Axel Rudi Pell fail to offer anything fresh with 'Mystica'
Another week, another power/thrash/heavy metal band to listen to. For some reason, in comparison to other genres, it just seems that so many bands in the above styles take it far too easy and take the easy way out with generic, identical tracks. Do Axel Rudi Pell fit this mould? Unfortunately, yes. With their latest album 'Mystica', despite one or two good tracks such as the title track and 'Fly To The Moon', Axel Rudi Pell have managed to pump new depths of generic metal.
This is classic styled heavy metal with the emphasis on old school style riffs, typical and unchallenging song structures and wailing male vocals, not my cup of tea to be sure, but Axel Rudi Pell do what they do well enough to please fans of the genre I'm sure. Rather than focusing on say musicianship, or the lyrical content (which is admittedly not amazing, hitting most of the heavy metal cliches you can imagine), the focus is on catchy songs with strong soaring choruses, and I must admit there were a fair number of times I caught myself tapping along with my foot. The production of the songs itself is clear and crisp and there are no complaints that can be made about that, its almost a shame that when the production values are high, the song writing is not.
In all honesty though, despite a few catchy parts that we've all heard before, Axel Rudi Pell haven't brought anything new to the table or anything really worth hearing. There is nothing that sets 'Mystica' apart from many other albums from its genre, and I suspect, from other Axel Rudi Pell albums as well.
Axel Rudi Pell play Bloodstock 06 in Derby at the end of this month, and if you like unimaginative but catchy power or heavy metal then this is definitely a band you'll be wanting to check out. Whilst this album hardly hits any pinnacles and didn't really light up my world at all, it does what it does well enough and wasn't an altogether unenjoyable listen.