Another near-perfect slice of ass kicking hard rock. Sweden’s most consistent masters of hard rock drenched in melody, delivered an album that stayed true to the band’s sound, while bringing in a few new tricks. Bottom line - instantly catchy, powerful, memorable and melodic as hell. My most played album of 2019 and the best.
2. THE DEFIANTS – Zokusho
The dreaded second album curse was avoided simply by delivering another perfect mix of modern meets classic melodic hard rock. Steve West on drums added a new dynamic and made it even more ‘dangerdangerous’. Killer songs and killer performances. If anything…I felt a few songs were a minute longer than they needed to be, but very minor point.
3. DEGREED – Lost Generation
I love every record these guys are done as they increasingly modernise and deliver wonderfully written songs that really could (should) be all over commercial radio. This album is so utterly infectious and the production is world class. More melodic brilliance from Sweden. I thought the intro and mid-album interlude hindered the pacing, but very minor point there.
4. CRAZY LIXX – Forever Wild
The guys have dabbled with styles in the past, but for album six they went full 80s, with blazing guitars, anthemic songs and killer choruses. A monster production made this album one of their very best – maybe their best ever. Whatever they did here, they nailed it and need to keep this going!
5. WORK OF ART – Exhibits
For the band’s final album, they simply did what they’ve always done – they delivered a piece of ultra-smooth, ultra-cool, ultra-AOR heaven. These Swedish wizards use the template of past masters of the genre, yet manage to sound fresh and original. Not their best album, but still essential.
6. CRASHDIET – Rust
It's like, everything good is from Sweden, and sleaze-rockers Crashdiet don’t buck that trend. They too have varied up their sound over several records and several singers, but each and every time they have delivered something memorable. They do it again right here – nice to hear something fresh and original alongside more familiar sounds.
7. UNRULY CHILD – Big Blue World
A little bit of extra grunt and some excellent songs. Possibly the smoothest melodic rock band this side of anywhere, Unruly Child create a unique style of commercial American AOR. I hope they keep making records for many years to come. Marcie Free remains a revelation on vocals.
8. VIANNA – Forever Free
The surprise package of the year for me. Just a really great dose of high energy melodic rock/AOR with big choruses, melodic verses and some fine performances all-round. New-comer AOR vocalist Bryan Cole and vocal legend Terry Brock supply lead and backing vocals, making this an even sweeter sounding record.
9. STARBREAKER – Dysphoria
The dynamic Tony Harnell finally teamed up again with the talented guitarist/producer Magnus Karlsson for a new chapter in the Starbreaker name. And we got exactly what we wanted – powerful modern hard rock with breathtaking vocals and rifftastic guitars, both driven by a monster production.
10. ALLIANCE – Fire And Grace
Production quality was down on the last near perfect album, but plenty to like here with the outfit's usual style and grace. Robert Berry’s perfect AOR vocals drive the album as always.
11. LEVERAGE – Determinus
A big vocalist change and a long time between drinks for these guys - that placed a big question mark against Leverage before this release. Urban Tale’s Kimmo Blom uses the rough side of his powerful voice (didn’t know he had one!) and as in previous efforts, the songs are excellent – a slightly progressive melodic hard rock/metal style. Great stuff in the end.
12. TESLA – Shock
I’m surprised more fans didn’t go for this. There seemed to be a decent number of complaints online after its release, but this Def Tesla record stands on its own as a quality piece of music. Sure it was a little light and Phil Collen obviously over-influenced production and writing, but it’s a cool record. Cooler than the last few Leppard albums!
13. GATHERING OF KINGS – First Mission
A lack of distribution and the availability of physical copies didn’t dampen the hype around this super prog-pomp melodic rock record. Some terrific performances and lots of great vocals. Another big Scandi winner.
14. FIRST SIGNAL – Line Of Fire
It's Harry Hess. It's essential. Daniel Flores takes over some instrumentation and production, so it has that 'wall of keyboards' sound that he brings to most records, but a good selection of songs from the Frontiers regulars, and Harry getting to do something out of the Harem sound always makes for a good listen.
15. X-ROMANCE – Voices From The Past
House Of Shakira’s Andreas Novak featured on vocals – some catchy and traditional Scandi melodic rock that does the job nicely.
16. PRETTY MAIDS – Undress Your Madness
Battling cancer, Ronnie still manages to deliver more energy and attitude than most and while this could simply be described as ‘another Pretty Maids album’, it’s the quality throughout and the consistency of the band that makes it an album to admire.
