Axel Rudi Pell is a distinguished German guitarist and some of the albums he has released are true gems of melodic heavy metal. “Knights Call” is his seventeenth album – many may expect that Pell might have run out of inspiration. They make a mistake as “Knights Call” is a first class album, which is full of great melodies. Pell is in good shape and composes songs that are ear-catching, with constant hooks on the verses and the refrains. It is remarkable that the German musician offers us only killers, no fillers! Again! Pell’s guitar is unstoppable, heading this sonic assault of huge riffs and magnificent solos. Johnny Gioeli has the perfect voice for these Deep Purple/Rainbow-like songs, Ferdy Doernberg’s keys add the right ‘70s touch and the rhythm section has an incomparable groove. If someone asked me which my favorite song from the album is, I would hesitate to answer, since every track has something special to give. Yet, “The Wild and The Young” and “Long Live Rock” constitute the hits of Pell’s new album. In a nutshell, “Knights Call” stands out as a fantastic classic metal album that every metalhead should listen to. Well, I am sure that we will be heeding the call!
♦ 8/10
Dimitris Zacharopoulos
