Armaggedonize

Eclipse

Last year in 2014, I reviewed the new album from the masters of Swedish Melodic […]
By MarcusTheRocker
January 17, 2015
Eclipse - Armaggedonize album cover

Last year in 2014, I reviewed the new album from the masters of Swedish Melodic Rock that are WORK OF ART but there is another Swedish band that I like who are masters of another genre which is, what I like to dub as Melodic Hard Rock as they combine elements of both Melodic Rock and Hard Rock with a bit of Heavy Metal here and there into into their music and the result is always outstanding every time as they are a band who keep on getting stronger with every new album they release.

So who is this band I am talking about? Their name is ECLIPSE and next month they will be releasing their brand new album "Armageddonize" on the brilliant Frontiers Records label and I'm looking to see if they can match or even top their previous album "Bleed & Scream" which was one of the best albums I heard in 2012 as it was nothing short of brilliant.

Ever since they formed in 1999, ECLIPSE were ready to show the world what they could do and in 2001 they released their debut album "The Truth and a Little More" and then for their second album, they signed on to Frontiers Records and in 2004, "Second to None" was released. In 2008, the bands third album "Are You Ready To Rock" was released and the jump in sound between this album and the previous album was obvious and you can tell that they had to work their butts off to top the album before it which they did and they did the same again when "Bleed & Scream" was released in 2012 and now the time has come for them to work hard yet again with their new album "Armageddonize" and I have a feeling that it could be their best album to date seeing as they get stronger with every release but is this the case or has their brilliant streak come to an end? That's what I'm here to find out.

The album starts off with an epic intro that slowly builds up the tension for about half a minute before exploding into the first song which is "I Don't Wanna Say I'm Sorry" which upon finishing launches into the single "Stand On Your Feet" and both of these songs gets this album off to a fantastic start as both are filled with powerful melodies, catchy hooks and a stunner of a vocal performance which will blow you away.

So how could it get better from here you may be wondering? Well the answer is simple: each song is more epic then the last as the more this album goes on, the more amazing it becomes and you start to see why ECLIPSE have made a name for themselves with their musical style and excellent songwriting.

You know it's hard to pick out any standout tracks on this album as they are all wonderful masterpieces including "Blood Enemies" which starts off with a haunting keyboard melody accompanied by some shredding from guitarist Magnus Henriksson, the albums beautiful ballad "Live Like I'm Dying" which sends shivers down your spine when you hear it, the groovy melodies of "Breakdown", the frantic and energetic "Love Bites" and the beautiful "The Storm" which describes how frontman Erik Martensson felt when he heard the news that his father had passed away during the recording sessions of this amazing album and that in itself makes it even more special for those reasons as you can really detect that power and emotion of the feelings he felt when you listen to him sing on this amazing song.

There is not anything I would criticize or nitpick about with this album as everything is perfect including the excellent clarity of the music, the heavy guitar riffs and insane solos from Magnus Henriksson, the haunting keyboard melodies from Johan Berlin, the funky and groovy bass riffs from new member Magnus Ulfstedt who by the way was the drummer on the first two ECLIPSE albums, the pounding drumbeats from Robbän Back and of course the outstanding vocal performance from Erik Martensson who is known for his superb songwriting skills and having worked with a ton of artists, his experience clearly pays off when he writes for ECLIPSE as you are always guaranteed to get masterpieces if you employ this guy to write songs for your albums.

Verdict time now and I knew that I would like this album but I was not expecting it to be this good as it blew me away with how amazing it is but that's no real surprise as it is ECLIPSE after all so that is to be expected. Words cannot even describe how much of a masterpiece this album is and I know we're only in the first month of 2015 but this could easily end up being my album of the year if nothing else comes along and beats it that is but until that happens, I'll stick this at the top of my best of 2015 list. If you were expecting this to be just as good if not better then "Bleed & Scream" then you will not be disappointed as this is easily the best album ECLIPSE have ever written and by a huge margin and I look forward to seeing these guys rock the roof off The Underworld in Camden, London on March 10th this year so look out for my report on that show when it happens.

10 / 10

Masterpiece

"Armaggedonize" Track-listing:

1. I Don't Wanna Say I'm Sorry
2. Stand On Your Feet
3. The Storm
4. Blood Enemies
5. Wide Open
6. Live Like I'm Dying
7. Breakdown
8. Love Bites
9. Caught Up In The Rush
10. One Life - My Life
11. All Died Young

Eclipse Lineup:

Erik Martensson - Vocals, Guitar
Magnus Henriksson - Guitar
Magnus Ulfstedt - Bass
Johan Berlin - Keyboards
Robbän Back - Drums

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