Eclipse Live Report

Third time and still lucky with the almighty Eclipse! This time at the newly refurbished Borderline withe previous two being at the Underworld. To say that I've been looking forward to this gig would be the understatement of the year! The new album as expected, blows the roof off and I already know from previous experience that Erik and the boys are incendiary in the live setting. I arrived a touch late to the venue and missed the initial support act altogether. My ticket said doors 7pm but apparently it was 6 pm. They were called Franklin Zoo from Denmark. Listening to them now I can see they are a hard rock band but lack the melodic angle I need in my music. I always like to catch all the bands in a gig though even if I don't like them but it wasn't to be this time.

As I walked in, the venue was already pretty full and the house lights went down and the familiar strains of the opening cut from One Desire's new album started. Hurt is the amost amazing song you can imagine for an epic AOR lover and What a way to start the night off proper. That song has a melody to absolutely die for. A glorious start and a band sounding shit hot with a huge keyaboard sound and perfect vocals. What a way to greet my entrance! Thank you sirs!

The band continued with most of the songs from their debut album. Highlights were the super catchy Apologise, the pop hit Love Injection and the furious Martensson co-write Buried Alive. The floor was packed and I'd say the Borderline was close to sold out, about 300 maybe. A crowd much bigger than their previous visits to the Underworld. Anyway the crowd was lapping up One Desire's lush sound and enjoying their superbly crafted edgy AOR tunes. They perhaps can't quite match the album's crystal clear sheen but the energy is through the roof and the crowd loves it with a lot of smiles, cheers and horns.

At the early hour of 8.15pm the Eclipse boys burst onto the stage with of course a rampant version of opening cut Vertigo. That opening riff will wake the dead no doubt, as Magnus cuts the air with his thick riffs and Erik does his best impression of whirling dervish, Mexican jumping bean from Stockholm, Sweden that is! The energy picks up a notch from the more lush sounds of One Desire. The crowd is getting pumped and the band follows up Vertigo with the melodic anthem Never Look Back. Everyone is singing that chorus back at Erik whilst he goes through his full repertoire on stage! What an opening one two punch!

Suddenly as the song ends Erik says there's a fire alarm and everyone has to evacuate. Yeah right Erik pull the other one! Everyone is "right Erik mate, you're taking the piss lol"..but alas no.. a stage hand whispers in his ear and we really do have to leave. Everyone is a bit incredulous and looking round for smoke or burning smell but no sign. In all my years attending 100s of gigs I've never ever had to leave a venue for a fire alarm. It turns out it's the building next door with the alarm and as we huddle out we can hear the alarm outside. Good job it wasn't that cold outside. People are milling round outside and talking and plenty still have their beers in their hands. Finally about 20 or so minutes later, a couple of firemen who have been called out give the all clear and we shuffle slowly back in and ready for lift off again!

Well that was bizarre indeed but Erik makes light of it of course and it's better to be safe than sorry. "He won't forget this night in a hurry!" Erik says from the stage as the band quickly take their spots again within a few minutes and we continue as if nothing had happened. The band doesn't miss a beat indeed. Special mention for new drummer Phillip Crusner. That guy nails the beats down to perfection and gives the songs a solid as hell backbone. The set list was basically song after song of pure magic. Wake Me Up ramps up the testosterone with that meaty riff barrage whilst new songs like the awesomely melodic Killing Me and Jaded are just brilliant in the live setting. Erik's voice can be a little rougher live than on record but that suits the material very well and you need to sound a bit meaner when competing with the hammering instrumentals.

Two acoustic songs follow one another with Battlegrounds especially sounding majestic with just Erik on his acoustic guitar and Magnus on the electric lead break. The crowd participation on the wooahh wooah part is just fantastic too. Towards the end of the set we end with nothing but straight A songs like the fantastic heavy and epic newie Black Rain complete with Hangar 18 like solos from Magnus and then the massive hook filled Blood Enemies and finally the roaring Stand on Your Feet which gets everyone er..standing on their feet?? Great anyway! The main set ends with their anthemic and super catchy tune Runaways which they eneterd into the Eurovision song contest.

