Eclipse-Bleed and scream

Frontiers
2012

Sweden's Eclipse are back with the follow-up to 2008's “Are You Ready to Rock”. I'd honestly never heard of them before. When this promo popped up I was kind of scowling at the skull and flying V design because I was hoping the music showed more originality than the cover. Indeed this is a spectacular blend of 80's hard rock and metal. They create the smooth melodies and catchy choruses of acts like Dokken, early 80's Rainbow and Whitesnake and combine it with heavy, steady riffs not far off from the likes of Dio, the Scorpions and mid-late 80's Ozzy. So in that respect this album is like the best of both worlds as they pull on some of the best elements of hard rock and metal into their album. They don't just tie the styles together, but instead arrange them so they get the most out of everything they create. Tracks like the thumping "Falling down", the elctrifying "Ain't dead yet" and the blazing "Take back the fear" show how this band excels at heavier material. Then the minimalist approach of the ballad "About to break" and the slowly excelerating "A bitter taste" show the bands ability to get the most out of more mellow material. There isn't a song on this album that doesn't have a lot to offer. Fans of 80's hard rock and metal are going to be thrilled by this album.


Labor day reviewathon count-6 down 4 to go 
Time left- one day, fourteen hours and around three minutes
*I need to review ten albums by the end of Labor Day or I have to listen to Warrant's Cherry Pie. (I need to knock out two more reviews today to stay on track.).