I wonder if there is a hotter and an “in demand” name nowadays in the hard rock genre than the leader of Eclipse, Erik Martensson…this is the guy that has built the structure of Eclipse on a solid foundation and has handled the overall process of high profile releases like those of W.e.t., Jimi Jamison (R.I.P.), Toby Hitchcock and others. Eclipse has managed with their last effort (“Bleed and Scream”) to climb up to the super league of the hard rock bands and as one can easily imagine everybody was anxiously awaiting for its successor.
“Armageddonize” carries on, really, where “Bleed And Scream” stopped as Eclipse follows the same pattern by delivering a bunch of melodic, hard rocking songs that includes all the essential ingredients of a modern hard rock album. The production is crystal clear while the songs themselves projects the nostalgic climate of all the big arena bands of the 80s. The extremely catchy “The Storm”, the frenzy “I Don’t Wanna Say I’m Sorry”, the majestic “Blood Enemies” and the sensational ballad “Live Like I’m Dying” are the absolute highlights of “Armageddonize” with the rest of the songs following at close distance.
The fact that I personally consider Eclipse to be a step below than H.e.at doesn’t erase the fact that the Swedish outfit is a force to be reckoned with and it makes you stare in awe at all those magnificent Swedish hard rock bands…brilliant!
Highlight: The cover sleeve is similar to a vintage (but also used) vinyl record…
