AXEL RUDI PELL – Knight Treasures (DVD)

SPV

Posted: 3/8/04

Reviewed by: Lynn Phillips

Category: Heavy Metal

Released: 2003

Label URL: www.spvusa.com

Artist URL: www.axel-rudi-pell.de

1/2

The recent influx of music video compilations and concert DVD’s has become one of the best trends to hit the music business in years. Instead of just hearing a band, now you can see them in all their glory, find out juicy behind-the-scenes tidbits about the band, as well as get some insight into the performer’s personalities. I can think of no better example of an artist that needed this kind of exposure than Axel Rudi Pell. Axel and crew have been releasing solid metal cd’s for over a decade but very few people in the United States honestly knew what the band looked like or how they interact with the real world because they get very little press stateside. In this regard, the Knight Treasures DVD is a masterpiece. Over two discs, we are treated to a terrific live performance recorded at a venue in Germany and we also get interviews, band history and a couple of promotional videos tossed in for good measure.

The live concert sounds great on a Dolby 5.1 sound system, as each member of this tight band stands out in the mix. Axel will tell you straight out that he doesn’t like to be known as a guitar hero, and his mantra shows during the concert, as everyone gets a moment to shine in the spotlight. The highlights are the smooth, mesmerizing solos of Axel, the wicked drumming of Mike Terrana , the keyboard skills of Ferdy Doernberg and the on-stage energy of vocalist Johnny Gioeli (Hardline). While Johnny is no slouch on vocals, he frequently truncates some verses without completely enunciating all the syllables. On slower numbers he nails the vocals perfectly though, and it’s during these songs that you realize what a great voice he has. Overall, the set list is pretty strong with a decent mix of oldies and newer material. Any fan of the band would raise objections to a song here or there, but for the most part, the set rocks hard.

The gems of this DVD set can be found on the bonus disc. First, you get a lengthy interview with Axel himself and some comments from his bandmates. Although English is his second language, Axel does a decent job of articulating himself as he doles out some anecdotes from his days with Steeler all the way up through the present day. He comments on all his releases, his band members and some of the people he knows and respects in the music industry. This was very interesting as a fan of the band. There are also promotional videos for "Cry of the Gypsy," a video from 1994’s Between The Walls, and "The Deeper the Night," a rare Steeler video. While this ballad may have been the band’s weakest track, it’s still cool to at least see some video footage of this band with a young Axel on guitar. The final highlight is the personal video footage from the recording of the Shadow Zone cd. Not only do you get a feel for how a full-length music release is recorded and mixed, but you also get to view the candid behavior of the members of the band. Drummer Mike and vocalist Johnny are quite the comedians and provided a few laugh out loud moments. To list the DVD’s weaknesses, I would point out that the interviews, outside of the band members, are done completely in German without subtitles, making them useless for us Americans not versed in the vernacular. Also, the bonus disc DVD menus were apparently created by someone with a sadistic side. The red highlight dot used to select a viewing option is barely visible to the human eye, even on my HDTV, and then there’s no navigation option to go back up the menu tree to view other main menu features. Some random button mashing ultimately got me back to the menu but this was obviously not thought out too well. Other than those minor faults, this was some of the best material to stream off my DVD player in quite some time.

The Bloody Truth: Without question, casual and hard-core fans of the Axel Rudi Pell band need to add this DVD to their collection. Those unfamiliar with the group who have a predilection for classic metal with a flavoring of power metal and Deep Purple style progressiveness will find a lot to like as well.