The roars from the crowd soon pick up and the band enters the fray yet again for an orgasmic two-song encore. The super melodic I Don't Wanna Say I'm Sorry is a pure sing along and the night finally comes to a close with the massively heavy and catchy anthem Bleed and Scream. An eventful night has finally come to a close as the band thanks us for coming etc and basks in the adulation of this very appreciative crowd. Eclipse are building themselves a nice little fan base here in the UK and with gigs like this you can easily see why. An Eclipse gig is never dull and you're guaranteed a spanking great time with tunes that will penetrate your brain to the encore. Don't miss them if they come your way..I never will!

Intro
Vertigo
Never Look Back
The Storm
Wake Me Up
Killing Me
Jaded
Hurt
Live Like I'm Dying
(Acoustic)
Battlegrounds
(Acoustic)
Downfall of Eden
O Fortuna
(Carl Orff song) (Classical piece played with live drums)
Black Rain
Blood Enemies
Stand On Your Feet
Runaways

Encore:
I Don't Wanna Say I'm Sorry
Bleed & Scream

  

Eclipse Live at the Underworld

Back in May of last year Eclipse came to London for the first time and of course I was in attendance to pay my respects to Erik and co. This latest venture to our shores was a no- brainer really when it came to my attendance as you would suspect since my love for this band is currently endless. Their brand spanking new beast of a record is fresh in the mind still and the lads are here to make hay whilst the going is good. A Tuesday night turn of about 150 or a bit more was probably slightly below par but there's been a lot of gigs lately so people pick and choose I guess. However it's their loss as Eclipse are the real deal when it comes to melodic rock. I was looking forward to a night of pure melodic madness and boy did we get it. Three support bands on the bill so a fair wait before the Swedish kings would take to the stage and usually I prefer two support bands as I find it cuts into the headline slot a little too much.




















In any case we had Kinkade, fellow Swede youngsters Reach, Uk hard nuts Tainted Nation to warm us up before the main event listed to start at 9.50pm sharp.

Kinkade is a band I've seen 3 times now. They are like the Underworld house band it seems when it comes to rock gigs here. I haven't heard them on record in the studio version but live they just seem destined forever to be the support band that plays to 10 people at the start of the night. They are not awful by any means and have some decent riffing going on at times. Nice little rock n' roll flavour if you like but it's just mildly entertaining for me and not something I actively look forward to. I always think "oh ok.. Kinkade is playing first ...usual story.." I'll watch it and wait for the other bands..

Next up were a bunch handsome youngsters from Sweden by the name of Reach. I think I've heard one or two songs from these boys on youtube that have yet to penetrate my listening habits. So it proved in the live setting as well. Their songs are ok don't get me wrong but I didn't hear anything special happening. I must point out that the young guitarist is actually really very good with some nice riffs and solos throughout. He has a lot of potential but they need to hone the songs to be a bit sharper. They do have well defined choruses but I guess the delivery of the front man just didn't quite cut the mustard for me. A lot of hope for the future though so we'll see how the band turns out.

Next up were UK heavy rockers Tainted Nation led by the imposing Pete Newdeck. They seemed to have changed bassist since last time as the last guy was a bald dude and now they've got a long haired headbanger in. The "Nation" sounded in fine form as they broke into the first couple of songs from the debut album F.E.A.R before playing a couple of new songs from their yet o be released follow up. I must admit the new songs sounded much meaner and heavier than the earlier songs played whilst still maintaining the melodic aspect that I so enjoyed from the debut. I love the song Your Only Friend from the debut which was duly played before the set ended with the catchy Loser. Looking forward to their new album in the coming months.

