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On the surface, "Tales Of The Crown" feels like just another 80's flashback album recanting the age of loud bikes, long hair, and loose women which is not at all a bad thing. But if you look a little deeper, it seems as if each song is a part of a kick-ass movie soundtrack. The songwriting throughout the album follows a typical pop/rock verse/chorus format, which is honestly a welcome change in the very much concept-driven power metal genre. You will notice that each song is distinctly different from the last although the writing style runs fairly constant throughout.
The album's opening track called "Higher" sets the mood off just right with a combination of canned Gregorian chant and a rockin' guitar riff reminiscent of "Headless Cross" or "Tyr" era Black Sabbath (the lesser-known but just as good later years of Sabbath). My absolute favorite songs on the album are "Angel Eyes," a speed-induced song about good conquering evil and "Buried Alive," a song about, you guessed it, being buried alive!" I find the subject matter of this album quite interesting because it is so diverse without getting raunchy or overly goodie-goodie.
"Tales Of The Crown" is an album you can judge by its cover. For that matter, most of ARP's covers look like the artwork found on Magic: The Gathering cards. The intense artwork found on his album covers is just another testament to how much attention is paid to detail on each record.
From artwork to subject matter to the quality of the recording, Axel Rudi Pell has put forth no less than 110-percent. The end result being a technically sound record guaranteed to entertain from start to finish. This is a good album for people who have a deep respect for metal's past and those who are happy with where the genre is going today. The only downfall the album has in my opinion is that it doesn't really offer anything new to the genre, unique as it may be in today's metal world, it might take a few listens through before you get the big picture.
It is obvious from the start that a great deal of attention has been paid to detail, but its appeal may be limited to esoteric fans of the genre in general.
Rating: 85
Reviewed By: Brian Grefrath