Not much changes with one Axel Rudi Pell, the German guitarists albums keep appearing and you pretty much know what your in for. Over twenty five years Axel has accumulated quite a substantial collection of melodic hard rock releases of both the studio and live variety. The sixteenth studio album Game Of Sins is the latest addition and while I didn't find a song that rivals classic Pell tracks like "Eternal Prisoner" or "Fool Fool" I certainly enjoyed the majority of what Game Of Sins has to offer.
I really liked Jeff Scott Soto's time in the band which was of course so many years ago now, though Lead vocalist Johnny Gioeli has been a member for quite some time and he still has an appealing style that totally suits the material. The group has a very solid rhythm section which is all you really need for such material as it's not the most technical kind of music, and it's the enchanting guitar input of Axel Rudi Pell that the focus is on dishing out those wonderful solos like that on "Till The World Says Goodbye". "Fire" kicks of strongly with Pell's guitar leading the charge and Gioeli's vocals creating an appealing combination on this upbeat rocker. There's further of those style rocking tunes, though there's also others like the title track "Game Of Sins" which is slow and potent with a fantastic solo from Pell, and then there's the customary ballad this ones titled "Lost In Love".
There's ten tracks on the standard version some of which are rather long in duration such as the title track and "Forever Free" at over eight minutes, though if you get the digi option there's a bonus track and that is an impressive cover of Bob Dylan's "All Along The Watchtower" and it proves to be a great inclusion.
Game Of Sins is a very good release, it may not the be quite the strongest overall Axel Rudi Pell album that I have heard nonetheless Game Of Sins has a lot going for it.
Track Listing
1. Lenta Fortuna (Intro)
2. Fire
3. Sons In The Night
4. Game Of Sins
5. Falling Star
6. Lost In Love
7. The King Of Fools
8. Till The World Says Goodbye
9. Breaking The Rules
10. Forever Free
11. DigiPak Bonus Track: All Along The Watchtower
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