The world would be a much poorer place without Axel Rudi Pell. On his 22nd studio album 'Risen Symbol', the Bochum-based guitarist and songwriter continues to fly the melodic hard rock flag without watering down his style with pseudo-modern stylistic variations orexpendable studio gimmicks. At the same time, he is constantly looking for new influences, exciting inspirations and catchy hooks. One of the bestthings about ARP's anthems is that they are perfectly tailored to the charismatic voice of frontman Johnny Gioeli. The American vocalist is one of themost eminent rock singers worldwide and, together with Pell, former Rainbow drummer Bobby Rondinelli, and the two longstanding ARP membersFerdy Doernberg (keyboards) and Volker Krawczak (bass), has been an integral part of a perfectly oiled machine for more than ten years, wowing fansand media alike.