The current line-up of the Axel Rudi Pell Band was able to look back at nine extremely successful years in autumn 2007. May 1998 saw the exceptional American vocalist, Johnny Gioeli, join the group surrounding the guitarist from Wattenscheid, Germany, and world-class drummer Mike Terrana followed in September of that year. Pell, Gioeli, Terrana and the longstanding band members, Volker Krawczak (bass) and Ferdy Doernberg (keyboards), are one of the best and most homogeneous German melodic metal acts and have come up with new albums on a regular basis, followed by extensive tours. The band's performance at the 2007 Rock Hard Festival at the Gelsenkirchen Amphitheater is considered one of the band's most outstanding shows and will be released on double DVD under the title Live Over Europe on 25 February 2008 (Germany: 22 February 2008).
The 75-minute concert presents the Axel Rudi Pell Band in a generous mood, performing haunting versions of their most important tracks, among them Strong As A Rock, Tear Down The Walls, Mystica, Rock The Nation and Fool Fool. The release will include an additional bonus DVD featuring select footage from the years 2004 to 2006 from Pell's private vaults, including the 2005 Wacken Open Air, the same year's Bang Your Head, the 2004 Sweden Rock Festival and shows in the UK, Belgium, Switzerland, and his local club, the Zeche in Bochum.
With a total playing time of over three and a half hours, Live Over Europe is a comprehensive document highlighting the impressive live qualities of a band who have quite a few things up their sleeve for next year. Pell: "There will be a new studio album in 2008, plus a number of festival shows, and a headliner tour in autumn." That's all he's prepared to give away at this point, so we'll just have to wait and see.
