It was a much different time in 1989 when the German band Axxis burst onto the scene with their debut disc Kingdom Of The Night. The heavy metal scene was ruled by bands such as The Scorpions, Poison and a host of others that filled the airways with a much more radio friendly guitar oriented rock that was based on catchy hooks and anthem like choruses.
Axxis is one of the groups that jumped on this bandwagon and have yet to get off! This disc which was the best selling debut album in Germany at the time is filled with all the quintessential trappings you would expect from this kind of band. From the album openers "Living In A World" and "Kingdom Of The Night you get the obligatory fiery anthem like metal that will have the fist pumping and the crowd singing along with the refrain. Lead singer Bernhard Weiss is given the chance to show the right amount of angst with not one but two mandatory power ballads with "Fire And Ice" and "Tears Of The Trees". The rest of the album is filled with songs that fall somewhere in between.
While the guitar work of Weiss and Walter Pietsch is very good throughout the album and the vocals of Bernhard is as good as most in this genre, the album is one that sounds like it is following the path that others have been down before instead of pushing into any new territory. This is not necessarily a bad thing, if you like this type of stuff it will remind you of so many other groups that you would be hard pressed not like something on here. I personally like the song "Living In A World" which has a ring of later day Yes to it. The song "Never Say Never" with its galloping guitar is another that I kept coming back to with its Iron Maiden feel.
It is easy to see why this album did so well. It gives people just what they want without having to delve to deep. This album will bring back memories of music that was less complicated and unpretentious. It was just rock & roll!
Track listing:
1. Living In A World
2. Kingdom Of The Night
3. Never Say Never
4. Fire And Ice
5. Young Souls
6. For A Song
7. Love Is Like An Ocean
8. The Moon
9. Tears Of The Trees
10. Just One Night
11. Kings Made Of Steel
12. Living In A World (Extended Version)
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