Since formed in 1999, Swedish melodic hard-rockers Eclipse has been a damn creative bunch. They’re now on album # 10 – the debut was released back in 2001. Ever since their fourth record Bleed & Scream the band has released a new album every two years, a pretty fast pace in this day and age. It’s also impressive that since then the quality on their albums have been sky-high especially since main song-writer Erik Mårtensson (lead vocals, rhythm guitar) is involved in lots of other projects as well, Nordic Union and W.E.T. being two them, projects easily as strong as his mothership. It needs to be pointed out that his cohort since forever, guitarist Magnus Henriksson has been a big helping hand when it comes to song-writing too. This means that every time a new album with Mårtensson’s name on it sees the light of day, it comes with massive expectations. An album that’s only good is a disappointment.
Category Hard Rock
King Kobra – We are Warriors
When King Kobra reunited in 2010 after almost 25 years apart it was almost the original line-up with Paul Shortino (Rough Cutt, Quiet Riot) joining drummer Carmine Appice, guitarists David Michael Philips and Mick Sweda and bassist Johnny Rod, replacing original singer Mark/Marcie Free. Two good enough records – King Kobra (2011) and II (2013) were released but failed to make any impact at all so things turned quiet from the camp. Until that dreadful performance at Sweden Rock Festival in 2016. Sweda had jumped ship by then and had been replaced by one Jordan Ziff, an unknown talent that later joined Stephen Pearcy’s version of Ratt. That the band released a live album from that gig is beyond me but after one listen it’s easy to state that the end-result was mostly a studio-job. I thought that King Kobra was done after that.
Mammoth WVH – Mammoth II
Being the child of someone famous can put pressure on just about anyone. Think about being the child of a legend then. An icon. Wolfgang Van Halen is one of them. Ok, the guy did a tour as Michael Anthony’s replacement in Van Halen and worked as the bass player for Mark Tremonti (Alter Bridge) but being a hired gun is way different to be your own boss. The name Van Halen comes with lots of pressure and expectations and there are probably a whole bunch of douche-bags just waiting for him to fail. Thing is, the way things looked, Wolfie took things pretty calmly and just went on his way.
Shakra – Invincible
When it comes to Swiss rockers Shakra there’s no giving up or giving in. For 26 years the band has been releasing records in an even stream without making it to the big league despite a whole bunch of stellar records but that seems to be of no concern to the band. Thankfully. That said, just like fellow landsmen Krokus and Gotthard, Shakra is a big deal in their native Switzerland but for the rest of the world not so much. Being a late bloomer myself when it comes to this band I can only wonder why they’re not bigger than they are. With powerful, heavy, hard-rocking yet melodic songs where a whole bunch of them come with big hit-potential they really should have reached more people. But the band is still around, they’re still making solid albums and here’s yet another one – album # 13.
Joel Hoekstra’s 13 – Crash of Life
There’s never a dull moment in the life of guitarist Joel Hoekstra. After he left Night Ranger – a perfect fit for him in my book – in 2014 to join Whitesnake (he also filled in for Mick Jones from time to time while in Night Ranger) he’s been one busy camper. Parallel to the job in Whitesnake he also played with Trans-Siberian Orchestra and Cher, he worked with Michael Sweet (Stryper) on his solo-stuff, he joined Iconic with Sweet, Marco Mendoza, Tommy Aldridge and Nathan James and he kicked off his solo band 13 plus becoming part of the new line-up of Revolution Saints together with bassist Jeff Pilson and drummer/lead singer Deen Castronovo. We all need something to fill our days with, right? So why not strike while the iron’s hot, then? So here’s the third 13 album, now with singer Girish Pradhan (Girish & The Chronicles, The End Machine).
