by Justin Gaines
– Sr. Columnist —
Ah, the dreaded double-dip, when barely a year after an album is released, fans are asked to buy a second, “deluxe edition” with all sorts of extras. It’s a fairly recent trend and ones that a lot of fans have (justifiably) complained about.
But this is Eclipse we’re talking about. Not only that, it’s a deluxe edition of their nearly perfect 2015 album Armageddonize, so perhaps a little context is in order. Earlier this year, the band had a chance to compete in the Melodifestivalen television competition, which gave the band some much-deserved exposure to a wider audience. To take advantage of that, they decided to release a new version of their most recent album with the Melodifestivalen entry “Runaways” added to it. And since they were going to the trouble, they made it really worthwhile and added a bunch more goodies to satisfy those of us who already bought Armageddonize the first time around. Here’s the (pardon the pun) breakdown:
The Armageddonize Deluxe Edition is a 2-disc set. The first disc has the full Armageddonize album plus the new studio song “Runaways,” which is a really fantastic tune and a great example of the Eclipse sound. It’s placed as the third track, which is kind of interesting and changes the flow of the album a bit. The second disc is where the big payoff to existing fans lies. It has a hefty 16 songs, starting off with 11 live tracks. Well, closer to 11 ½, since “Breaking My Heart Again” segues into an acoustic version of “Battlegrounds” before abruptly ending after the first verse. After that come the studio tracks “Come Hell or High Water” and “Into the Fire,” which were previously only available on the Bleed and Scream promo single that came with an issue of Sweden Rock magazine. Just having these two tracks makes this a must-have for serious Eclipse fans. The disc closes with a trio of acoustic versions, which had previously only been released as Japanese bonus tracks.
Yes, we’re being asked to buy Armageddonize twice, but honestly, there’s so much good stuff here it’s really hard to be upset by this. Erik Martensson noted early on that existing fans might want to think of this as buying an Eclipse live/b-sides album, and that’s really spot-on. Most of us wouldn’t think twice about buying a collection like that, so look at getting the studio album as a bonus. And if the band manages to win over a host of new fans in the process, they certainly deserve that.
Genre: Melodic Rock
Lineup:
Erik Martensson (v) (g)
Magnus Henrikson (g)
Robban Back (d)
Johan Berlin (k)
Track Listing:
1. I Don’t Wanna Say I’m Sorry
2. Stand On Your Feet
3. Runaways
4. The Storm
5. Blood Enemies
6. Wide Open
7. Live Like I’m Dying
8. Breakdown
9. Love Bites
10. Caught Up in the Rush
11. One Life-My Life
12. All Died Young
13. I Don’t Wanna Say I’m Sorry (live)
14. Stand On Your Feet (live)
15. Wake Me Up (live)
16. The Storm (live)
17. Battlegrounds (live)
18. Breakdown (live)
19. Wide Open (live)
20. Blood of the Enemies (live)
21. Ain’t Dead Yet (live)
22. Bleed and Scream (live)
23. Breaking My Heart Again (live)
24. Come Hell or High Water
25. Into the Fire
26. The Storm (acoustic)
27. I Don’t Wanna Say I’m Sorry (acoustic)
28. Battlegrounds (acoustic)
Label: Frontiers Records
Website: www.facebook.com/eclipsesweden
Hardrock Haven Rating: 9.5/10
