Review Summary: The transition is over: the hard rock band that identifies as power metal.
Time Machine marks the end of one of the longest transition processes in melodic metal.
For nearly fifteen years, Axxis gradually transformed itself from a melodic hard rock band into... a melodic hard rock band that identifies as power metal.
The funny part is that almost nothing fundamental actually changed. The songs still revolve around huge choruses, infectious melodies and Bernhard Weiß sounding like Klaus Meine after chugging three full cans of Red Bull!
Some bands reinvent themselves. Axxis simply bought heavier guitars and started checking the "power metal" box on the registration form.
The riffs are finally heavy (about damn time!), the double bass drums are everywhere, and the production finally gives the guitars enough weight to compete with the rest of the band.
Turns out that's all Axxis ever needed. Unlike the previous transitional efforts and missteps, this doesn't feel like Axxis trying to become someone else. It feels like Axxis finally becoming the heavier version of themselves they were always meant to be.
Perhaps the biggest victory isn't even the songwriting, but the guitar sound. After enduring the cardboard and weak production of Matters of Survival and the comparatively lighter approach of the comeback albums, the guitars finally hit with real authority. The riffs have bite, the rhythm section sounds muscular, and Kosta Zafiriou's relentless double bass drumming gives the music a metallic backbone that had been missing from Axxis' sound for well over a decade.
Better yet, the quality is remarkably consistent.
"Angel of Death" opens the album with a bold statement of intent. Fast, epic and powered by one of the strongest choruses of the band's entire career, it immediately announces that this is no longer the Axxis of the early '90s. The female backing vocals add an extra layer of grandeur, the main riff is instantly memorable and Bernhard Weiß sounds absolutely unstoppable. I simply love this song.
The title track keeps the momentum going, balancing melody and metallic aggression almost effortlessly. The keyboards occasionally become a little too prominent for my taste, but never enough to derail what is another excellent song.
"Wind in the Night (Shalom)" proves that underneath all the new power metal clothing, the old melodic hard rock heart still beats loudly. It's another one of those irresistible uptempo anthems Axxis seems incapable of writing badly. Catchy enough to make Pink Cream 69 jealous.
"The Demons Are Calling" opens with a surprisingly gritty distorted bass tone before launching into another chorus that sits firmly in melodic power metal territory. Nice one, guys.
Even the more melodic side of the album remains one of the band's greatest strengths. "Wings of Freedom" is another excellent power ballad, carried by a gorgeous pre-chorus delivered with genuine passion by Weiß, while "Dance in the Starlight"... well, I don't know, people. This sing just makes me feel good about the world.
The rest of the album is also very nice (specially "Gimme Your Blood"), but then Axxis commits one final act of provocation near the end of the album.
Apparently one "Love" song wasn't enough.
They include two: "River of Love" and "Circus of Love."
Somewhere, David Coverdale probably wasn't thrilled about the sudden competition.
Fortunately, unlike many late-album melodic tracks from the band's earlier catalog, both songs fully justify their place here. They remind us that, despite all the new metallic muscle, Axxis never forgot how to write memorable melodic and uptempo rock.
So what makes Time Machine special isn't that Axxis suddenly became Helloween or Gamma Ray.
No, they didn't.
Thankfully.
Instead, they became a heavier version of Axxis. The DNA is exactly the same. The gigantic choruses. The uplifting melodies. Bernhard Weiß's unmistakable voice.
Everything that made the band enjoyable was already there. The only difference is that the guitars finally decided to show up (again: It was about damn time!).
The greatest irony is that Time Machine remains one of the most criminally overlooked melodic metal albums of the early 2000s. For the first time since the band debut in 1989, Axxis wasn't swimming against the tide anymore. They finally sounded like a band that belonged in the musical landscape of its own time.
It isn't perfect (few Axxis albums are) but this is the moment everything finally clicks. The transition is over. The hard rock band that now identifies as power metal has officially completed the paperwork.
And it turns out that sometimes evolution isn't about changing your identity.
Sometimes it's just about turning the guitars up to eleven.
