Eleventh album in for 'Axel' and despite being a stout defendant of the German guitar wiz, the formula he applies to his albums looks very worn by this point, with the last album breaking the blueprint being 'Black Moon Pyramid' way back in '96. The only saving grace for 'Mystica' is the fact that it's a pretty excellent release, not quite up to 'Shadow Zone' (which contrary to many reviews I thought was excellent), but better than 'Kings and Queens', which I thought lacked enough tempo variations. There's suppose to be a loose concept surrounding 'Mystica' concerning the journey of the shadowy figures featured in the artwork, personally I think it's more a case of the concept fitting the music, rather than the music fitting the concept.

Predictably the album opens with an intro, this one goes by the name of 'The Mysterious Return' and is of similar handwriting to most of 'Axel Rudi Pell's' other album openers, that said it still acts as a decent lead-in to the first track proper. 'Fly to the Moon' is one of the finest brisk paced rockers they have done recently, very catchy, features glorious work from 'Gioeli' and 'Axel' himself, while nicely balancing melody with gutsy driving rhythm- good stuff. The tempo falls for the more predictable, mid tempo 'Rock the Nation', a solid and nicely executed number but ultimately very clichéd. Improvements are made with the winding epic 'Valley of Sin', the intro gives the impression this is a typical 'Axel Rudi Pell' ballad, but mercifully develops into a complex plodder, with more glorious guitar licks from the maestro, while 'Johnny Gioeli' again fails to disappoint. More reminiscent of work from 'Shadow Zone' is the snappy rocker 'Living a Lie' another very respectable effort, great melody throughout, catchy chorus and topped off with a splendid 'Axel' driven instrumental break. The momentum falls for the ballad 'No Chance to Live' and although it sounds a tad recycled from previous ballads, still a decent affair with the highlight being a glorious solo. The epic title track 'Mystica' ensues in muscular fashion and right from the off is driven by a solid 'Dioesque' plod compliments of powerhouse drummer 'Mike Terrana', while 'Johnny Gioeli' as expected turns in another flawless performance. Next up is the instrumental 'Haunted Castle Serenade', which in parts has a strong neo-classical feel, but overall is your typical 'Axel' piece, wouldn't say it was one of his finest, but still a strong listen, incorporating sweet keyboard work from 'Fredy Doernberg'. The pace is lifted for the lively rocker 'Losing the Game' and although fails to have the impact of 'Fly to the Moon' is another respectable cut, nicely penned, strong instrumentation and all rounded off with more divine 'Axel' guitar licks and solos. The 10 minute epic 'The Curse of the Damned' is chosen to close the album and this it does very competently. A layered and winding piece, and although typical of 'Axel', cleverly incorporates plenty of pace changes to keep the interest- very subtle melodic intro, building to a powerful mid tempo rocker, with a further blazing guitar pick-up, sadly the balladsy wind-down makes it a little too predictably to be ranked with his best.

I personally think this is superior to the predecessor 'Kings and Queens', but that said 'Axel' is now well overdue to release an album that doesn't follow the format of his previous six!