┌───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │■ ■│ │ .-/ .-. │ │ _.-~ / ___ | ~-._ │ │ \:/ -~| / __/| .\:/ │ │ / || (:/:| \ │ │ / /\/| |:\___\| |\ \ │ │ / /:::|.::/:::/:.|:\ \ │ │ / /:::/ \\/:::/::/:::\ \ │ │ / .::\ \-~~~~-/\/:.. \ │ │ /..:::::\ /:::::..\ │ │ /::::::::- -::::::::\ │ │ \:::::-~ ~-:::::/ │ │ \:-~ ~-:/ │ │ METAL CLASSICS ARCHIVE │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ P R E S E N T S │ │ │ │ │ │ + Axxis - II + │ │ │ │ │ │╔═════════════════════╗ │ │║ Release Information ║ │ │╠═════════════════════╩══════════════════════════════════════════╗ │ │║ ║ │ │║ Rls Date..2019-04-26 Encoder......LAME 3.100 ║ │ │║ Genre.....Heavy Metal Graber.......EAC ║ │ │║ Year......1990 Khz/Bitrate..44.1 / VBR kbps ║ │ │║ ║ │ │║ Ripper.... Songs........10 ║ │ │║ Source....Vinyl Covers.......Yes ║ │ │║ Url..http://www.axxis.de ║ │ │║ ║ │ │╚════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╝ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │╔═════════════════════╗ │ │║ Release Notes ║ │ │╠═════════════════════╩══════════════════════════════════════════╗ │ │║ ║ │ │║ Artist : Axxis ║ │ │║ Album : II ║ │ │║ Label : EMI Electrola GmbH ║ │ │║ Cat.No : 1C 080-7 95245 1 DMM ║ │ │╠════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╣ │ │║ ║ │ │║ Description : ║ │ │║ ║ │ │║ Axxis may not always come up with the most creative album ║ │ │║ titles, but at least they let you know what youÆre in for. ║ │ │║ II is indeed their second album, and it stays very much in ║ │ │║ keeping with their 1989 debut Kingdom of the Night in a ║ │ │║ number of respects. ItÆs fairly hard to imagine anyone ║ │ │║ loving one of the two albums but disliking the other. ║ │ │║ ║ │ │║ Much like Kingdom of the Night, II is a product of its ║ │ │║ time, being a largely commercially-aimed pop-metal album ║ │ │║ that arrived in the waning years of the pre-grunge era. ║ │ │║ Axxis still have what basically amounts to a more frenzied ║ │ │║ take on the Scorpions sound, and II, like Kingdom of the ║ │ │║ Night, gains much of its strength from the consistently ║ │ │║ high energy level here. Also like its predecessor, it ║ │ │║ contains one excellent power ballad that tops everything ║ │ │║ else on the album and a second one that is less effective. ║ │ │║ ║ │ │║ But there are additional positives here. As Axxis had found ║ │ │║ some commercial success with their debut, they were able to ║ │ │║ secure much better production for the sequel, so II boasts ║ │ │║ a far superior mix. ItÆs still very 1990, so if you donÆt ║ │ │║ like the trademarks of that production era, it might sound ║ │ │║ dated, but the snare drum is dialed back to a more ║ │ │║ appropriate level here and Bernhard Wei▀Æ vocals are ║ │ │║ balanced properly. Further, whether due to production or ║ │ │║ his own improvement, Wei▀ is far more consistent here, ║ │ │║ staying in tune even with fairly difficult melody lines and ║ │ │║ really helping brings these songs to life. Walter PietschÆs ║ │ │║ solos also take a bit of a step forward, delivering the ║ │ │║ goods in a fitting manner for the style and showing ║ │ │║ improved command of lead phrasing and arrangement. ║ │ │║ ║ │ │║ These positives make II perhaps an easier record to get ║ │ │║ into than the debut, but there are some new problems here. ║ │ │║ The biggest of these is that about half of these tracks ║ │ │║ feature obnoxiously sugary choruses. Understand, IÆm saying ║ │ │║ this as someone who loves a good uplifting power metal ║ │ │║ chorus or even many an æ80s power ballad, so I donÆt go ║ │ │║ running for the hills just because a band dares to write a ║ │ │║ hook in a major key. But even by the standards of outright ║ │ │║ hair metal, the choruses on songs like ôGimme Back the ║ │ │║ Paradiseö and ôTouch the Rainbowö are trite and silly; The ║ │ │║ verse