Axel Rudi Pell is a German metal guitarist who rose to prominence in the early 1980s with his band Steeler, and when the group broke up the formidable six string shredder decided to start a solo career. Instead of playing thrash inspired metal like most of his shredding contemporaries, Pell prefers to craft ballads like "Masquerade Ball" and "Devil Zone" with his heavily distorted Fender strat as the featured instrument. His band has had various members over the years, including Jeff Scott Soto who originally sang for Yngwie Malmsteen.