Review: Axel Rudi Pell – Ghost Town
Steamhammer / SPV (March 20th, 2026)
Reviewer – Jason Hopper
As sure as the sun will rise, the world has been treated to another album by Axel Rudi Pell. You must admire the man’s drive. He has been consistently releasing albums every two years or so since 1989! In case you are wondering…yes, it sounds similar to the other albums he has been releasing since he began his collaboration with vocalist Johnny Gioeli in 1998. However, I would rank this album comparatively lower for its opening tracks.
All the ARP albums usually open the same way. There’s an intro with mystical and classical overtures, followed by a metal banger, then a melodic rocker. Opener (and recent single) ‘Guillotine Walk’ makes the mistake that ‘Guardian Angel’ made on his last album. Johnny is forced to fit too many syllables into the first line of the chorus, making it sound rushed and clunky. The line “You’re on the Guillotine Walk” should have eliminated the “You’re on” portion and it would have worked much better. Musically, compared to other songs that have opened ARP albums, this is one of his weaker ones.
What comes next is unforgivable. ‘Breaking Seals’ has an awesome melody line and sounds like it could be my favorite song on the album. Out of nowhere, Udo Dirkschneider jumps into the verses and completely ruins the track. I’m more of a later day Accept fan and never warmed to Udo’s vocals…forty years ago. Now his voice sounds like it’s been cut with razor blades. It’s so grating that it caused physical pain when I try to get through the track. ARP could have gotten any guest vocalist in his over 35-year career…and he chooses Udo? It goes without saying Johnny and Udo’s vocals do not mesh well together.
Thankfully the album settles down after that and goes into more familiar territory. First single ‘Ghost Town’ is a solid rocker and showcases what a powerhouse vocalist Gioelli is after nearly 35 years in the business, sounding as strong as he has ever been.
The rest of the album is a mix of mid-tempo rockers and dark, Black Sabbath inspired numbers, the best being ‘The Enemy Within’. ARP chooses not to go flashy, emphasizing atmosphere over technicality. This is a tune that is reminiscent of the Tony Martin Black Sabbath era of the 80s.
The album does end strong. ‘Steps of Stone’ is a typical mid-tempo rocker that admittedly has been done numerous times by ARP. As always, Gioelli sells it and is the highlight of this track. It also has the best bridge to guitar solo amongst all the other tracks.
One thing I did appreciate about this album is no song (save for one) goes over the six-minute mark. Those epic songs he constructs are my least favorite in his catalog. It was to my surprise that one of my favorite tracks, album closer ‘Higher Call’ was THE epic track of the album. It’s over seven minutes long but does not get bogged down with keyboard interludes and long stretches of guitar note picking. It has that mid-tempo heaviness that ARP excels in. Gioelli knows what to do with this material and spaces out the lyrics, emphasizing and stretching notes in all the right areas.
Axel Rudi Pell continues the musical pattern that was started with 2015’s ‘Game of Sins‘ and the hiring of drummer Bobby Rondinelli. No double bass thrashers, which was a welcome change back then as the double bass stylings were overused. However, a decade into this newer version of the band, I do miss the variety that the sound offered.
This album is for the long-time loyal fans and completionists. I would not recommend it to anyone who never heard of Axel Rudi Pell. He has far better tunes on his over 30 album catalog. The two opening tracks are the worst two song combo of his entire career. I’m all for guest vocalists and I hope he continues to explore this. He just needs a vocalist who can hold their own against the incredible Johnny Gioelli.
Tracklisting:
- The Regicide (Intro)
- Guillotine Walk
- Breaking Seals
- Ghost Town
- Holy Water
- The Enemy Within
- Hurricane
- Sanity
- Towards The Shore
- Steps of Stone
- Higher Call
Line-up:
Axel Rudi Pell – Guitars
Johnny Gioeli – Vocals
AVolker Krawczak – Bass
Ferdy Doernberg – Keyboards
Bobby Rondinelli – Drums