Pell often says his music is about a Knight in shining armour going on various adventures. Each album continues one new quest after the other, and songs are told as separate stories. Pell's main influence in guitar work has been Ritchie Blackmore from Deep Purple.
SPV Records released a live DVD on 25 February 2008, titled Live over Europe, which includes the full performance from the Rock Hard Festival in 2007, and comes with a bonus disc which includes live footage from Pell's own archive. In 2012, a new Axel Rudi Pell live concert CD/DVD Live on Fire was released.
In 2013, ex-Rainbow drummer Bobby Rondinelli joined the band, replacing Mike Terrana after his initial departure in 2013. Mike Terrana wanted to pursue other projects, such as becoming a member of the supergroup The Ferrymen, featuring Rainbow singer Ronnie Romero on vocals. Axel celebrated his 25th anniversary as a musician in 2014, headlining the Bang Your Head festival in Balignen Germany on 11 July 2014. It featured one of the original line up's singers: Jeff Scott Soto. Special guests also included Joerg Michael, Rob Rock, Ronnie Atkins, John Lawton, ex-Rainbow singer Graham Bonnett, Doogie White, keyboardist Tony Carey and drummer Vinny Appice. The show consisted of 3 acts: a short Steeler reunion and brief Axel Rudi Pell original line up reunion with Jeff Scott Soto, a full modern Axel Rudi Pell show with vocalist Johnny Gioeli and current band members, and the last act featuring various Deep Purple and Rainbow covers with a full ensemble.
In 2019, the band celebrated their 30th anniversary, releasing a double live album called XXX - 30th Anniversary Live. The songs were recorded on various dates of the Knights Call 2018 tour. The group's Facebook page stated at the time that the band did not know they were being recorded but when they heard the audio they were amazed and wanted to release it to celebrate the group's 30th Anniversary. It was released in June 2019 on CD and LP.
On 5 February 2020, they announced their latest album on their Facebook page, titled Sign of the Times, due for release on 24 April 2020. In March 2020, the band announced a delay of the release of the new record, due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, and was released on 8 May 2020 instead. A tour in support of the new album was also postponed to 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and then later delayed again until 2022. In late 2020, Pell announced his newest album Diamonds Unlocked II, which was released on 30 July 2021. It is another covers album similar to Diamonds Unlocked from 2007. Pell is well known for his extensive touring, mostly around Germany and his home town in Bochum. He rarely tours globally, but has performed a few one-off shows in London over the recent years. However, there has always been high demand to bring him to other countries. They are also famous for attending many music festivals such as being regulars at Wacken Open Air since the late 1990s. Most recently they announced a new album of original music, called Lost XXIII, which was eventually released on 14 April 2022.
Full Wikipedia article: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Axel_Rudi_Pell
Studio albums
Wild Obsession (1989)
Nasty Reputation (1991)
Eternal Prisoner (1992)
Between the Walls (1994)
Black Moon Pyramid (1996)
Magic (1997)
Oceans of Time (1998)
The Masquerade Ball (2000)
Shadow Zone (2002)
Kings and Queens (2004)
Mystica (2006)
Diamonds Unlocked (2007) (cover album)
Tales of the Crown (2008)
The Crest (2010)
Circle of the Oath (2012)
Into the Storm (2014)
Game of Sins (2016)
Knights Call (2018)
Sign of the Times (2020)
Diamonds Unlocked II (2021) (cover album)
Lost XXIII (2022)
Forever Young
Axel Rudi Pell Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Heaven can wait we're only watching the skies
Hoping for the best but expecting the worst
Are you going to drop the bomb or not?
Let us die young or let us live forever
We don't have the power but we never say never
Sitting in a sandpit, life is a short trip
Can you imagine when this race is won
Turn our golden faces into the sun
Praising our leaders we're getting in tune
The music's played by the mad men
Forever young, I want to be forever young
Do you really want to live forever, forever and ever
Forever young, I want to be forever young
Do you really want to live forever? Forever young
Some are like water, some are like the heat
Some are a melody and some are the beat
Sooner or later they all will be gone
Why don't they stay young
It's so hard to get old without a cause
I don't want to perish like a fading horse
Youth's like diamonds in the sun
And diamonds are forever
So many adventures couldn't happen today
So many songs we forgot to play
So many dreams swinging out of the blue
We let them come true
Forever young, I want to be forever young
Do you really want to live forever, forever and ever
Forever young, I want to be forever young
Do you really want to live forever, forever and ever
Forever young, I want to be forever young
Do you really want to live forever?
