A few years back the word Paradigm was one of those buzz words that HR people and bankers used in as many sentences as they could and the phrase “Breaking the paradigm” was a catch-call for ‘change.’ Strictly speaking a paradignm is defined as “a typical example or pattern of something; a pattern or model” so it makes you wonder what Eclipse mean by entitling their new album thus? Are they saying that they have the template for how Rock should sound- which sounds a bit boastful? Or are they simply saying this is the template for the Rock that Eclipse makes? OK who’s still with me…
Whichever it may be, there is surely only one question on people’s minds – after 2012’s mighty ‘Bleed and Scream’; the wonderful ‘Argageddonize’ from 2015 and 2017’s ‘Monumentum’ is ‘Paradigm’ another slice of Rock that fits in with that exulted company or something else entirely?
Well there are of course many already familiar with opener ‘Viva La Victoria’ a song that has those trademark Eclipse melodies and expected smooth edges and yet at the same time incorporates a pop nous and a light Celtic vibe like a toned down Nightwish or a lighter take on Power Metal. ‘Mary Leigh’ keeps hold of that vibe and paints it across a nice slice of guitar-fueled AOR that steps into Hard Rock with a wonderful solo from Eric. There’s still the wonderful melodies we’ve come to expect but this is something a little different.
‘Blood Wants Blood’ takes a folky into and launches into a vintage Bon Jovi sing-along, it’s sure to hit some soft spots out there but it’s far from the most interesting song here. The slower ‘Shelter Me’ is wonderful, beautifully orchestrated and powerful as power ballads go it’s a winner. ‘United’ brings the anthem again with that Folky introduction that brings to mind Euro-Rock of yesteryear, and that underlying smoke of Folk structure and sensibility used sparingly as it is on the album adds a nice extra element.
And at the very midpoint of the album we get my highlight – ‘Delirious’ is a song that is built from the ground up a huge rocker that melds the best of Eclipse with something that you can imagine Van Halen putting out in the early 80’s. It’s bound to sound huge ‘live’. After that pacey rocker ‘When The Winter Ends’ takes the foot off the pedal for another melody-dripping mid tempo number that Eclipse do so very well. It’s class all the way so far and remarkably some of the best are still to come.
‘.38 Or .44’ starts with Crusner pounding the drums before the lead guitar kicks in and things get crazy, another great song and another faster number you cant help feeling will come into its own live. ‘Never Gonna Be Like You’ is typical Eclipse with all the boxes ticked.
And of course things get even better as the album closes with two of the very best. First ‘The Masquerade’ wins the most addictive sing-along chorus award, replete with its rather cool latter-day Queen vibe going on; and closer ‘Take Me Home’ is the huge melodic cherry on top of another rather satisfying Eclipse cake – this is what I knew we’d get, and the guys yet again haven’t failed to deliver.
It’s an interesting album, certainly with it’s highs but it’s also not quite what I expected. This is an album for Eclipse fans but also for those that loved tracks like ‘The Downfall of Eden’ and ‘Hurt’ from Monumentum as that’s where it feels the band are just so slightly leaning. ‘Paradigm’ will leave you in no doubt that Eclipse ore one of this decades finest Hard Rock bands.
Tracklist: Viva La Victoria |Mary Leigh |Blood Wants Blood |Shelter Me |United |Delirious |When The Winter Ends |.38 Or .44 |Never Gonna Be Like You |The Masquerade |Take Me Home
Line-up: Erik Mårtensson – vocals, guitars | Magnus Henriksson – guitars |Philip Crusner – drums | Magnus Ulfstedt – bass
