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Frontiers [Release date : 20.09.24]
Eclipse vocalist Erik Martensson and guitarist, Magnus Henricksson, with help from the Crusner rhythm section, have created an enviable reputation over the years.
And no doubt fans of this high performing Swedish melodic hard rock band will be eagerly awaiting this new release.
Megalomanium II is their 11th album, designed to follow on in style and content to the first iteration.
Openers, ‘Apocalypse Blues’ and ‘Spark’ are an inauspicious beginning, each struggling to get off the ground, only taking flight when Henricksson launches a couple of electrifying solos.
‘Falling To My Knees’ changes that narrative completely. Its immersive, infectious melody grabs you with both hands and pulls you under. Henricksson’s powerful axework, and subtleties within, elevates an already appealing love song.
The album’s next three songs are the key tracks, living up to our heightened expectations.
Martensson’s urgently emphatic vocals are a perfect fit for ‘All I Want’, a post-pop AOR song with a heartstopping hook. A bit of HEAT in there.
The misty eyed ‘Still My Hero’ has a fabulously 3 dimensional production sound and a modern day pop arrangement to die for. Its Americanised pop/rock could have been written by The Killers or One Republic. To quote the NME “they steal so smartly”.
You could put this one on a loop and still be enjoying it at midnight.
Third of the three is ‘Dive Into You’. Harder, heavier, slower. An achingly sentimental ballad, white soul meets rock’n’roll. What gives it real weight are its melancholy undertones. Martensson gives one of his best vocal performances here.
Not forgetting Henricksson, whose fills and frills add so much nuanced light and shade to the band’s big production sound.
So, is it their best yet?
Who cares…comparisons are pointless… suffice to say that this is an outstanding album. ****
Review by Brian McGowan
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