Axel Rudi Pell - Circle Of The Oath

Published March 12 2012

*=Staff's pick	The Guillotine Suite Ghost In The Black Run With The Wind* Before I Die Circle Of The Oath Fortunes Of War Bridges To Nowhere* Lived Our Lives Before Hold On To Your Dreams World Of Confusion (The Masquerade Ball Pt. II)*

Genre	Heavy Metal	Johnny Gioeli	Vocals
Tracks	10	Axel Rudi Pell	Guitar
Running time	59 Min.	-	Guitar
Label	Steamhammer/SPV	Volker Krawczak	Bass
Release	26 March 2012	Mike Terrana	Drums
Country	Germany	Ferdy Doernberg	Keyboard
Producer	Axel Rudi Pell/Charlie Bauerfeind
Similar artists	---

When somebody mentions solid heavy metal, one of the names that pops up first is often Axel Rudi Pell. This release is the seventh recording with the same line up stretched over twelve years and all those albums sounds quite similar to each other. Compilations, cover albums, live recordings, etc from this productive quintet not included.

Circle Of The Oath is no exception to the rule. It starts with an intro, followed by a fast track. It has two longer epic and bombastic opuses, a pair of straight forward heavy metal songs and a pair of melodic and catchy ones. Finally one slower, heavier song and of course a ballad as well. In short, this is an ordinary Axel Rudi Pell album and usually that means high quality.

This release is quite diverse itself, as stated in last paragraph. Seen in the long run though, definitely not. The guitar play and solos from the main man and in fact from all instruments are far from groundbreaking and have been heard many times before on his albums, but they feel safe and comfortable with what they are doing, so this review could probably be copied and pasted with only minor changes for their next release as well. Lead vocalist Johnny Gioeli is flawless as usual too, but that's hardly something negative.

Then why buy this album and not spend your cash on something else? Just scroll up and read the first sentence in this text once again and you will find the answer to that question. If you like this band and are familiar with their past efforts, just go for it. You will be no way near disappointed. If you're not familiar with their music, it's your choice to start with this album or any of the other ones created in the 2000's, if this is what you're looking for. It's a good album and I would never have expected anything else from these five gentlemen.

Performance	Originality	Production	Vocals	Songwriting
7	2	8	9	7

Summary
7 chalices of 10 - Tobbe