Pete Rafael – Elysian Citadel

Pete Rafael
Elysian Citadel
Out: February 2^nd, 2024
Playing time: 42:51

Emerging artist Pete Rafael is set to captivate music enthusiasts worldwide with the release of his debut album, “Elysian Citadel.”

That’s what the short press release in the promo e-mail says. Produced by Bob Katsionis, who also recorded many of the instruments in the studio. The songs were written by guitarist Pete Rafael. In addition to the two of them, singer Jo Kotrotsou and US guitarist Rusty Cooley can also be heard. Elysian Citadel” was released in February of this year.

The album starts instrumentally with “Fortress Of Time”. Powerful Rock, in which the master demonstrates his skills on the guitar. Multi-instrumentalist Bob Katsionis provides the musical foundation. And it continues instrumentally. The powerful and virtuoso guitar playing of Pete Rafael once again dominates on “Cosmic Traveler”. Yes, almost all the songs on this album are instrumental. This includes the title track “Elysian Citadel”, for which a video clip was produced. But even here it gets a bit monotonous, at least for me. In my opinion, it lacks that certain touch, the vocals that enhance a song. Nothing against the excellent guitar work of Pete. The best song on the album is “Ecstacy Of Love”. Mainly because singer Jo Kotrotsou offers exactly what I actually expect, powerful vocals that characterize a song. This also makes it musically very different from the rest.

Despite all the class of guitarist Pete Rafael, I can’t feel at home with this album. In my opinion, one outstanding song is simply not enough for me. For a possible successor, there should be a lot more songs with vocal arrangements.

Track list:

• Fortress Of Time
• Cosmic Traveler
• The Awakening
• Elysian Citadel
• Flames Of Ares
• The Chosen One
• River Of Memories
• Ecstacy Of Love
• Light After Darkness
• The Portal
• Warrior Within