17. NITRATE – Wide Open
More classic 80s melodic rock with a modern production. Midnite City in vibe and sound thanks to Rob Wylde's co-writing with founder Nick Hogg, plus Osukaru’s Philip Lindstrand jumps in for vocals this time around.
18. ROULETTE – Now
It's Scandi, it’s powerful, it's melodic and it's wonderful! Another band to add to the list of new-era modern melodic rock bands to devour for their classic melodic rock style.
19. SOLEIL MOON – Warrior
Soft and smooth, a little AOR and a little Westcoast; a quality record largely thanks to the vocals of Larry King.
20. WAKE THE NATION – Heartrock
It's Scandi, it's powerful, it's….you know the drill. This time the band are Finnish, and their second album moves them up in the power rankings for bands to watch out for.
21. FIND ME – Angels In Blue
Still quality, but perhaps the weakest album of the project’s 3 releases, but still good enough to make the Top 30. Overdone on the keyboards again, but Robbie LaBlanc sounds amazing.
22. CARL DIXON - Unbroken
He most certainly is unbroken. Another high-quality release from the Coney Hatch founder. It may be a solo record, but it has the 80s Hatch feel, with a modern touch.
23. TOBY HITCHCOCK - Reckoning
Well short of the debut, with Daniel Flores in charge of production this time around. The album is buried in too many keyboards (a Flores trademark), but the songs are mostly memorable and Toby’s voice shines as one of America’s best ‘new-era’ AOR vocalists.
24. SOTO - Origami
Jeff Scott Soto’s own band for delivering modern hard rock/melodic metal delivers album number 3, which continues the growth of the band and their sound. The best of the 3 without doubt.
25. LOVEKILLERS – Lovekillers
Tony Harnell strikes again! Two albums in the Top 30 for 2019 is quite the accomplishment. This is another of those ‘project’ releases, with Alessandro Del Vecchio the man alongside Tony, working somewhat collaboratively. The style is something many fans have wanted to hear from Tony for a while now and some (but not all) of this album works to satisfy that demand. It's very good – but not quite great. More song consistency and a move away from a standard 'Frontiers project sound' would help album number 2.
26. RESTLESS SPIRITS – Restless Spirits
Lords Of Black guitarist Tony Hernando assembled an album’s worth of melodic songs and some of the genre’s leading vocalists including Johnny Gioeli, Deen Castronovo, Dino Jelusic (Animal Drive), Alessandro Del Vecchio. A few outstanding songs but its also a little inconsistent.
27. TONY MILLS – Against The law
Talk about saving your best for last. Another very consistent artist and an all-round good guy. Tony delivered one of his best ever performances before bowing out after a long fight with cancer. RIP Tony. Thanks for the tunes.
28. JIM PETERIK & WORLD STAGE – Winds Of Change
The ever reliable Jim Peterik always delivers. Great songs and great singers once again such as Mike Reno, Dennis DeYoung, Gunnar and Matthew Nelson, Danny Vaughn and Lars Safsund. There’s enough info right there to ensure a purchase.
29. HARDLINE – Life
Not as immediate as some Hardline releases and that’s a little strange to say considering the sound is more along the traditional style the band is most loved for. But as with all Hardline releases, there is quality here worthy of inclusion in the Best Of list.
30. EDGE OF FOREVER – Native Soul
Alessandro Del Vecchio tops off another busy year with his third mention in this list. This time it's back to where he came from, bringing a tasty new slice of traditional European melodic rock with his own band Edge Of Forever.
JUST OUTSIDE THE 30:
ROCKET LOVE – Greetings From Rocketland
HOUSE OF SHAKIRA - Radiocarbon
AXE - Final Offering
LONERIDER - Attitude
MORANO - Incognito
91 SUITE - Starting All Over EP
DAVID GLEN EISLEY - Tattered, Torn and Worn
ART NATION - Transition
JIMMY BARNES - My Criminal Record
STATION - Stained Glass
GREGG ROLIE - Sonic Ranch
ROBERT TEPPER - Better Than The Rest
BLACK STAR RIDERS - Another State Of Grace
MIKE TRAMP - Stray From the Flock
BURNING RAIN - Face The Music
COLORVINE - Wake Up
DREAM THEATER - Distance Over Time
FIGHTER V - Fighter
MICHAEL BORMANN'S JADED HARD - Feels Like Yesterday
NOT EVEN CLOSE:
ROXY BLUE - Roxy Blue
WHITESNAKE - Flesh And Blood
BLOOD RED SAINTS - Pulse
DAVE BICKLER - Darklight
SAMMY HAGAR AND THE CIRCLE - Space Between
SHARK ISLAND - Bloodline
THUNDER - Please Remain Seated
NO CHANCE:
QUIET RIOT - Hollywood Cowboys
L.A. GUNS - The Devil You Know
BRYAN ADAMS - Shine a Light
KANE ROBERTS - The New Normal
YNGWIE MALMSTEEN - Blue Lightning
TORA TORA - Bastards Of Beale
NOTE: There are NO MRR titles included in my Best Of, which is the usual method I employ. While I love them all, it for for others to judge those and I think MRR had a great year, if feedback is anything to go by.