Buckcherry – Vol. 10
Back in 1999, a time when sleazy and dirty Hard Rock wasn’t exactly the coolest thing on Earth and the heavy musical climate was ruled by nu-metal bands like Korn and Limp Bizkit, Buckcherry – a sleazy and dirty Hard Rock band – released their self-titled debut album and scored a hit with the cocaine-fueled stomper “Lit Up” and the album went gold in the U.S. The follow-up Time Bomb wasn’t even close to match up those sales and in 2002 the band was put on hiatus only to re-emerge in 2005 with a new album, 15, and another smash-hit, Crazy Bitch, which spawned another big seller for the band and since then the band has released six more album. Buckcherry never became huge despite releasing a whole bunch of great records but since quitting is for quitters Buckcherry keeps on keeping on. After all, they still sport a decently big yet very loyal fanbase, something we’re all happy for as every album holds high quality melodic yet raunchy Hard Rock meets Classic Rock albums. As the title might suggest, we’re now being treated with album # 10.
Extreme – Six
For a short while Boston based rockers Extreme were huge. After a self-titled debut album in 1989 that hardly did anything commercially the band hit pay-dirt with their second album Pornograffitti (1990). The lead-off single “Decadence Dance” bombed but the second one, “Get The Funk Out” made some impact but what really sold the album was the monster-hit “More Than Words”, an acoustic, emotional ballad that really set the world on fire. 1990 and 1991 were Extreme’s years but when it was time for a follow-up Extreme refused to play it safe and release a Pornograffitti 2. Instead we got Three Sides To Every Story (1992), a mastodon project that was too little mainstream for the bigger crowds. It was a great album in my opinion and it didn’t bomb but it was a too many steps from establishing the band as a major act. Also, the musical climate was changing rapidly and Extreme’s music was no longer hip even though they weren’t alike most of the 80’s melodic Hard Rock bands at all.
Sweet & Lynch – Heart & Sacrifice
There’s no sitting idle doing nothing in the world of Michael Sweet. If it’s not Stryper, it’s solo albums or Sweet & Lynch or Sunbomb or Iconic. And more often than not the result is awesome. And then there’s touring. Never a dull moment. George Lynch (ex-Dokken) is no couch potato either. He has a solo career too. Lynch Mob of course. KXM. The End Machine. Gotta get busy, right? When the couple decided to collaborate it resulted in a record called Only To Rise back in 2015, a brilliant effort and quite a big success. That made for a follow-up of course and in 2017 they gave us Unified, an album that got some mixed reviews. Personally, I loved it. The guys didn’t care though and decided a third record was needed – much to my delight – and since I loved S&L’s both records, I had some high hopes for this one as well.
Heaven’s Edge – Get it Right
1990. It’s either Headbanger’s Ball on MTV or some rock show on Sky Channel, can’t remember. The VJ raved majorly about this band Heaven’s Edge and their debut single “Skin To Skin”. It was a good song but nothing out of the ordinary. I borrowed their self-titled debut from a friend and burned me a CD – and I must say I wasn’t too impressed. A decent album but way too much of a thirteen-a-dozen melodic Hard Rock/Metal affair with ok tunes. In later years, though, I hear more and more people raving about how good that album is so maybe it’s just me. They also released a follow-up in 1998 – Some Other Place, Some Other Time. I didn’t even know about that record until I started to write this. Now they’re reunited – on Frontiers, of course – and while I’m not rolling around on the floor in pure excitement I still think it’s interesting that they’re back and I will listen to this record with an open mind.
Jason Bieler & The Baron Von Bielski Orchestra – Postcards From the Asylum
Ah, Jason Bieler! As a big fan of his old band Saigon Kick it’s always nice to hear new music from this guy. I wasn’t even aware of his two solo albums Houston We Have A Problem (1998) and Where Dreams Go To Die (2018) – I need to look them up – but his last effort, now with The Baron Von Bielski Orchestra added, Songs For The Apocalypse (2021) has gotten quite a few spins from this guy. The album was partly really good but it contained lots of songs, too many, and I couldn’t help but to think there were a few fillers too many for a really high score. That said, I know the potential of the guy so I still have some high hopes for his brand new record.
CD & Festival reviews 