Company: Steamhammer Release: 2016 Genre: Power Reviewer: Eric Compton
Another slab of quality German power posh
With album number seventeen I think Axel has clearly run out of ideas. He went on record and said that the fans felt that the drums weren’t solidified on the last few efforts and that ‘Game of Sins’ would fix that. I’d challenge the talented guitarist to improve not only the songwriting but also to be innovative enough to rise out of the 80s. Title track’s lyrics – “Game of Sins, We’re Out on the Road, Game of Sins, It’s Now or Never, Game of Sins…” How about opening cut “Fire”? “Fire, Lucifer’s Rising, Once you Get Trapped In, There is No Escape, Fire, No Compromising, Whatever you are Trying, Now it is Too Late, Fire!” I am forty years old with a kid, a mortgage and a homeowner’s association asking me to slide my trashcan to the left. Am I too old for these lyrics or too picky to enjoy the fantasy? It’s probably a little of both. The album is another slab of quality German power posh that revels in the hard rock traditionalism of the 80s while still being fantasy inspired without being overly technical. It’s heavy and recalls Sabbath’s ‘Headless Cross’ just like the last ten or twelve Pell records. Throw the new one on and grab a handful for your ongoing playlist. I did.
