“Doom” is Axxis’ 10th studio album. Filled with spirited energetic arrangements, fantasy styled artwork and songs like the lead off title track (which has a really cool run in the solo section) and upbeat rousing rocker “Blood Angel” all caught my ear pretty quickly. Now while sharing some common traits with Helloween and Gamma Ray (like on “Revolutions”), Axxis (also from Germany) do have their own charms and should since the debut “Kingdom of the Night” came out in 1989.

Helloween/ Gamma Ray are the forefathers of the Euro Power Metal sound as we all know, but don’t write Axxis off as mere copies. Axxis were bound to be influenced from the two like many have from this genre. But the funny thing about singer Bernhard Weib, and this is what gives Axxis a bit of that charm, with his higher pitched voice and those backing vocals, at times he sounds like…ready for this, Alvin and The Chipmunks (remember that cartoon?). “The Piano based “The Fire Still Burns” is one of those big power ballads right from the 80’s. A female voice is a part of several songs here; “I Hear You Cry”, the commercially radio ready “She Got Nine Lifes”, “Father Father” where it’s a bit of a duet. “Devilish Belle” has a little more edge in its riff and delivery. Pretty solid I like this one.

So with twenty years of music and a recent European tour coincidentally/ironically with Helloween and Gamma Ray, you gotta give credit where credit is do for Axxis and their many years of hard work.