A quick glance at the cover art of Into the Storm and you can easily assume that another release from veteran guitarist Axel Rudi Pell and his band is now in your hands. If there's one thing you can always seem to count on over the last 20 years, it's that Pell will churn out new product pretty close to every year, and that trend continues here in early 2014 with Into the Storm. Not much has changed, as the formula just keeps on delivering solid, melodic hard rock in the style of early '80s Rainbow, Dio, and Black Sabbath, with Pell's tasty, Ritchie Blackmore influenced licks providing the foundation for Johnny Gioeli's soaring vocals. Also on board is ex-Rainbow/Black Sabbath/Blue Oyster Cult drummer Bobby Rondinelli, keyboard player Ferdy Doernberg, and bassist Volker Krawczak, each one adding their stamp to these memorable heavy rock songs. "Tower of Lies", "Long Way to Go", and "Burning Chains" contain plenty of Pell licks and Gioelli delivering all those catchy choruses, while "Changing Times" chugs along in grand Deep Purple styled fashion with Doernberg's Hammond organ fighting Pell's riffs for supremacy. "Touching Heaven" contains some of the heaviest riffs on the album, and overall is a scorching, epic metal rocker, and the reworking of Neil Young's "Hey Hey, My My" offers a new spin in this classic tune, with Doernberg's piano & synths complementing Gioelli's passionate vocals before Pell drops in a zesty solo. Of course, the best is saved for the 10-minute closing title track, an epic symphonic journey that is classic Axel Rudi Pell but also a must hear for fans of vintage Rainbow.
Yes, some will claim that Pell once again hasn't delivered anything new here with Into the Storm, but what this guy does he does so well, and this album is another in a long line of highly enjoyable melodic hard rock releases.
Track Listing
1. The Inquisitorial Procedure
2. Tower of Lies
3. Long Way to Go
4. Burning Chains
5. When Truth Hurts
6. Changing Times
7. Touching Heaven
8. High Above
9. Hey Hey My My (Neil Young cover)
10. Into the Storm
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