And then it was time for the mighty Eclipse to take to the stage and start ramming the front rows with those meaty riffs and magnificent anthems that they possess! Boy did they do just that with an almighty one-two punch to the guts with the opening two cuts from Armageddonize blowing away the crowd with power, precision and most of all melody. Erik sounded mighty and the choruses just went right through you especially on Stand On Your Feet with it's hammering pounder of a riff shaking the ground beneath our feet. Oh of course the guys didn't rest there, this was just the start of the melodic madness.

The songs continued to flow thick and fast with lots of grinning from Erik and geeing up of the front rows. They concentrated on their two latest albums of course with in fact most of the new album being aired as well as choice cuts from Bleed and Scream. How to Mend a Broken Heart from Are You Ready To Rock was a bone-fide high point before the band settled into playing the newer songs as powerfully as possible and for a one guitar band they didn't half create a mean sound. Guitarist Magnus is an understated lead player but he drags out every lick and note with as much emotion as possible.

Eclipse is a band you have to witness from the front row which is something I've done twice now. This show was a little short at only 60 minutes but they left you wanting more and and isn't that always a good thing? The first time I saw them it was good but the second time blew it away completely. This band deserves to be seriously huge, though whether they'll make it big is pretty doubtful but as long as they keep making albums like Armageddonize the diehards will keep supporting. Make no mistake - this band is energised melodic rock at it's very very best!

I Don't Wanna Say I'm Sorry
Stand On Your Feet
Wake Me Up
The Storm
Battlegrounds
About to Break
Blood Enemies
Wide Open
To Mend a Broken Heart
Bleed & Scream
All Died Young

Encore:
Breaking My Heart Again

Eclipse - Armageddonize - Review

I've felt the anticipation for Armageddonize building and building when I first heard that it was in the works for early 2015. As far as I'm concerned main songwriter and lead singer Erik Martensson can do very little wrong when it comes to hard hitting melodic rock. The last Eclipse album, Bleed and Scream was a complete monster of a record with no let up. To say this band don't do fillers would be doing them an injustice. I'll say it in a positive way - they only do ball busting, mountain moving, sky scraping anthems!

An EPK was released on youtube which hinted at the glory contained within the new disk with both Erik and guitarist Magnus indicating that they felt this was their best work to date and jam packed with melodies and heaviness. Magnus said that it was heavy as possible for straight rock whilst more melodic than ever. Boy was he ever right! I had high hopes for this disk of course and to be honest they have almost been surpassed. I never thought they could possibly top Bleed and Scream but by Jove they've come perilously close if not done it by a smidgen. This band just gets better and better with every note sang by Erik and every guitar riff and lick by Magnus bursting with pure energy all wrapped up in a fat juicy production providing pure ear candy.

This is an in depth review so I will rank each song separately in the next section.

I Don't Wanna Say I'm Sorry - Any Eclipse album has to have an incendiary start and this bad boy ain't no back burner! The opening riff near takes your face off with its mean and burning riff before Erik takes over with his tales of love gone wrong which seems to be quite a theme in Eclipse songs. The chorus is melodic as hell and is easy to pick up on and you'll be singing as you're air guitaring in seconds. The solo is understated and perfect from Magnus before the song soars headlong to a smooth conclusion with some nice woaah woahs to end. A brilliant start 9/10

Stand On Your Feet - After the opening chords - Woah - a stomping monster heavy opening riff bursts out of the speakers. One of the heaviest Eclipse riffs ever! Totally awesome and then here's Erik with one of his most impassioned vocals about believing in yourself after you've hit rock bottom. A chorus so brilliant and heartfelt with melodies to die for and riffs that pound like all hell. Eclipse in a nutshell. 10/10

The Storm - Starts off acoustically before Erik comes calling in with the line "This is an emergency..." giving you a small inkling to the hookline of the chorus. The song's first verse is so melodic it's almost unbearable and then that famiuliar this is an emergency hook reappears with other plaintive lyrics with a melody so sublime you can hardly believe he came up with it. A mid paced pounder of a song but totally incredible in my eyes. 10/10

