Eclipse - Armageddonize
Frontiers Records
Hard 'N Heavy
11 songs (43'37)
Release year: 2015
Eclipse, Frontiers Records
Reviewed by Chris
Album of the Year V2

Back in 2012, I reviewed the previous album from the band Eclipse. And what an album that was ! Probably one of the best Hard Rock release of the decade if you ask me. So I really looked forward to see what they would come up with. A little weary they wouldn't be able to sustain and deliver a similar or better album. So did the Swede manage to do just that with their new opus Armageddonize ? Let's find out shall we ?

My fears are put to rest really quickly, already at first listen I could recognize what makes me love this band so much, the hooks, the great vocal melody, the overall energy and that Hard-Rock that is both rooted in the right decade (80's) but sounding new with great production values. If you liked Bleed and Scream, you should love Armageddonize just as much. The album contains 11 songs and not a single boring moment. There is one song I like a little less than the others, and that song is Breakdown, but it is no filler either, it's simply the type of songs that is overall less melodic (and a little to Young Guns for me) and since this is what I love so much about this band, their unique blend of guitar and heavenly vocal melodies, songs that have more focus on rhythm than melody and catchy chorus tend to turn me down (just) a notch. But fear not, I'm probably in the minority here, in fact my nephew told me I should have my ears checked when I told him I didn't like that song so much as the rest :). I will refrain from doing a song by song review or this will, as you know it can, take forever and lately I've strived to write more concise reviews whenever possible. Vocals are stellar, and with each album, I found the singer to be consistently improving himself. His voice is just perfect for the music presented on this album. The guitar riffs and melodies are also to be highlighted here, they really deliver the right mood with the right amount of complexity while leaving the right amount of space for the grand vocal melodies to breathe though. The rhythm section is tight and rightly balanced overall. Besides the quieter ballad Live Like I'm Dying, most songs are punchy and often very catchy (and god knows I like my choruses to be of the sorts). My favorite ones are I Don't Wanna Say I'm Sorry, Stand On My Feet, The Storm, Love Bites and One Life - My Life. But like mentioned before there is not a single boring moment throughout. Compared to it's predecessor I'd say that I find the killer songs presented here, or hits, are even better than on Bleed and Scream (except that very song maybe that is an ultimate killer). Another favorite is Blood Enemies and is yet another song that remind me of Gary Moore (when he was doing Hard Rock mind you).

I am starting to believe this band can do no wrong, but that is a good thing. I couldn't tell you if this album is better than it's predecessor, it's different enough yet in the same vein, in the end it's simply another set of excellent new songs, with terrific energy with great emphasis on melody and catchiness. So this is a moot point, who cares which album is the best ? They both rock and let's hope all future album from these very talented Swedes will keep at this exceptional level of musicianship. If I had to find a significant difference between the two though, I'd say that I find this album to be a tad more sad in tone, nothing major, but that's how I felt, that the overall emotions I felt listening to it brought me a bit of sadness. But then I'm going through a divorce and had a burnout last year, so maybe it's just some of the lyrics hitting home. Whatever the case, this is one of the best slab of Hard-Rock you can get your hands on these days, so if you're fan of the genre, you know what to do. Thumbs up.

Killing Songs :
All of them
Chris quoted 95 / 100
Other albums by Eclipse that we have reviewed:
Eclipse - Wired reviewed by Ben and quoted 62 / 100
Eclipse - Bleed and Scream reviewed by Chris and quoted 95 / 100
Eclipse - Are You Ready To Rock reviewed by Marty and quoted 80 / 100
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