ECLIPSE - review added 25th November 2008
Album Review: Are You Ready To Rock (2008)
For fans of: hard rock... and 80's hair metal
I must confess to not having heard Eclipse before this album. According to their MySpace site this is their 3rd album and having listened to it I may well have to check out their earlier work,
Eclipse hail from Sweden but don't necessarily follow the pattern set by other acts like Brother Firetribe or The Poodles. They reference the heavier aspects of bands like Whitesnake and Motley Crue in their hair metal days, and are much more about straight ahead rock than the typical Scandinavian pomp and frivolity.
The drums thump along at a fair old rate and the overall feel is of a tight band with plenty of talent. The songwriting is controlled and masterful too. Main contributors Erik Mårtensson and Magnus Henriksson have taken little in the way of experimental chances with the music, but the end result doesn't suffer.
'To Mend A Broken Heart' and 'Wylde One' are the top tracks, but don't for one minute think the rest of the album is a let down. This is a great listen from start to finish with numerous spunky rock anthems. There aren't any all-time classic tracks but it's the consistency of the almost-there songs that counts. Of those there are many.
Are You Ready To Rock is a blast and continues the trend of Swedish bands pumping out brilliant melodic rock albums.
Check out... The start of 'Call Of The Wild' which sounds identical to the pod racing from Star Wars: The Phantom Menace.
Track List:
1. Breaking My Heart Again
2. Hometown Calling
3. To Mend A Broken Heart
4. Wylde One
5. Under The Gun
6. Unbreakable
7. Hard Time Loving You
8. Young Guns
9. Million Miles Away
10. 2 Souls
11. Call Of The Wild
Label: Frontiers Records
Band websites: Eclipse , MySpace