Statement: "I hereby want to acknowledge that I am no longer a member of the band ECLIPSE. My deepest thanks to all friends, fans, promotors, business partners, touring bands and fellow musicians. It has been a pleasure meeting you along the road and your love is forever kept in my heart. We will meet again."
Sincerely yours,
Magnus Ulfstedt
Eclipse Statement:
As you may or may not heard bassplayer Magnus Ulfstedt is no longer a part of Eclipse. Magnus is a stellar musician and his departure leaves a big pair of shoes to fill. We would like to thank him for his years in the band and wish him the best of luck with all his future endeavors both on and off stage.
Swedish rock band Eclipse announced today that their new single, 'United' has been named the official theme song for DreamHack Showdown: a new CS:GO Tournament.
To coincide with the kickoff of the tournament today, the single is available on all streaming/download platforms. Click here to listen: http://radi.al/EclipseUnited
Dreamhack, the world's largest video game festival organizer chose the song 'United' after hearing an advanced copy of Eclipse's upcoming album, PARADIGM. "We ran across 'United' pretty much by accident. A colleague had it and played it in the car while traveling from one of our events. The minute we heard it we knew that this was the perfect song for Dreamhack Showdown," says Charlie Sirc, Dreamhack's Product Manager.
"'United' is a song about standing together when things come falling down. We may have had a more political perspective when writing it, but as always, what people read into lyrics is subjective. I think it works beautifully in this setting as well, and we are thrilled to be part of this massive movement that Dreamhack is fueling. Also, the fact that Dreamhack has chosen to focus on female players is an initiative that we wholeheartedly support, it’s about freakin’ time!" adds Eclipse frontman Erik Martensson.
Dreamhack Showdown is an all women CS:GO tournament with the biggest prize pool ever in all women CS:GO history. The tournament takes place in Valencia, Spain July 5 - 7th and will feature the world’s top women’s CS:GO teams competing for three days in front of live and online audiences.
'United' will appear on Eclipse's forthcoming new studio album, PARADIGM, which is scheduled for released on CD/LP/Digital on October 11, 2019 via Frontiers Music Srl. More details on the album will be released later this summer.
In addition to the release of the single, 'United', the band has previously announced the release of a special super limited edition 12" Picture Disc of the song "Viva La Victoria" b/w "Killing Me" (Sellout Version) on August 23, 2019. This is limited to 500 copies worldwide and will not be printed again. Fans can pre-order here: http://radi.al/VivaLaVictoria
The band has also announced the "Viva La VicTOURia" Tour for October - December 2019. See www.eclipsemania.com for dates.
ECLIPSE announce a SUPER LIMITED EDITION 12" picture disc for the song "Viva La Victoria" b/w "Killing Me" (Sellout Version), coming August 23rd.
Reserve your copy: http://radi.al/VivaLaVictoria Strictly limited to 500 copies worldwide & will not be printed again.
"Viva La Victoria" is taken from their upcoming new album "Paradigm", which is out on October 11, 2019. Tracklisting below. More details, the first single & video, and pre-orders coming up later this summer.
Tracklist:
1. Viva La Victoria
2. Mary Leigh
3. Blood Wants Blood
4. Shelter Me
5. United
6. Delirious
7. When The Winter Ends
8. .38 Or .44
9. Never Gonna Be Like You
10. The Masquerade
11. Take Me Home
1. Vertigo
2. Never Look Back
3. Killing Me
4. The Downfall of Eden
5. Hurt
6. Jaded
7. Born To Lead
8. For Better or for Worse
9. No Way Back
10. Night Comes Crawling
11. Black Rain
Rapidly becoming THE band of the melodic hard rock scene, Eclipse’s decision to ramp up touring and recording dates back to the 2012 release Bleed & Scream, when the band tweaked their sound and found their true heavier groove.
The last record Armageddonize was a home run – a perfect mix of power, melody, energy and ear candy songs that just stuck in your heads for literally days at a time.
So how do you follow that up? By doing it all again. Eclipse make it look easy by delivering another 11 cracking songs wrapped in a massive wall of sound that these guys are now recognized by.
