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The German melodic metal band Axxis is around for almost 2 decades and is now presenting their new studio album which is called Doom Of Destiny. For some people Axxis are too much cliche, others have a problem with the voice of Bernhard Weiß - and I confess I fit the later group. Anyway, as always Bernie is doing a good job. It's just a matter of taste....
The intro Voices Of Doom is influenced by classic music and leads into the title track. Doom Of Destiny has for a moment an oriental touch. Its a fast, riff-based tune and again Axxis got joined by Lakonia. Partly her vocals fit very well, but sometimes I find them irritating. While the duet parts at Doom Of Destiny mainly work out very well, Lakonia's duet part at Better Fate is annoying me. The track is very heavy with an epic touch, but surprises with slower parts and especially when they step back to give space for Bernie's vocals the song gets very intensive. With Bloodangel the quintet offers a catchy hook to sing along, but the song doesn't lack heaviness. But somehow this tune reminds me of something.... At least partly. Actually I think they do better when they reduce the speed a bit. The songs gets more intense, but they never really slow down - only for the powerful ballad The Fire Still Burns. The saxophone part makes the tune stick out and adds an emotionality to it. One of the fastest tracks on the disc is Father, Father which starts with keyboard and Lakonia's voice, but soon after Bernie joined in the track kinda explodes. Harry Oeller's keyboards add a symphonic touch á la Stratovarius and guitarist Marco Wriedt starts to battle Harry with some fast, melodic riffs. With it's positive vibes She Got Nine Lifes sticks out, but also through the partly distorted vocals of Lakonia.
Well, I miss a bit variety, coz most songs are speedy, even if there are some slower parts. Beside that I think that Lakonia is better when she's not hitting the high notes, coz she doesn't have the power. What surprised me was the excellent guitar work of new Axxis member Marco Wriedt.
My resume: A decent album, but even if it's quite heavy its not one of my highlights in melodic metal of 2007!
Check out: Bloodangel, She Got Nine Lifes and Father, Father. For vinyl fans they release a limited edition of Doom Of Destiny where the songs are in a different order. As it is limited to 300 copies better be quick!
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