Label: Frontiers Music Srl.
Release date: March 12, 2021
Production: Jacob Hansen
Album length: 44.50 min
Genre: Hard Rock/Melodic Rock
Rating: 9.0/10
The Lord works in mysterious ways. Instead of a new Pretty Maids album, what’s landed is the solo studio debut of Ronnie Atkins, the frontman of that legendary Danish hard and heavy rock outfit. The question on everyone’s lips: “What’s going to happen to Pretty Maids?” Can the band’s future even be read at this point? Back in 2019, Atkins was diagnosed with lung cancer. Ronnie first shared encouraging news about how the chemo was going, but in fall 2020 he sadly confirmed that the cancer had come back with a vengeance. The far-from-rosy situation the now 57-year-old vocalist found himself in rallied and activated an entire division of his musical colleagues and friends, who gathered around him to help him make his first solo album.
“One Shot” is an album that’s absolutely comparable to the work of Pretty Maids. Not just because of the trademark Atkins vocals, but because of the songwriting style too. “One Shot” is a hard rock album through and through, true to the genre in every way, yet bombastically fleshed out at the same time. This time there’s less “full-on shredding,” and you can’t really talk about blurring the line between hard rock and metal either. “One Shot” is toxically catchy when it comes to musical payoff, and a proper hard rock album all the way, even though it reaches for melodies that (gratefully) pull it much more clearly away from the typical Pretty Maids record.
It’s interesting that this time Atkins often stays in clean-singing territory, without the dose of raspy tenor that runs through his approach on every single Pretty Maids album. You can tell right from the opening, which starts off pretty calm, even a little “shy,” with the song Real, and later in the album too, like in the hyper-musical, mid-tempo, atmospherically gripping Frequency of Love. Even the ballads, which are always a kind of necessary evil on hard rock, AOR and melodic rock albums, come across on “One Shot” as exactly what the doctor ordered. Miles Away is a ballad-type song, full of longing and melancholy, without a pinch of sugary excess. Vocally, Atkins is right where he needs to be. Across the whole album. And in the new production setting, which isn’t really new at all, since the production was handled by good old Pretty Maids associate Jacob Hansen, the approach to arranging is a little different. Significantly softer than with Pretty Maids. Alongside solid, meaty guitar lines, the arrangements are vividly rounded out with prominent keyboards, great backing vocal harmonies, and generously seasoned with added programmed sampling. This time the main engine of the songwriting and arranging is Chris Laney, otherwise the keyboardist and rhythm guitarist of Atkins’ Pretty Maids, who is, quite interestingly, complemented on keyboards by his Pretty Maids predecessor Morten Santanger as a special guest. Laney shows off songwriting talents on this album that are the envy of many. So on that front alone, “One Shot” marks a departure from the Pretty Maids “mold.” And so the kinship wouldn’t become too obvious, Pretty Maids guitarist Ken Hammer also consciously decided not to take part in his bandmate’s solo album.
The remarkably wide cast of musicians who worked on One Shot is, alongside Atkins’ instantly recognizable voice, a key creator of what makes this release so fascinating. The lineup of top-notch guitar virtuosos and electric guitar gurus who contributed their solos and perfectly branded the album with them includes the following names: Pontus Norgren (HammerFall), Kee Marcello (Europe), Oliver Hartmann (Hartmann, Avantasia), John Berg (Paralydium), Chris Laney (Pretty Maids).
An exceptionally well-blended hard rock record in every respect. It has a distinct mix of melancholy and pomp, the hallmarks of the songwriting and sound production of the Scandinavian school of hard rock. Every track is dramatically bristling, and in the choruses that mood-driven drama theater hits a pompous crescendo. Picture Yourself takes the top spot among the choruses on the album. But heads up: even this song internalizes musical matter that’s closer to the Nordic Union project than to Pretty Maids.
On “One Shot,” which, surprisingly, is only his first solo studio album, Ronnie Atkins once again shows himself in all the glory of his full-blooded, hungry vocals. The fascinating singer approaches every step of this record with heart and passion, and let’s hope this isn’t the last act of his career. The lyrics are strikingly personal and confessional this time, which, given the artist’s situation, is totally logical. 57 is no age at all, if you catch my drift.
Author: Aleš Podbrežnik
Track list:
1. Real
2. Scorpio
3. One Shot
4. Subjugated
5. Frequency Of Love
6. Before The Rise Of An Empire
7. Miles Away
8. Picture Yourself
9. I Prophesize
10. One By One
11. When Dreams Are Not Enough
Lineup:
Ronnie Atkins – vocals
Chris Laney – rhythm & lead guitar, keyboards, backing vocals
Allan Sørensen – drums
Morten Sandager – keyboards
Pontus Egberg – bass guitar
Guest musicians:
Anders Ringman – acoustic guitar
Pontus Norgren – guitar solos
Kee Marcello – guitar solos
Oliver Hartmann- guitar solos, backing vocals
John Berg – guitar solos
Linnea Vikström Egg – backing vocals
Björn Strid – backing vocals
