When he's not playing bass for Pink Cream 69, Dennis Ward has his hands on other people's projects. Among his latest production credits is the mixing of Paradise In Flames, the ninth album from Germany's veteran hard rockers Axxis. The record's clean and crisp sound accentuates the band's efforts to become relevant again. In 2004, Axxis released Time Machine, its most aggressive, diverse and powerful disc to date. Now lead singer/chief perfectionist Bernhard Weiss takes the band to another level — one obviously developed to compete with some of Europe's best metal bands — via dense grooves, symphonic atmospherics, epic choirs and lovely female vocals. All of these elements will catch you off-guard if you haven't listened to Axxis in awhile, as such songs as "Tales of Glory Island," "Take My Hand," "Stay By Me" and "Lady Moon" strive to compete with the likes of Blind Guardian and Edguy. Especially effective is the male-female duet on the piano ballad "Don't Leave Me." Of course, what makes this transformation even more remarkable is that most of Axxis' pre-Time Machine material all sounds the same. Not every song on Paradise In Flames is a winner; some (namely "Talisman" and "Icewind") even revert back to old form. If anything, though, this album proves that after more than 15 years Axxis still has plenty of life left.
Track Listing:
1. Paradise In Flames (Intro)
2. Dance With The Dead
3. Tales Of Glory Island
4. Take My Hand
5. Will God Remember Me
6. Talisman
7. Don't Leave Me
8. Lady Moon
9. Icewind
10. Stay By Me
11. Gods Of Rain
12. Passion For Rock
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