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Trollheart · 05-15-2011, 01:15 PM

Paradise in flames ---- Axxis --- 2006 (AFM Records)

I've always had something of a soft spot for German metal bands --- Accept, Helloween, Bonfire, Scorpions, Vanden Plas, Primal Fear, MSG... the list goes on. There's something very sincere about what they do, as if they're really trying their best to emulate the better of the British and American metal gods, and sometimes they reach these dizzying heights, sometimes fall short. Axxis have been together for over 21 years now, and have produced 12 albums over that period, some good, some not so good, some occasionally brilliant. This is the album I would rate as their top to date (though I readily admit I have not yet heard 2007's “Doom of destiny” or their most recent, 2009's “Utopia”) --- it just hits all the right places and I really think there's hardly a bad track on it. From opener to closer it's metal heaven all the way through, and while Axxis may not be as “seriously metal” as, say, the Scorps or Blind Guardian, I really like their approach to music in general: they sort of become the German Bon Jovi for me --- whether that's good or bad I guess depends on your attitude towards New Jersey's finest...

“Paradise in flames”, their tenth studio album, opens with a short instrumental, keyboard and choral voices, very fantasy movie-like, but in my opinion it could be longer than the one-minute-plus it clocks in here. Nevertheless, it serves as an interesting intro to the album, and things immediately blast off with “Dance with the dead”, a track we used to call “a real headbanger” in my day! Duelling guitars, thundering drums and the distinctive voice of frontman Bernard Weiss rising over everything, with some truly excellent backing vocals by a lady whose name so far I have only established to be Lakonia? A great keyboard solo by Harry Oellers completes the track, which then powers into another without taking breath, as “Tales of Glory Island” gets going. Like most of the tracks on this album (and indeed, most of Axxis's material) it's not going to win any awards for innovation, or even originality, but if you enjoy good melodic metal then you'll likely have little to complain about with this album.

The same sort of theme continues in tracks like “Will God remember me?”, “Lady moon” (with snippets of a reprise of the intro) and “Talisman”, with the only real reduction in speed being for the rather lovely ballad “Don't leave me”, where Bernard truly sings his heart out, in a romantic duet with Lakonia, and “Stay by me”, which is not so much a ballad as a mid-paced rocker, but with some very balladic elements. The elusive Lakonia adds her lovely feminine vocals to “Take my hand” as well. To be honest, the only track I don't like on this album is “Passion for rock”, which comes near the end of the record, and is to my ears anyway a far too simple straightforward rock song with very little thought put into the lyric. I feel the songs here, while as I said not breaking any moulds or any new ground for heavy metal, are thoughftul and well-arranged and written, whereas “Passion” seems like a throwaway, something added in for the sake of it. Just doesn't do it for me.

The real point about this album is that it's very melody-friendly: you find yourself singing along with just about every track, and they do stay in your head long after the laser has shut down and the CD has been returned to its sleeve. The keyboard playing on the album is flawless throughout, almost classical in places, and serves to raise this above the level of much stereotypical German heavy metal. You can tell there was a lot of thought put into the album, and a lot of time spent creating it. Personally, I think it was well worth it!

TRACKLISTING
1. Paradise in flames intro
2. Dance with the dead
3. Tales of Glory Island
4. Take my hand
5. Will God remember me?
6. Talisman
7. Don't leave me
8. Lady moon
9. Ice wind
10. Stay by me
11. Gods of rain
12. Passion for rock
13. Break your soul
14. Tales of Glory Island (Extended version)

Suggested further listening: "Back to the kingdom", "Kingdom of the night", "Eyes of darkness"

05-15-2011, 01:15 PM	#16 (permalink)
Trollheart Born to be mild Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: 404 Not Found Posts: 26,970	Paradise in flames ---- Axxis --- 2006 (AFM Records) I've always had something of a soft spot for German metal bands --- Accept, Helloween, Bonfire, Scorpions, Vanden Plas, Primal Fear, MSG... the list goes on. There's something very sincere about what they do, as if they're really trying their best to emulate the better of the British and American metal gods, and sometimes they reach these dizzying heights, sometimes fall short. Axxis have been together for over 21 years now, and have produced 12 albums over that period, some good, some not so good, some occasionally brilliant. This is the album I would rate as their top to date (though I readily admit I have not yet heard 2007's “Doom of destiny” or their most recent, 2009's “Utopia”) --- it just hits all the right places and I really think there's hardly a bad track on it. From opener to closer it's metal heaven all the way through, and while Axxis may not be as “seriously metal” as, say, the Scorps or Blind Guardian, I really like their approach to music in general: they sort of become the German Bon Jovi for me --- whether that's good or bad I guess depends on your attitude towards New Jersey's finest... “Paradise in flames”, their tenth studio album, opens with a short instrumental, keyboard and choral voices, very fantasy movie-like, but in my opinion it could be longer than the one-minute-plus it clocks in here. Nevertheless, it serves as an interesting intro to the album, and things immediately blast off with “Dance with the dead”, a track we used to call “a real headbanger” in my day! Duelling guitars, thundering drums and the distinctive voice of frontman Bernard Weiss rising over everything, with some truly excellent backing vocals by a lady whose name so far I have only established to be Lakonia? A great keyboard solo by Harry Oellers completes the track, which then powers into another without taking breath, as “Tales of Glory Island” gets going. Like most of the tracks on this album (and indeed, most of Axxis's material) it's not going to win any awards for innovation, or even originality, but if you enjoy good melodic metal then you'll likely have little to complain about with this album. The same sort of theme continues in tracks like “Will God remember me?”, “Lady moon” (with snippets of a reprise of the intro) and “Talisman”, with the only real reduction in speed being for the rather lovely ballad “Don't leave me”, where Bernard truly sings his heart out, in a romantic duet with Lakonia, and “Stay by me”, which is not so much a ballad as a mid-paced rocker, but with some very balladic elements. The elusive Lakonia adds her lovely feminine vocals to “Take my hand” as well. To be honest, the only track I don't like on this album is “Passion for rock”, which comes near the end of the record, and is to my ears anyway a far too simple straightforward rock song with very little thought put into the lyric. I feel the songs here, while as I said not breaking any moulds or any new ground for heavy metal, are thoughftul and well-arranged and written, whereas “Passion” seems like a throwaway, something added in for the sake of it. Just doesn't do it for me. The real point about this album is that it's very melody-friendly: you find yourself singing along with just about every track, and they do stay in your head long after the laser has shut down and the CD has been returned to its sleeve. The keyboard playing on the album is flawless throughout, almost classical in places, and serves to raise this above the level of much stereotypical German heavy metal. You can tell there was a lot of thought put into the album, and a lot of time spent creating it. Personally, I think it was well worth it! TRACKLISTING 1. Paradise in flames intro 2. Dance with the dead 3. Tales of Glory Island 4. Take my hand 5. Will God remember me? 6. Talisman 7. Don't leave me 8. Lady moon 9. Ice wind 10. Stay by me 11. Gods of rain 12. Passion for rock 13. Break your soul 14. Tales of Glory Island (Extended version) Suggested further listening: "Back to the kingdom", "Kingdom of the night", "Eyes of darkness" __________________ Trollheart: Signature-free since April 2018 Last edited by Trollheart; 11-04-2011 at 06:38 AM.