sections on this album work pretty consistently, but ║ │ │║ the choruses tend to sound grafted on from an outright pop ║ │ │║ song. ║ │ │║ ║ │ │║ II is also a slightly more diverse album than Kingdom of ║ │ │║ the Night, as the band steps away from the Scorpions ║ │ │║ template occasionally. ôSave Meö in particular is a ║ │ │║ departure for something more in line with power metal, as ║ │ │║ drummer Richard Michalski seems to fit in more fills on the ║ │ │║ song than on everything else on the album (and perhaps the ║ │ │║ debut) combined. Wei▀ has toughened up his vocal approach a ║ │ │║ bit, so when heÆs not in flowery chorus mode, there is a ║ │ │║ power metal current running through the songs, occasionally ║ │ │║ augmented by Harry ╓llersÆ atmospheric keyboards. ThereÆs ║ │ │║ even some slight prog tinges in ballad ôFace to Face,ö ║ │ │║ though it ends up being one of the weakest songs here. ║ │ │║ ║ │ │║ Since the bandÆs ingredients improved, when they all work ║ │ │║ together, the results are more impressive. If youÆre into ║ │ │║ uplifting metal ballads, ôHold Youö is one of the most ║ │ │║ effective takes on the style youÆll find. ôGet Downö has ║ │ │║ great vocal melodies in an uptempo template. ôShips Are ║ │ │║ Sailingö is a midtempo stomper that flirts with the silly ║ │ │║ edge on the chorus hook, but Wei▀ unleashes a hell of a ║ │ │║ vocal performance that transcends it, and Pietsch adds a ║ │ │║ good solo. ôThe World Is Looking In Their Eyesö and ║ │ │║ ôRolling Like Thunderö also work fairly well on the back of ║ │ │║ Wei▀Æ vocals. His Klaus Meine-meets-John Arch delivery has ║ │ │║ a real urgency to it, which lends a lot of energy to the ║ │ │║ music and makes it sound more down to earth than most ║ │ │║ material in the late-æ80s hard rock vein. His voice also ║ │ │║ refuses to let this music sit in a coasting AOR realm, even ║ │ │║ as tracks like "Little Look Back" seem threaten to veer in ║ │ │║ that direction. ║ │ │║ ║ │ │║ Even Wei▀ canÆt really dilute the chorus sugar on the other ║ │ │║ half of these songs, though, so IIÆs biggest failing is ║ │ │║ that itÆs not the no-skip sort of listen that the debut ║ │ │║ was. Half of whatÆs here is a legitimate and solid step ║ │ │║ forward for the band, but the other half seems too caught ║ │ │║ up in aiming for pop-metal hits. ItÆs important to remember ║ │ │║ that this thing came out less than a year and a half after ║ │ │║ the debut, which even in 1990 was a pretty quick ║ │ │║ turnaround, so it may just be that the quality control ║ │ │║ wasnÆt as present. In any case, if youÆre not into ║ │ │║ Scorpions, avoid this, if you like æ80s rock and power ║ │ │║ metal and love big happy singalongs, youÆll like this, and ║ │ │║ if you, like me, enjoy these styles but have only a certain ║ │ │║ cheese tolerance, then youÆll probably find a few ║ │ │║ worthwhile cuts here. ║ │ │║ ║ │ │║ ║ │ │╚════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╝ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │╔═════════════════════╗ │ │║ Release Tracklist ║ │ │╚═════════════════════╩══════════════════════════════════════════ │ │ │ │ 1. The World Is Looking in Their Eyes 4:04 │ │ 2. Save Me 4:01 │ │ 3. Touch the Rainbow 3:31 │ │ 4. Rolling like Thunder 4:03 │ │ 5. Hold You 4:40 │ │ 6. Ships Are Sailing 3:50 │ │ 7. Little Look Back 3:56 │ │ 8. Face to Face 5:20 │ │ 9. Get Down 3:20 │ │ 10. Gimme Back the Paradise 3:34 │ │ │ │ │ │ Total Length : 00:40:19 │ │ │ │ │ │ ▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ ╔═════════════════════╗ │ │ ║ Greetings To: ║ │ │ ╚═════════════════════╝ │ │ │ │ Too all people who contributes to make this │ │ archive of good music in a exceptional conditions │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │■ ■│ └───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