Axel Rudi Pell | |
|---|---|
 Pell in 2018 | |
| Background information | |
| Born | 27 June 1960 Bochum, West Germany [1] |
| Genres | |
| Instrument(s) | Guitar |
| Years active | 1981–present |
| Labels | SPV |
| Website | axel-rudi-pell |
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Axel Rudi Pell (born 27 June 1960) [2] is a German hard rock guitarist.
Pell commenced his musical career with Steeler (1984–88) [3] before leaving in 1988 for a solo career. [4] During this time, he has played with such drummers as Jörg Michael and Mike Terrana, and singers Charlie Huhn, [4] Johnny Gioeli of Hardline, Jeff Scott Soto, and Rob Rock. Gioeli remains the longest surviving vocalist of the band, having joined the group since 1998 on the album Oceans of Time, Gioeli's first musical appearance since the 1992 Hardline album Double Eclipse .
Pell often says his music is about a Knight in shining armour going on various adventures. Each album continues one new quest after the other, and songs are told as separate stories. Pell's main influence in guitar work has been Ritchie Blackmore from Deep Purple.
SPV Records released a live DVD on 25 February 2008, titled Live over Europe, which includes the full performance from the Rock Hard Festival in 2007, and comes with a bonus disc which includes live footage from Pell's own archive. [5] In 2012, a new Axel Rudi Pell live concert CD/DVD Live on Fire was released.
In 2013, ex-Rainbow drummer Bobby Rondinelli joined the band, replacing Mike Terrana after his initial departure in 2013. Mike Terrana wanted to pursue other projects, such as becoming a member of the supergroup The Ferrymen, featuring Rainbow singer Ronnie Romero on vocals. Axel celebrated his 25th anniversary as a musician in 2014, headlining the Bang Your Head festival in Balingen Germany on 11 July 2014. It featured the second and third singers: Rob Rock and Jeff Scott Soto. Special guests also included Joerg Michael, Ronnie Atkins, John Lawton, ex-Rainbow singer Graham Bonnett, Doogie White, keyboardist Tony Carey and drummer Vinny Appice. The show consisted of 3 acts: a short Steeler reunion and brief Axel Rudi Pell reunion with singers Rob Rock and Jeff Scott Soto , a full modern Axel Rudi Pell show with vocalist Johnny Gioeli and current band members, and the last act featuring various Deep Purple and Rainbow covers with a full ensemble.
In 2019, the band celebrated their 30th anniversary, releasing a double live album called XXX – 30th Anniversary Live. The songs were recorded on various dates of the Knights Call 2018 tour. The group's Facebook page stated at the time that the band did not know they were being recorded but when they heard the audio they were amazed and wanted to release it to celebrate the group's 30th Anniversary. It was released in June 2019 on CD and LP. Their most recent release, The Ballads 6, was released in early 2023.
On 5 February 2020, they announced their latest album on their Facebook page, titled Sign of the Times, due for release on 24 April 2020. In March 2020, the band announced a delay of the release of the new record, due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, and was released on 8 May 2020 instead. A tour in support of the new album was also postponed to 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and then later delayed again until 2022. In late 2020, Pell announced his newest album Diamonds Unlocked II, which was released on 30 July 2021. It is another covers album similar to Diamonds Unlocked from 2007. Pell is well known for his extensive touring, mostly around Germany and his home town in Bochum. He rarely tours globally, but has performed a few one-off shows in London over the recent years. However, there has always been high demand to bring him to other countries. They are also famous for attending many music festivals such as being regulars at Wacken Open Air since the late 1990s. Their most recent album with original music is called Lost XXIII and was released on 15 April 2022. The group was appearing at the Sweden Rock Festival in 2024. [6]
Warlock was a German heavy metal band founded in 1982 in Düsseldorf by members of the underground bands Snakebite and Beast. The band gained popularity and some commercial success in Europe in the mid-1980s, due to the personality and stage presence of lead vocalist Doro Pesch. Warlock supported successful heavy metal bands on tour, such as W.A.S.P., Judas Priest, Dio and Megadeth.
Masterplan is a German power metal band founded by guitarist Roland Grapow and drummer Uli Kusch upon leaving Helloween in 2001.
Foghat are an English rock band formed in London in 1971. The band is known for the use of electric slide guitar in its music. The band has achieved eight gold albums, one platinum and one double platinum album, and despite several line-up changes, continue to record and perform.
