German guitarist Axel Rudi Pell will be releasing Mystica and Tales Of The Crown as double gatefold LPs on colored vinyl. The titles will be available in North America in October.

Axel Rudi Pell will also be releasing a new compilation, titled The Ballads IV, on September 27 in North America. It will be released as a standard version, double gatefold LP on colored vinyl and digital downloads through Steamhammer/SPV.

The compilation will feature three new tracks, which Pell discusses in-depth below.

"Where The Wild Waters Flow" - "My own composition in the true ARP ballad style. This song is not about love, it has a more mysterious content and it captures the long and hopeless journey of human beings trying to get away from some dark mights. One can apply this to many different thoughts and situations nowadays. I definitely think that this song is one of the strongest ballads I´ve ever written with a hookline that will stick to everyone´s ears !"

"Holy Diver" - "As everybody knows, my soul mate and friend RONNIE JAMES DIO sadly passed away last year. It was very clear to me using one of his songs to pay him tribute. It had to be a song, which was very easy recognizable as one of his tunes and therefore I picked 'Holy Diver'. Of course the original track isn´t a ballad, so I decided to re-arrange the song completely and we made a piano version out of it, featuring some Orchestra – strings, a Cello and a clean and melodic guitar solo. Johnny gave his very best vocal performance and after the track was finished, there were lots of tears in some eyes…"

"Hallelujah" - "At least one of the best ballads around. Originally written and released by LEONARD COHEN in 1984, it wasn´t his version giving me the idea to cover this tune. Actually it was all the good and bad performances of some TV casting show participants, who gave me the real kick to create one of the, hopefully, ultimate versions of this song. We recorded a children´s choir for this, which fits perfectly to Johnny's emotional and soulful voice. There are two different versions of this track: the CD album version which features a slightly wilder guitar solo and the single (and downloadable) version which features a calmer guitar solo."

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