Author: Aleš Podbrežnik
Artist: Nordic Union
Label: Frontiers Records
Release: 2016
Running time: 44:01
Rating: 4/5
Even though five months have passed since this album’s official release, it’s well worth a spotlight, because it’s an extremely solid piece of work that ranks among the top releases of the year in the modern end of the melodic rock spectrum. This time, two forces have joined up in a shared musical project: Danish vocalist Ronnie Atkins, the famous lead voice of the legendary Danish hard rockers Pretty Maids, and, on the other side, a guy a dozen years younger but fiercely driven and ambitious, a kind of attaché for the new generation of melodic rock, the Swede Erik Martensson, known for his work in Eclipse and W.E.T.
Considering that a heap of this kind of project, often pitched by the labels themselves, is frequently doomed to fail because they come off as forced and unlived, the debut from Nordic Union is anything but. Eric Martensson, the wonder boy of rock, keeps up his incredible songwriting momentum and fire. The unstoppable workaholic has once again cooked up a bunch of excellent tracks that catch fire on first listen, as befits the genres of melodic rock and AOR. The choruses grab you instantly and are the atmospheric peaks of the songs. They build up gradually, with the mood swelling from verse to chorus, and so they ride along at an extremely high level of bombast throughout.
Even though synths are layered over the guitar riff arrangements (which is an expected and necessary move anyway), the guitars are pushed to the front of the sound picture, so the album as a whole feels hefty enough. That’s a trademark of Eclipse albums, by the way. Martensson usually works with vocalists who have a clean, melodically authoritative style, but this time he’s teamed up with a vocal heavyweight whose basic expression is a raspy, guttural voice. Ronnie Atkins being Ronnie Atkins, after all. Picture Pretty Maids tackling a distinctly melodic rock record, say, writing an album in the style of the track Little Drops of Heaven.
Martensson has once again taken all the reins into his own hands. He played all the instruments himself, sang the extra backing vocals (apart from the drums and a few guitar solos), and this Swedish perfectionist once more took care of the brilliant production that carries the album. This time you get to pick your own favorites, since there are simply no dips in quality between the tracks. They’re all on equal footing, led by the ballad Every Heartbeat. The songs grab you instantly and work their way under your skin in a seductive way.
This is an album that will suit fans of Eclipse and W.E.T. better than fans of Pretty Maids! That’s a fact, plain and simple. The album “Nordic Union” is clear proof that Atkins’ voice works just as nicely and seductively on softer notes. The man is in the right place at every moment with his vocals. A truly lovely melodic rock release that’s worth checking out if you’re a fan of the genre!
Nordic Union – Hypocrisy (official video):
Lineup
Ronnie Atkins – vocals, backing vocals
Erik Martensson – guitar, bass guitar, keyboards, backing vocals
Magnus Ulfstedt – drums
GUEST MUSICIANS:
Thomas Larsson – guitar solo on “Every Heartbest” and “Wide Awake”
Fredrik Folkare – guitar solo on “Point Of No Return” and “Hypocrisy”
Magnus Henriksson – guitar solo on “The War Has Begun”
Production
Erik Martensson
Track list
1. The War Has Begun
2. Hypocrisy
3. Wide Awake
4. Every Heartbeart
5. When Death Is Calling
6. 21 Guns
7. Falling
8. The Other Side
9. Point Of No Return
10. True Love Awaits You
11. Go
12. When Death Is Calling* (acoustic version)
*…bonus track