Momumentum is the perfect title for this record. If anything, it takes off exactly where Armageddonize left off, which in turn took up where Bleed & Scream left off. So the momentum continues and I have no hesitation whatsoever to claim this album is every bit as good as the last classic.
Erik Martensson continues to grow as a frontman, writer and a vocalist, not to mention his role as a producer. And he needs extra credit here for the mix, for this album is sonic perfection to my ears. Each listen reveals new parts to the puzzle and the sound is so crystal clear, it’s impossible to play this album too loud.
The rhythm section of Magnus Ulfstedt and new drummer Philip Crusner combine to make this album the most bombastic yet. Crusner’s drumming is quite a revelation.
And last but never least, Magnus Henriksson’s guitar riffs and solo shredding is easily his best to date.
There’s no question over the quality of the songs. I’m just not sure how the guys manage to come up with so many that deliver the Eclipse sound with such immense power and intensity, yet remain memorable in their own right.
And just like the last album, these new songs are continually stuck in my head. The CD hasn’t left my car in 3 months and I’m literally singing along to whatever song was playing at the time I reach my destination.
As per is the Eclipse tradition, the opening trio of perfect anthemic hard rock songs just kick my ass and then kick it again; Downfall Of Eden has that epic feel similar to The Storm; Hurt is a wonderful power ballad that enhances its power by not kicking in quite when expected. For Better Or Worse and No Way Back are classic Eclipse melodic rockers while Black Rain is perhaps the band’s heaviest song to date – even with its mid-tempo beat.
Absolute melodic hard rock perfection – second time around and the band’s fourth great record in succession. There’s only further to go for these guys as they continue to take on the world one hard rock fan at a time.
Immense production, intensity matched by very few and glorious anthemic songs from start to finish. I knew the guys would have to dig deep to come close to Armageddonize, but they did it.
Two years after the successful release of the “Armageddonize” album around the globe, Eclipse have established themselves as rising stars with audiences in Australia, Japan, America and Europe (including the 3.5 million viewers who saw Eclipse's debut on Swedish national television at Melodifestivalen 2016).
With the musical development and maturity shown across the board on their last two albums, "Bleed and Scream" and "Armageddonize," the future has become clear: these guys are destined for stardom! And now with their new album, aptly entitled “Monumentum,” band’s amazing abilities are truly on display for the world to hear.
After touring extensively for two years in support of “Armageddonize”, Eclipse's main songwriters Erik Mårtensson and Magnus Henriksson reconvened in Erik's new studio in the Swedish countryside in late summer 2016 and started writing new songs. The intention was to write and record an album with no compromise on either song quality or musical performance from the band.
Singer, songwriter and producer Erik Martensson says: “With every album, one's way of writing music changes a bit. What you thought was exciting and interesting while writing one album can radically change when you start writing the next. I think we have brought in quite a few new tricks in the writing and recording process while still staying true to our sound. In the end, it all boils down to if it's good or bad songs and I think this is the best album we've done. In my opinion there is not one single weak song on the album and I'm really proud of it!”
We know saying your latest album is the best you've done is the oldest cliché in rock music, and so instead of taking our word for it, tune in and listen to the killer opening track “Vertigo” here:
It's melodic rock that's respectful of the roots of the genre, but with sights set firmly on the future. Fans of the band will not be disappointed and newcomers can look forward to hard rocking tunes with massive hooks from the first to the final track.
As Erik puts it: "When I go and see a band I just want to hear songs that make me wanna put my fist in the air and scream along, and I want everyone around me to do the same. Well, Monumentum is one giant fist waiting for a chanting crowd of rockers. We can't wait for the people to hear it!"
Better be ready: ECLIPSE are coming to kick your ass!
“Monumentum” tracklisting:
1. Vertigo
2. Never Look Back
3. Killing Me
4. The Downfall of Eden
5. Hurt
6. Jaded
7. Born To Lead
8. For Better or for Worse
9. No Way Back
10. Night Comes Crawling
11. Black Rain
Upcoming Tour Dates with MORE To Be Announced SOON:
March 31st - Fryshuset Klubben, Stockholm, Sweden
April 1st - Sticky Fingers, Gothenburg, Sweden
April 29th - Frontiers Rock Festival, Trezzo (Milano), Italy
June 30th - July 2nd - Rockfest Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
August 9th-12th - Leyendas del Rock, Villena, Spain
ECLIPSE
Erik Mårtensson – lead vocals, guitars
Magnus Henriksson - guitars
Philip Crusner - drums
Magnus Ulfstedt - bass
