REVIEW: ECLIPSE Put Out Another Powerhouse Album In “Megalomanium”

When I hear ECLIPSE I can’t help but smile, frontman Erik Mårtensson had done an amazing job creating this Melodic Rock powerhouse band that certainly takes cues from the 80’s but you hear elements of MY CHEMICAL ROMANCE at times as he’s modernized the AOR sound to fit today’s world.

There’s still soaring guitars, layered vocals and big choruses, but the modern production and some slight tweaks has given a new generation to appreciate great Melodic Hard anthemic Rock.

There were plenty of massive songs to start the album out, but they chose “The Hardest Part Of Losing You”, and I love it. It’s still uptempo, but it’s more of a love-song. The strength of the song is in the chorus. I don’t care if it’s a little “Pop” oriented, if you put this on Rock radio in the United States it would do will, I think people are ready for some emotional love songs again…but yeah, thanks to the corporate nature and money involved, songs from bands outside their circle of sound won’t get on.

“Got It!” has a bit of an emo feel, at least in the guitars. Mårtensson is from Sweden so he can’t help but write melodic hooks with great harmonies, so it ends up being more “happy” than most emo tracks.

“Anthem” is exactly that, a singalong anthem that shows the “folk” side of the band. Mårtensson could probably do a Folk Metal album if prompted, he loves these types of songs that could be sung from the Mountaintops. Inspirational and powerful.

“Children Of The Night” could have been the opening track, it sounds like one at least. It builds to a massive chorus again and will no-doubt sound amazing live in a concert setting.

“Hearts Collide” is the first single and is along similar lines of “The Hardest Part Of Losing You”. Once again the bands ability to crank out powerful Melodic hits is uncanny, it’s really a lost art.

Up next was “I Don’t Get It”, an upbeat rocker where Mårtensson does some of his best “screaming”. The songs is quite heavy at times during the breakdown, by the time it’s done you’re singing along with this one too.

ECLIPSE has always had a more positive and rebellious outlook, many songs are a call to pick yourself up and move ahead. “The Broken” is another song that has a “David Vs. Goliath” theme that has an eternal message. “So Long Farewell Goodbye” is decent, not the strongest track on the album, but it doesn’t really slow down the momentum of the album either.

“One Step Closer To You” is another solid track that would be great to hear live. It doesn’t quite have the punch as some of the earlier tracks, but we’re at number 11 now, normally you’d expect more filler at this point but it still has single potential. The final track “Forgiven” does too for that matter where the band combines a little “folk” style into that ECLIPSE signature sound.

“Megalomanium” has to be near the top of their extensive library. It may be a little more “modern” for some early fans, but they really havn’t strayed drastically from the format. They’re at the top of the Melodic Rock mountain right now, there’s very few that can touch them. Hopefully they get the international success they deserve.