Soto is gone, ushering in the bands forth vocalist, powerhouse Johnny Gioeli, and boy, does he make an impression! With his powerful voice and impressive range, it’s clear upon hearing the first couple of songs that he is a perfect fit for this band. As for the others, they all play their roles perfectly. While Pell’s guitar solos are pretty much all the same, there’s no denying his penchant for catchy hooks or riffs, and there’s an abundance of outstanding tracks here.

‘Carousel’, ‘Pay the Price’, ‘The Gates of the Seven Seals’, ‘Ashes from the Oath’, ‘Ride the Rainbow’ and the title track itself are all incredibly cheesy yet satisfying slabs of hard rock, that are easy to listen to and highly memorable. Arguably one of Axel Rudi Pell’s best releases, this album made me a fan, so I’d say it’s a great place to start, and definitely worth a listen for fans of the genre.
Share this review
more

Review Comments

Post a public comment below | Send private message to the reviewer
Please login to post a shout
No shouts posted yet. Be the first member to do so above!

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

The Goblin Sessions Heavy Metal
THEM
Buy this album from MMA partners
Tormenta De Arena Metalcore
VORAGO
Buy this album from MMA partners
Infinite Metalcore
FUTURE GHOST
Buy this album from MMA partners
Heretic Melodic Death Metal
SUNCINDER
Buy this album from MMA partners
The Skull Burned Wearing Hell Like A Life Vest As The Night Wept Mathcore
FRONTIERER
Buy this album from MMA partners
More new releases

New Metal Online Videos

Future Ghost - Wolves (Official Music Video)
FUTURE GHOST
Bosh66· 1 day ago
Future Ghost - Nemesis Game (Official Music Video)
FUTURE GHOST
Bosh66· 1 day ago
Harrowed TwentyTenVideo
HARROWED
Bosh66· 3 days ago
Sunmancer - Realms of Dilemma (Official Visualizer)
SUNMANCER
Bosh66· 8 days ago
Sunmancer - Lower Cavalier (Official Visualizer)
SUNMANCER
Bosh66· 8 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