Blood Enemies - This bruiser of a song starts off with a gorgeous, soaring lead solo and keys backing before all hell breaks loose with a grinding rock and roll type of riff and Erik screaming "Holy Mother" like his life depends on it and then repeating the chorus hookline Blood of the enemy a touch later. The melodies build up on one another like bricks and you just lose track of parts that you love. The lead solo returns for an awesome re-run a touch later whilst Erik rounds the song off with his awesome vocals. I can't find fault. 10/10

Wide Open - Surely you'd think they'll take a breather now and slow the pace or throw in a power ballad but not quite. Wide Open kicks in with pounding riffs and Erik's usual first verse magic blows you away before a more sedate chorus comes and the melody chills your spine like you won't believe. The "wide open, wide open" line is one you'll be humming in your sleep let me tell you. I marvel at Erik's ability to come up with choruses that are instantly memorable and Wide Open is no different. 9/10

Live Like I'm Dying - Finally a power ballad. It had to come after the intensity of the first five songs. However don't think that this song isn't intense in it's own right. Erik's vocals plead and yearn for breath like he's being emotionally drenched from his soul. The guy surely knows how to deliver an angst ridden vocal. The chorus is once again very memorable and you feel the passion seeping through every note. Personally not my fave type of song but every Eclipse album has a couple or one. The solo is tremendous though. 8/10

Breakdown - A slight departure for Eclipse going into bluesy Whitesnake territory. Erik does his best Americanised vocal stylings with a bluesy acoustic guitar for backing before a thunderous guitar riff breaks it up and the chorus is a catchy little ditty with Erik pleading humanities constant battles in life and facing breakdowns. This song reminds me of the recent H.E.A.T album which had a similar flavour. A nice chorus but not my fave song on the album by far, but it will have it's fans for sure. 7/10

Love Bites - Oh yeah back to fast paced riff mongering and attitude galore. I've said it before and I'll have to say it again Erik grabs you by the balls from the first syllable he utters. The first verse is chock full of melody already and then you get that oh so familiar Eclipsized rasp "Love Bites!!" chorus thundering into view with Erik sounding meaner than all hell. The solo that turns up towards shred like Yngwie but is far too short. It's all about the song with Eclipse not showing off musical skills. The song is all about energy, power and melody encapsulating the Eclipse sound to the full. 10/10

Caught Up In the Rush - A mid paced pounding riff before I'm repeating myself again. The first verse grabs you by the proverbials again and we're off into joyous melodic Eclipseland yet again. The song pounds a long with another juicy chorus with some nice backing lines to spice things up a little. Once again a very short and tasty solo from Magnus towards the end of this 3 minute gem. Im running out of superlatives now.. 9/10

One Life - My Life - I knew this was going to be a huge song from the title alone before I heard the song. The first verse is quiet before Erik's melodies fully kick into gear and the soaring One Life- My Life hook drags you kicking and screaming along with it's monster anthemic feel. A song to play loud and punch the air to. The Brilliance and simplicity captures the heart and sends your head spinning round and round. Another gorgeous Magnus solo at the end of course. 9/10

All Died Young - Surely you go out with a bang and yes they didn't let me down. Possibly the heaviest song on the album with the opening riff sounding almost power metal heavy before Erik does what he's been doing all album long. Kicking ass! The chorus thunders out with a singable melody and a mystical look at living life too fast and biting the dust. This song somehow reminds me of recent Helloween believe it or not though much more concise with all the fat trimmed off. Only the short length stops me from giving this a final 10/10 as I would've liked a more epic track to end on but as far as melody and heaviness goes it's up there on this masterpiece of an album. 9/10

The bonus track is an acoustic version of The Storm which is very good and sang with great emotion by Erik. Not as good as the electric but it's nice. Would've preferred an all jamming Eclipse monster but I'll get over it!

My final words for this album: Entering with expectations set to maximum and leaving astounded! Bleed and Scream was already unreal but this is one of the best melodic rock albums recorded in modern times. I really don't how they can ever top this. Have a good try though!