Axel Rudi Pell – ‘Risen Symbol’ Album Review

Hard Rock

Steamhammer/SPV

Release Date – June 14th 2024

Review By Smudge

Axel Rudi Pell has been doing his unashamedly Blackmore/Hendrix influenced stuff since 1989 and I’ve been lucky enough to have reviewed a couple of his albums, yeah, he’s a virtuoso and can over play sometimes but more often than not he plays for the song and as such he creates some really solid classic driving rock.

Opener ‘The Resurrection’ is a bit of guitar noodle before the band explode into a rousing classic rocker ‘Forever Strong’ with singer Johnny Gioeli giving it large as does drummer Bobby Rondinelli. ‘Guardian Angel’ is a bouncy heavy rocker that gets the head nodding before a very different interpretation of Led Zep’s ‘Immigrant Song’ then ‘Darkest Hour’ is a simple and direct rocker. We get a ten-minute eastern flavoured epic ‘Ankaia’ that goes through a major early Rainbow vibe with huge keyboards swirling over the top and of course ARP has a couple of blinding solo’s in there too. ‘Hell’s On Fire’ brings the heavy melodic rock back before the darker blues of ‘Crying In Pain’. Things pick up on the energetic ‘Right On Track’ before the final epic ‘Taken By Storm’ comes back to the Rainbow thing again, which is no bad thing.

Like big riffs? Like melodies? Like a robust, crystal-clear production? It’s all here perfectly weighed and measured for fans of classic rock like Deep Purple, Rainbow, Uriah Heep etc. You know what you’re going to get with ARP and that’s quality.

Track List –

1 – The Resurrection (intro)

2 – Forever Strong

3 – Guardian Angel

4 – Immigrant Song

5 – Darkest Hour

6 – Ankhaia

7 – Hell’s On Fire

8 – Crying In Pain

9 – Right On Track

10 – Taken By Storm