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)
Sea of Evil
Axel Rudi Pell Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Straight on the ocean to an unholy land
Sirens were calling, only exist to believe
Longing for their souls, possessed by the misty morning
Lights were shining
From far away
Praying for a wonder
Their thoughts were blinded, the tide's turning high
Searching for fool's gold under the blackened sky
The sea is deep and it wait's endlessly
Hungry for souls, for you and for me
[Bridge:]
Lights were shining
From far away
Praying for a wonder
They don't want here to stay
Sea of evil
So many born to die
Sea of evil
Leaving tears in the sky
Sea of evil
Never asking why
Sea of evil
A heavenly cry
Northern lights once shined so bright
In a wonderful heaven, now are hiding in the night
The mood turned Zero, hearing echoes in the dark
The colors of a rainbow were in need of their spark
Axel Rudi Pell's song "Sea of Evil" portrays the story of a group of people sailing on a ship to an unholy land. The journey to the unholy land is treacherous, and the sea is characterized as an evil force with sirens calling and the misty morning possessing their souls. The travelers are desperate and pray for a miracle to avoid staying in the cursed land. The sea is portrayed as deep and endlessly hungry for souls. The bridge highlights the hopelessness of the situation, where everyone is praying for a miracle.
The song portrays a sense of despair and hopelessness. The travelers seem to have embarked on a journey without much thought, blinded by their desires for fool's gold, which is under the blackened sky. The sea is personified as evil and hungry, always waiting for more souls. The chorus repeats the phrase "Sea of evil," emphasizing the evil nature of the sea, portraying the sea's victims as the tragedies of life.
"Sea of Evil" is an inspiring metal song that portays the sea as a metaphorical representation of life's struggles. Some people find themselves embarking on journeys, thinking they are making progress, only to realize that they are sailing into a sea of evil, surrounded by mist, and confronted with a desperate situation. Life is like that sea, where it tests us in every possible way, and the song encourages us to stay strong and hold on tightly to avoid being swallowed by life's ruthless tides.
Line by Line Meaning
They were sailing on the ship of the damned
They were traveling on a cursed ship
Straight on the ocean to an unholy land
They were sailing on the ocean towards evil territory
Sirens were calling, only exist to believe
The Sirens were luring them into the water with a deceitful song
Longing for their souls, possessed by the misty morning
The ship was captivated by spirits that were lurking in the foggy morning
Lights were shining
From far away
Praying for a wonder
They don't want here to stay
The ship's crew spotted some distant lights and hoped for a miracle to escape the cursed waters they are in
Their thoughts were blinded, the tide's turning high
Their senses were numbed as the tide was rising
Searching for fool's gold under the blackened sky
They were delving into foolishness while the sky turned black
The sea is deep and it wait's endlessly
The sea is vast and seems to have no end
Hungry for souls, for you and for me
The sea is yearning to engulf the souls of the crew
Sea of evil
So many born to die
Sea of evil
Leaving tears in the sky
Sea of evil
Never asking why
Sea of evil
A heavenly cry
The sea is a remorseless killer that is responsible for leaving suffering and death in its wake
Northern lights once shined so bright
In a wonderful heaven, now are hiding in the night
The beauty of the northern lights has been replaced with a dark and foreboding night
The mood turned Zero, hearing echoes in the dark
Their spirits turned to despair as they heard echoes in the darkness
The colors of a rainbow were in need of their spark
The colors of hope that a rainbow represents were absent and needed to be rekindled
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: AXEL RUDI PELL
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
EwaMaria5
Every song by Axel and Johnny of them is a masterpiece, seems like a journey to my soul.. to my fantasy.. simply amazing :) <3<3
laléna léna
Trop belle ❤️ j'adore ta voix ❤️j'adore ta musique 💕 sublime ❤️
Diego Kieffer
simplemente una banda grandiosa para disfrutar y reconforta poder escuchar algo de tan buena calidad musical
szkcs
simply AMAZING what Axel and Johhny are doing together ... every song of them is a masterpiece
Gold
" The sea is deep....It waits endlessly. Hungry for the souls for you and for me" As a sailor, I cant express how true these lyrics are. The sea is unforgiving.
RadicalSonicOtaku
Epic song! deep sound and strong vocals.
Maximilian Meier
this band deserves much more attention than 95.000 so epic, in music and vocals, i just can't believe it ! fists up for axel rudi pell please ;D
Debbie Jones
Would love to see a live performance of this song. Anyone know if there is one out there?
Bored Engineer
one of the best songs ever!!!!! ....and all from the stone eye
Tiffany Zukow
I'm so mad I just discovered this band. omg so amazing