Axel Rudi Pell’s ‘Forever Young’ is a song inspired by the universal desire of people to remain young forever. The track is an ode to the beauty of youth and it embraces the idea of living life to the fullest without the fear of consequences. The opening verse “Let's dance in style, let's dance for a while, Heaven can wait we're only watching the skies, Hoping for the best but expecting the worst, Are you going to drop the bomb or not?” features the imagery of carefree youthfulness and the uncertainty of life’s future. The lyrics' suggestion of dancing in style, while watching the skies and expecting the worst, highlights the idea of embracing life’s uncertainties.
The chorus of the song reflects on immortality and the desire of youth to remain forever young “Let us die young or let us live forever, We don't have the power but we never say never, Sitting in a sandpit, life is a short trip, The music's for the sad men”. The lyrics talk about living life to the fullest and not letting anything hold us back. It is an anthem for those who believe in living life on their own terms, and who are not afraid to push boundaries.
The second verse of the song “Some are like water, some are like the heat, Some are a melody and some are the beat, Sooner or later they all will be gone, Why don't they stay young” talks about how people are different–some are like water and others like the heat. The poem suggests that sooner or later, we all have to face the reality of aging, and it is essential to make the most out of life while we are young.
Line by Line Meaning
Let's dance in style, lets dance for a while
We should enjoy and celebrate life, even if it's only for a brief moment.
Heaven can wait we're only watching the skies
There's no rush to move on to the afterlife, we should take our time and enjoy the moment.
Hoping for the best but expecting the worst
We should be optimistic, but prepared for the worst case scenario.
Are you going to drop the bomb or not?
Are you going to do something that will cause destruction and chaos?
Let us die young or let us live forever
It's better to live life to the fullest, whether that means dying young or living forever.
We don't have the power but we never say never
We may not always be in control of our lives, but we should never give up and always have hope.
Sitting in a sandpit, life is a short trip
Life is short and we should enjoy every moment while we can.
The music's for the sad men
The music is there to help those who are feeling down and help them feel better.
Can you imagine when this race is won
The future is uncertain, and we should imagine what it will be like once we've reached the end of our journey.
Turn our golden faces into the sun
We should face the future with optimism and hope, like how one would turn their face towards the sun.
Praising our leaders we're getting in tune
We should show respect and support for our leaders, so we can all work towards the same goals in harmony.
The music's played by the mad men
Those who make music and create art are often seen as 'mad', but they can provide great inspiration and hope.
Forever young, I want to be forever young
We should always strive to maintain our youthfulness and enthusiasm for life.
Do you really want to live forever, forever and ever
Is immortality really what we want? Would life truly be fulfilling if it never ended?
Some are like water, some are like the heat
People are all different from one another, some are calm and understated while others are passionate and intense.
Some are a melody and some are the beat
People express themselves in different ways, some through music and others through more practical means.
Sooner or later they all will be gone
Everything in life is fleeting, and we should appreciate what we have while we have it.
Why don't they stay young
Why can't we keep the energy and enthusiasm of youth throughout our lives?
It's so hard to get old without a cause
As we age, it becomes more difficult to find purpose and meaning in life.
I don't want to perish like a fading horse
We shouldn't let ourselves slowly decline and waste away, we should fight to stay vibrant and active.
Youth's like diamonds in the sun
Youthfulness is precious and fleeting, like diamonds in the sun.
And diamonds are forever
Like diamonds, the impact of youth on our lives can last forever.
So many adventures couldn't happen today
We should be aware of the experiences we're missing out on, and try to make the most of every moment.
So many songs we forgot to play
We shouldn't forget the joys and pleasures of life, and should always make time for them.
So many dreams swinging out of the blue
There are so many unexpected opportunities and experiences waiting for us, we just need to be open to them.
We let them come true
We should have faith and trust that our dreams will come true if we work for them.
Do you really want to live forever, forever and ever
Is the pursuit of immortality really worth it, or are there more important things in life to focus on?
Forever young, I want to be forever young
Life is fleeting, and we should always strive to live each day to the fullest and maintain a youthful spirit.
Do you really want to live forever, forever and ever
Is immortality really what we want, or is it better to appreciate the time we have and make the most of it?
Forever young, I want to be forever young
We should never lose our passion for life and our desire to experience all that it has to offer.
Do you really want to live forever?
As time goes on, it's important to remember the fleeting nature of life and appreciate every moment we have.
Contributed by Adrian O. Suggest a correction in the comments below.