Wild Obsession

After his exodus from the 80s glam-leaning outfit Steeler (auspiciously the same namesake as the band that introduced the world to Yngwie Malmasteen), Axel Rudi Pell decided to go it alone, and in subsequent years would grow to develop a sound more worthy of his abilities than what he had been doing. However, like with all solo projects, one can’t help but imitate what one knows at the time until new ideas begin to form, and this release succeeds mostly in being a slightly more musically interesting version of Steeler. It’s full of great guitar work, vocalist Charlie Huhn does a decent job, but overall this is still more of an 80s rock affair than a metallic one.

Charlie Huhn sounds a tiny bit like Jeff Scott Soto in his low to mid range, but when he launches into his higher register he sounds a bit more like a combination of Bon Scott and Udo Dirkschneider. The resulting combination of his vocals and the mostly rock driven riffs is quite good for singing love ballads like “Broken Heart” in the Dokken style, as well as for rock anthems about strippers like “Call her Princess”, but it is painfully obvious that such a voice would not be able to pull off a more art driven work like “Oceans of Time” or “Legions of Hell”.

The musical on here is pretty much as far removed from the current direction of the band as the vocalist is. The principle riffs of 80s glam anthems like “Slave of Love”, “Snake Eyes” and “Cold as Ice” are heavily Motley Crue inspired, while the choruses are a bit more towards the Dokken formula of dense harmonies and multiple backup singers. “Broken Heart” has an interesting acoustic line and plenty of slow melodic solo work, but its overall presentation is not as deep or thought provoking as “Forever Angel” or “The Clown is Dead”.

The musical highlights on here are the areas where Pell seems to be moving towards a more aggressive and progressive style. “Hear you calling me” is quite similar to later and heavier mid tempo rockers such as “Follow the Sign” and “Ride the Rainbow”. “Call her Princess” is mostly a heavy riff oriented song, despite the ode to a stripper style lyrics and still enjoys regular play at live venues on ARP tours. “Wild Cat”, although lyrically another sexual anthem to a pretty vixen, is a fine piece of early speed metal work. “Don’t trust the promised dreams” is the closest thing to an ARP epic to be found on here, although it lacks the epic feel and sounds more like a heavily riff oriented mid-tempo song, the lyrical direction gives an indication of more thoughtful things to come and the musical middle section gives hints at Axel’s fascination with eastern mysticism.

This is a fairly solid 80s glam/sleaze rock album that unlike most comparable outfits of the late 80s actually has the riffs and the attitude to qualify as metal. It is nonetheless an overtly 80s album beyond the fact that it was recorded in the 80s, embodying just about every obligatory stereotype one might imagine. Bands such as Dokken, Motley Crue, Skid Row, Accept, and Warlock are among the most obvious points of comparison. It’s a lot different than the albums that followed it, but is still a good listen if you don’t mind goofy lyrics about getting laid.