Armageddonize

Frontiers Records mainstay and Swedish melodic metal rockers Eclipse have had one of the most unusual careers in comparison to the rest of their adoptive label's compatriots. Having originally planted their flag on a more hard rocking stylistic template that bore more resemblance to the musical trajectory Europe had taken since their reunion and 2004 comeback Start From The Dark, they took a rather curious turn towards the end of the 2000s that ultimately culminated in one of the more impressive metallic pivots to come out of the Frontiers brand in 2012's Bleed & Scream. Prompting a more prolific output than an LP every 3 or 4 years, one would think that this newly minted formula of incorporating heavier elements would continue unabated, but with the creation of their 5th full length studio effort in 2015's Armageddonize, there would be more changes afoot than just the introduction of a 5th and returning member Magnus Ulfstedt on bass.

While the songs that round out this opus are far more metallic and polished than what occurred on their first two studio LPs, the aggressive character that exploded on their 2012 smash effort has been dialed back almost exactly to the point where things were on 2008's Are You Ready To Rock?. A greater emphasis has been placed on infectious hooks and compact songwriting, and while most of the album consists of material riff-happy enough to pass for a slightly lighter version of Ozzy Osbourne's Diary Of A Madman, Magnus Henriksson's guitar tone has a tad less bite to it than before. To be clear, lighter does not necessarily mean weaker, as the vast majority of these songs conform to the sort of raucous middle ground between hard rock, heavy metal and power metal that typifies most of Frontiers' catalog, and the vocal delivery of charismatic front man Erik Mårtensson is far from bereft of aggression, though his cleaner cut tone tends to carry the day here.

Metal may share an equal footing with a tamer brand of hard rock here, but there are plenty of kinetic, guitar-oriented winners to be found on here that balance out the more arena-oriented moments nicely. Following a mysterious sound ambient keyboard intro, the lead off cruiser "I Don't Wanna Say I'm Sorry" cuts about as hard as a typical offering out of Eden's Curse, with Magnus' wild speed riffs channeling some blatant Jake E. Lee influences. It's immediately successor "Stand On Your Feet" leans back into more of a mid-paced rocking feel with plenty of sugary melodic additives, but the agitating riffing that occupies the verse section lands right back in mid-80s Ozzy territory. As things progress the rock elements get a bit more pronounced, with mid-paced bangers like "The Storm" and the somber balladry of "Live Like I'm Dying" venturing more into 80s AOR territory, but more metallic bruisers like "Caught Up In A Rush" and "Wide Open" slamming the mid-paced pavement pretty hard and sneaking in some power metal sensibilities in to boot.

For the most part, this follows the same modus operandi as its predecessor, and the departures into lighter territory tend to fall short of being overtly jarring and throwing off the flow of the album. The only song on here that really wanders off the stylistic map is the bluesy acoustic slide guitar turned groovy clunker "Breakdown", which isn't a bad song per say and sort of channels that cowboy blues energy that Bon Jovi's "Blaze Of Glory" and Warrant's "Uncle Tom's Cabin" had in spades, but feels pretty out of place among the other 10 more conventional anthems found on here. This will definitely hold a great level of appeal to guitar enthusiasts who like their metal and rock loaded with flashy and feel-oriented soloing, with Magnus outdoing himself at several points (not the least of which being the intro to the power metal-infused monster "Blood Enemies", also the best song on the album). It's not quite as overtly metallic as Bleed & Scream, but it's definitely another winner.