Not for the first time in 2007 yer Uncle Simon finds himself face-to-face with an aging bunch of Germans (Helloween twice, Masterplan, Ride the Sky) and, not for the first time, yer same Uncle Simon finds himself blown away by the quality. Doom of Destiny, as a title, may well give the impression that we could be in some sort of depressing emo-type land here but in fact we are greeted by glorious uplifting melodies, soaring vocals and great tunes. Also, courtesy of producers Bernhard Weiss and Harry Oellers, along with the mixing talents of the omnipresent Dennis Ward and Jurgen Lusky, there is also a massive sound at play as well, which simply adds to the whole experience. 

Sometimes as a reviewer there is a temptation to pretend that you know everything about everything because the record company fills in all the facts for you in their literature, however, I’m going to ‘fess up and admit that Axxis have never meant anything to me previously, despite being around since 1989 and even appearing to have a couple of “greatest hits” collections. Suffice to say that I am now interested in hoovering up their back catalogue on the strength of Doom of Destiny alone. 

Just for once I don’t feel the need to do the whole track-by-track thingy but I thought I’d guide you towards the key songs such as the near title track itself, Doom of Destiny (Arabia), with its epic sweep and symphonic excellence. Better Fate is one several tunes to feature the female tones of Lakonia and she adds class in all of the places she appears. Better Fate brings out the best in Marco Wreidt’s guitar and Harry Oellers provides sympathetic keyboards. 

I Hear You Cry is powerful yet melodic and would feature highly on any song of year list I could come up with for 2007, as would the ballad that follows The Fire Still Burns.  It’s a big ballad that could lazily be described as epic, yet also features a cheesy saxophone type effect to almost make it sound like the soundtrack to a late night film on Channel Five! The songs I haven’t mentioned are all of a high standard and make Doom of Destiny worth checking out. 

On that note I think I should push off with the news that Axxis have produced a very pleasing album and should be well worth catching on tour with Helloween and Gamma Ray in the near future.

Let us know your views on Doom Of Destiny

 Track Listing

Voices Of Destiny
Doom Of Destiny (Arabia)
Better Fate
Bloodangel
I Hear You Cry
The Fire Still Burns
Father, Father
Revolutions
She Got Nine Lifes
Devilish Belle
Astoria

Line Up

Bernhard Weiß - Vocals
Marco Wriedt - Guitars
Harry Oellers - Keyboards
Rob Schomaker - Bass
Andre Hilgers - Drums