Hardline is an American hard rock band. Originally formed in 1991 by brothers Johnny Gioeli and Joey Gioeli, the band consisted of five members, Johnny Gioeli, Joey Gioeli, Neal Schon, Todd Jensen and Deen Castronovo. The band's most recent album is Heart, Mind and Soul, which was released in 2021. Joey Gioeli has not appeared on a Hardline album since 2002's II after retiring from music to focus on the family business. Joey Gioeli has created an AI company that has had revenue since its inception in 1994 of over 165 million dollars. Johnny Gioeli remains the only original member of the band. To date (2024), the Band Hardline has sold over 30 million albums worldwide.
Robert Rondinelli is an American rock drummer best known for his work with the hard rock/heavy metal bands Blue Öyster Cult, Rainbow, Quiet Riot, Black Sabbath, The Lizards, The Handful, and Rondinelli. In July 2013, Rondinelli was announced as the new drummer for the Axel Rudi Pell band, replacing previous drummer Mike Terrana. Rondinelli has played on subsequent albums and tours, and remains with the band.
Jeff Scott Soto is an American rock singer of Puerto Rican descent. He is best known for being the vocalist on Yngwie Malmsteen's first two albums, and the lead vocalist for Journey in 2006–07.
Mike Terrana is an American hard rock and heavy metal drummer.
Mystica is the eleventh album by German melodic hard rock and power metal guitarist Axel Rudi Pell, released in 2006.
Shadow Zone is the ninth studio album released by the heavy metal guitarist Axel Rudi Pell, as well as the second album released by the current line-up. The album was released in 2002 by SPV.
Holy Dio: A Tribute to Ronnie James Dio is a compilation album, released on July 12, 1999. It is a tribute album to Ronnie James Dio, featuring covers of several songs he had sung during his time with Rainbow, Black Sabbath and his own band Dio. The covers done on this tribute album were recorded by mostly power metal bands.
Diamonds Unlocked is the twelfth album by German guitarist Axel Rudi Pell. It is a cover album released in September/October 2007. The album consists of 10 cover tracks and 1 self-written introduction track. Axel Rudi Pell attempted to make cover versions of tracks from typically "non-metal" artists including Phil Collins and Michael Bolton in order to show how these songs would be done in his signature melodic rock/metal style.
Johnny Gioeli is an American singer, songwriter and composer, known as the vocalist of the hard rock band Crush 40. He is also the lead singer of the band Hardline and a member of German guitarist Axel Rudi Pell's band. He is most well known in pop culture for his contributions to the Sonic the Hedgehog games during the 2000s.
Tales of the Crown is the thirteenth album by German speed/power metal guitarist Axel Rudi Pell. It released on 24 October 2008 by Steamhammer/SPV records. The album was #56 on the Sweden charts and #81 on the Switzerland charts.
Live at the Gods Festival 2002 is a live album by Hardline, released on DVD and CD in 2003. It was recorded at the Gods Festival in Bradford, England on June 2, 2002, where Hardline was the headliner.
The Crest is the fourteenth album by German speed/power metal guitarist Axel Rudi Pell, and was released in 2010 on Steamhammer/SPV records.
The Best Of Axel Rudi Pell: Anniversary Edition is the fifth compilation from German guitar player Axel Rudi Pell. It was released in 2009 on Steamhammer Records. The album showcases 12 tracks from the past ten years since 1999 of the current line up, with the exceptions of "Carousel" and "Oceans of Time" which feature previous drummer Jörg Michael.
"Mistreated" is a song by the English rock band Deep Purple taken from their 1974 album Burn. The song was written by the band's guitarist Ritchie Blackmore and new vocalist David Coverdale, who, along with new bassist Glenn Hughes, brought new blues and funk elements to the band.
Danger Zone is American hard rock band Hardline's fourth studio album, and their first since Leaving the End Open. Johnny Gioeli is the sole returning member from the Leaving the End Open lineup, and is joined by keyboardist and producer Alessandro Del Vecchio, guitarist Thorsten Koehne, bassist Anna Portalupi, and drummer Francesco Jovino. Danger Zone was released in Europe on May 18, 2012, and in America on May 22, both through Frontiers Records.
Live On Fire is the third live album by the German guitar-player Axel Rudi Pell.
One Voice is the debut solo album by American hard rock singer Johnny Gioeli. It was released on December 7, 2018 via Neapolitan label Frontiers Records and it was produced by Italian multi-instrumentalist Alessandro Del Vecchio, also on keyboards. The entire album was written by Johnny Gioeli and guitarist Eric Gadrix. The band was completed by Italian musicians Nik Marzucconi on bass and Marco Di Salvia.
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