Search - Axel Rudi Pell :: Wild Obsession

Well he's certainly obsessed

Paul Lawrence | Australia | 07/25/2006

(3 out of 5 stars)

"Axel Rudi Pell, formerly of German band Steeler, burst onto the scene..... oh who am I kidding, the only thing likely to burst here is his head from trying to contain the ego, one of almost Malmsteen proportions.



But Pell has a few things going for him. The dude can play. He can do the whole guitar god flying classical runs, arpeggios and 64th notes all over the place and he can also play crunchy riffs to lay down a good groove.



Secondly he walks it like he talks it. He loves party metal, talks it up and plays it as well as most. Not only that, unlike the aforementioned Mr Malmsteen, he gets good singers in for his projects whereas in latter years Malmsteen has made do with some really dodgy ones.



Another good thing about Pell is that you know what your getting. Seriously, the first two tracks are called Wild Cat and Call of the Wild Dogs, the latter with European party rock style soccer chant chorus. Sampling or downloading these opening salvos will either sell you on this album or drive you very far away. And rest assured much of the rest of the album follows t he same path with tunes such as Cold As Ice and Call her Princess all in a similar vein.



Other points of interest before I close off would be to note Jorg Michael on drums, Charlie Huhn on vox (who both do a good job as you'd expect) and the fact that this album is only in posession of a single instrumental track."

Vicious, snotty, powerful performances!

David J Newman | West Hartford, CT United States | 07/24/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Axel Rudi Pell obviously knew what he was doing when he enlisted a Bon Scott soundalike vocalist named Charlie Huhn for his first solo effort away from Steeler. Wild Obsession, despite it's lackluster production, is the cream of the crop when it comes to 80's metal. I posit it ranks only notches below the king of 80's metal/hard rock albums Appetite for Destruction by our still AWOL Guns 'n Roses. (Axl, what the hell is your damage- Deliver Chinese Democracy already cuz it ain't gonna git any better sitting on the shelf like wine!) Anyways, back to the slab 'o metal at hand. The tracks on Wild Obsession hit the ground running with "Wild Cat," a song with one dern catchy chorus- 'Like a wild cat, ee-ya ee-ya.' (Just listen to the CD) The disc hits overdrive with another pet-friendly ditty, "Call of the Wild Dogs." The proceedings get emotional with "Broken Heart" then rev back up into the red zone with "Call Her Princess." The band gets sexy on the track "Snake Eyes," with a perfectly slippery guitar riff accompanied by the vocal slither of our main vocal squeeze Charlie. The best track comes next- a stadium shaking metallic monster called "Hear You Calling Me." Well then there's some guitar doodling preceding the heavyweight closer "(Don't Trust the ) Promised Dreams." All in all, one freakin' stomp to the melon that should leave you worshipping at the altar of heavy metal! If not, then get your fat head examined! (And tell 'em Satan sent you, as most of your pathetic health plans these days require a referral). Love, David J Newman 2004 (And no, I ain't Rick James!)"