Diamonds Unlocked

by

Axel Rudi Pell

Edit

I like cover albums. Because, good cover album including good song. Never include bad songs. Diamonds unlocked have very beautiful songs. Specially I love (perfect song)to " like a child again ".

1. The Diamond Overture ; Good overture (messenger for good album)

2. Warrior ; perfect rock sound and power vocal. Perfect riffs. 9/10

3. Beautiful day ; I don't like from U2. But Johny said more good. 9/10

4. Stone ; starting with Super rock sound. 10/10

5. Love gun : Good ballad and good rendition. 9/10

6. Fools game : My favorite song for this album. Awesome vocal. 10/10

7. Heartbreaker : Pure rock and blues. 8/10

8. Rock The Nation : 7/10

9. In The Air Tonight : I am sorry, More bad from my expected. 6/10

10. Like A Child Again: Perfect rendition. Best song of this album. 10/10

11. Won't Get Fooled Again :Good finish. 9/10

If you like 80's metal, just buy it. No regret. You will live nostalgia.

"It is not my intention to record songs from other "real" Metal bands (with 1 or 2 exceptions), because the songs are already "metal". We wanna show how songs from other music genres could sound when a Hardrock or Classicrock Band is covering em. That doesn't mean that the record will be strange sounding, no way. It will be typically ARPish and you'll not be disappointed, believe me!"

What can be said for an album like this? Axel Rudi Pell is guitar legend from the 80's that keeps going and going. His work as a solo artist and with Steeler are classic yet, as with most 80's guitar legends, his sound can come off as derivative and somewhat unimaginative.

An album like this is going to appeal to all of the Pell completest and those that have a morbid fascination with seeing a shredder covering U2's "Beautiful Day," which, btw, is just about as bad as you can imagine.

This shouldn't take away from any individual performances. Johnny Gioeli has a great voice, and has for years. He truly makes these songs his own and just from his standpoint, this is a fun CD.

"Love Gun," is just as hysterical to listen to on this trip around as it was when Kiss originally did it. Michael Bolton's "Fool's Game" is still a Michael Bolton song. Nothing can change that. To be fair though, even classic Bolton didn't have a guitar player rip like this!

The song I was most interested in hearing though was "In the Air Tonight," as there have been several cover's of this song. Clocking in a beastly 8:38, Axel takes his time getting into the song. He opens the song with a huge riff and a lot of tapping. Not exactly how I imagined it... but it doesn't destroy the entire feeling, surprisingly. This song, unfortunately though, might be Gioeli's worst performance on an otherwise good disc for him. His voice isn't desperate enough. He's too gruff, too powerful. That's not his fault, it's his natural tone. He does have his moments though. Pell and Terrana do a good job of driving this song forward and the stop and go rhythms are excellent.

Overall I would never suggest this CD to someone spending money. If you're looking for a good time album full of covers that sound like 80's metal songs, this would be the way to go. Though, I'd check out the "In the Air Tonight," cover just to say you did!