Eclipse Camden Underworld 10-03-15

First up were Kinkade who are actually getting worse and should stop now!!

Thankfully next up were Swedish newcomers Reach who released their debut cd Reach Out To Rock recently and over the course of 30 minutes and 6 songs showed an amazing presence for kids of such a young age.



Every song possesses a hook big enough to land a killer whale and enough riffs to keep heads nodding.



Led by vocalist Alex Waghorn who at times sounds a little like Don Dokken in his prime they quickly had the crowd eating out off their hands which was very impressive considering their lack of experience.
Marcus Johansson on drums was a ball of energy and Ludvig Turner on guitar riffed and solo'd like a veteran and the band were finished by David Jones on bass who kept it all ticking along.




Difficult to pick a favourite moment but I think the huge chorus of Fortune And Fame that embedded itself into my brain and wouldn't let go gets top spot.



Very very impressive and I implore everyone going to HRH AOR at the weekend to get along to their early Saturday slot as you could witness something you remember in 20 years time and say I was there.



Tainted Nation were up next and led by the redoubtable Pete Newdeck blasted through a set of 7 from their debut cd F.E.A.R. and 2 more from the album they are currently recording.

With the amazing Mark Cross on drums laying waste to everything in his path the new material seems if anything taken it up another notch with a near heavy metal blitzkrieg and the shouty choruses still very much in attendance.

A pretty decent sized crowd greeted the arrival of for me the premier Melodic rock band on the planet at this moment in time.

After the magnificent Bleed And Scream cd the band have really done an amazing job by topping that with the release of Armaggedonize that came out late February on Frontiers Records.

With a confidence borne from releasing such an album the band hit the stage and for 65 minutes treat us to songs with huge riffs and even bigger choruses that demand audience participation and more melody than 20 other bands put together.

Here is what they played
I Don't Wanna Say I'm Sorry
Stand On Your Feet
Wake Me Up
The Storm 
Battlegrounds
About To Break
Breakdown
Blood Enemies
Live Like I'm Dying
Wide Open
To Mend A Broken Heart
Bleed And Scream
All Died Young
Breaking My Heart Again


An amazing 8 new songs were played and even after just a few weeks after release the choruses are embedded deep in our skulls and from the size of the grins on stage they know they have winner on their hands.

Led by the effervescent stage manner and wonderful vocal range of Erik Martensson the man has it all.Singer,guitarist and producer and writer of some of the greatest tunes of the last decade and a very nice man too. His right hand man Magnus Henriksson on guitar hits all the right shapes and his solo's always have a melodic edge to them. Rejoining ex drummer but now on bass (!) Magnus Ulfstedt had a ball and Robban Back on drums pounded us into submission.

Hard to pick a highlight in 65 minutes of them but I will try.The chorus for Battlegrounds had me reaching for the water as I tried to join Erik  in chorus heaven but failed terribly.Luckily Erik didn't and Wide Open from the new cd is a cousin with its long held notes and Magnus's aggressive solo was superb too.

Opener I Don't Wanna Say I'm Sorry took us straight into overdrive with its chunky riff and driving drums before the first of many huge choruses and then Stand On Your Feet kept the quality higher than many bands hit at any point of their career.

Blood Enemies intro had a lengthy Magnus guitar solo at the start before the main riff kicked in and another huge chorus.

Live Like I'm Dying had a wonderful Erik vocal at the beginning of the one true ballad of the set.How the man holds the lengthy notes and then moves on is incredible.

Breakdown had Erik on acoustic guitar on this fun little bluesy number that has a real kick in the chorus both vocally and musically.

Erik then regaled us with a story of how he wrote a song in his kitchen in 2007 and now Revolution Saints have covered it and now To Mend A Broken Heart is back in the set and as I said in my cd review lets hope Eclipse get some more followers from this one song.

All Died Young finished the main set with Robban's double bass drumming to the fore but still plenty of melody and another huge chorus.

Oldie Breaking My Heart Again was played as an encore and finished the evening on a huge high.

Eclipse can do no wrong in my eyes and a support slot on a major tour could take them to the very top.

Their music brings a smile to my face every time it is put on and the huge singalong choruses could if given to everyone make the world a better place.