Eclipse - Monumentum album review

Sweden rocks. Big time

Cover art for Eclipse - Monumentum album

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Multitasker Erik Mårtensson has been involved in some of the great melodic rock albums of recent years, as a member of supergroup W.E.T. and as writer and producer of former Survivor singer Jimi Jamison’s swan song Never Too Late. But it’s with Eclipse that Mårtensson takes centre stage as a frontman, channelling the spirit of 80s arena rock.

The Swedish group’s 2015 album Armageddonize was named in homage to Def Leppard, and there’s an equally OTT sensibility in the title of this follow-up. As Mårtensson says: “Monumentum is one giant fist waiting for a chanting crowd of rockers.”

From supercharged tracks such as Vertigo and Killing Me to the monster power ballad Hurt, every track is an anthem. With Monumentum, Erik Mårtensson has come of age.

Sleazegrinder

Came from the sky like a 747. Classic Rock’s least-reputable byline-grabber since 2003. Several decades deep into the music industry. Got fired from an early incarnation of Anal C**t after one show. 30 years later, got fired from the New York Times after one week. Likes rock and hates everything else. Still believes in Zodiac Mindwarp and the Love Reaction, against all better judgment.

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