With a career spanning 25 years, German Heavy Metal / Hard Rockers AXXIS have come around with a sequel to their first full length, "Kingdom Of The Night". It's a real wonder why these metal veterans are as underrated as they are. The sequel is as Glam and driving as the genre gets, sure to draw in fans of EDGUY, GAMMA RAY and SCORPIONS.

The title track is a solid opener, with synth and guitar-driven riffs reminiscent of modern EDGUY and lyrics that are the coy kind of cheesy that you can't help but enjoy. Listen on if you are enjoying the screamingly obvious domination of catchy and melodic hooks, since they dominate this track and the majority of the album. "The War" is a driving, mid-tempo groove with ingeniously creative riffs, again with the band's ever-present catchy chord and melodic progressions. Again, this is another track which may be respectfully compared to EDGUY, particularly their slightly more progressive "Age of the Joker". I thoroughly enjoyed that album, so I stress this to be taken as a compliment!

"Soulfire" is a more upbeat track that blends slightly more aggressive riff construction, with liquid, melodic and easy-listening verses, and terrifically powerful choruses, where Bernhard's seemingly safe voice displays an impressive range. This track especially conveys the pop-infused infectiousness of 80's Glam with modern Power / Heavy Metal. "Bites Inside" display a somewhat heavier side to the band, whilst still keeping the immortalized sound of Euro Metal alive and shredding. What really drew me to the track were Bernhard's vocal similarities to Austrian vocalist Georg of SERENITY; both have a graceful, catchy voice with unique, melodic inflections that are capable of surprising displays of power.

AXXIS is certainly a band to fit right in with the famous cadre of German Melodic Metal bands aforementioned, with whom they have been known to share various stages; tried and true, Euromelody-infused Heavy Metal.