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Checked samples for this album on Apple Music....sounding good!  Sounds pretty much like it'll be a continuation of their last album to me, which I really enjoyed.

Definitely looking forward to this one....probably the last release this year that has a chance to rank highly for me.

7 hours ago, auslander said:

Pretty much none other, but Treat are pretty close too I reckon. There must be others but I can't think of them off the top of my head.

Yeah, I'm struggling to think of many older bands that have outdone themselves with their later material.

For me, Pretty Maids definitely is the first that pops into my mind.  Their 2010 and forward albums are really all I even think about with them.  Granted, I never paid much attention to them in the 90's but even trying to go back to that output hasn't worked for me.

I think with most of those older bands that were around in the 80's or 90's, I'm just happy if I can get some good songs or decent albums.  Def Leppard is a good example of that.  I haven't been overly enamored with their past few studio albums overall, but for me they've still done some pretty good songs here and there.  

Trixter did a pretty good album with New Audio Machine that I really enjoyed.  Also really enjoyed Skid Row's last album but don't think that's really a good example being they have a new singer.  I liked AC/DC's last album Power Up which maybe could be close to some of their 90's output being all their albums basically sound the same lol.  

At this point, probably just lucky getting new music at all from many older bands as most of them seem to have given up.  I mean, some of my favorite bands from back then like Poison, GNR, Bon Jovi....Those bands are essentially dead new-music wise and will never put out new music anywhere close to their heyday.  They've either quit putting out music or I don't even feel like they're capable of doing good new music.  I could probably say the same about many other bands from that era.

1 hour ago, Geoff said:

Very good. That's great news. It's weird and ironic, but for many years as a PM fan, I always wanted to hear more of the melodic songs from them. Now that we've had an abundance from Ronnie's solo albums (granted, to be fair, not really on par with PM's better songs), I just want to hear proper PM again. 

Was there ever a falling out between Ronnie and Ken, or was it just another thing the magnificent world reaction to covid ruined? 

LOL...I always said the same thing....Just wanted a bunch of more melodic tunes.  But I miss the heavy and melodic that Pretty Maids was able to mix so well.

I think there was some sort of falling out from what I gathered in the interview I saw with Ronnie.  He didn't say what it was about but did mention there were differences between him and Ken that needed to be worked out.  I think Ronnie said something like his health, Covid and differences with Ken all played a part in the time off.

Either way, hope they're able to get back at it over the next year or two, play some shows and record some music.  I know I'm in the minority, but for me their album Undress Your Madness is my favorite of theirs and still play it often.  Just a good mix of slightly heavier and more melodic stuff on that album IMO.

23 minutes ago, lettard said:

I see they are slated to play at the Sweden Time To Rock Festival on 5th-8th July 2024 so they are back..to play live once at least...maybe new material after that  be nice if that happens.

I remember seeing an interview with Ronnie somewhere within the past couple months where he hinted that Pretty Maids was working on things and might be getting back together for some shows.  He basically said that him and Ken had to work through some things to get the ship righted and that he'd like to tour as they never really had a chance to play songs from the last album live all that much. 

Good to see that's happened. 

Hopefully they get in a good number of shows and fingers crossed for some new material from the band. 

On 10/15/2023 at 4:06 PM, Captain Holly said:

Here is the rest of the album. I like this one much better than Perspective. Mostly rockers on it, but Pat does a great job on the slower song at the end, As Time Goes On. This is one of the much better albums I have heard in the last couple of years. There really is not a bad song on the record, but if I had to pick a favorite it would be Around The Sound.

Have to say I'm liking this album more and more with each repeat listen.  Even the songs I was initially lukewarm on have grown on me.

It's kind of a weird one for me.  It doesn't really have a lot of instant, super catchy bangers that jump right out at me.  But there's some excellent musicianship in these songs that is kind of pulling me into them and it's just pretty solid top to bottom.  I do really like some of the backing harmonies they use at times (wish they'd still use more though) and Chris Lane's guitar work is really good.

And yeah, while I've not liked a lot of their ballads on previous albums, I do enjoy As Time Goes On.  I think that works well as an album closer and Pat does sound good on that one.

This is moving right up there among my favorites this year and while it could use a couple more killer tracks, it still might be my favorite release of theirs top to bottom.

On 10/16/2023 at 7:34 AM, Geoff said:

Monday is my new release listening day, where I listen to the new albums of the week. And this was the one that came out on top in today's listening session. 

I actually don't mind a few peaks and troughs on an album... kind of accentuates the highlights, one could argue. There are a few fillers on this one - which are kind of weird. Nice sounding songs, but just no hooks or decent chorus. Almost seems entirely intentional. 

But to combat these, you have the gems like 'Over & Over, 'If You Want Me Too,' 'Locked away' and 'Better off alone,' capped off by the killer 'Close My Eyes' The album could probably use a few more killer cuts, to be fair, but it's pretty decent. 

Agree.

Songs like Touch and No Reason....and probably Something In Between are a few of those troughs for me....Just not much pulling me into those songs in terms of hooks or big, catchy choruses.  It definitely could've used a couple more killer tracks to vault it up a few notches.  

Still enjoying it though and glad they got back to rocking and kept the ballads in check. 

1 hour ago, Darkstone said:

All good points, but I think at the end of the day, I'd rather live in a world with Frontiers than without it.

I basically agree with every point that's been made but at the end of the day, this sums it up for me.

As I look at my CD shelf, there's sure a lot of Frontiers releases on it.  I feel like they've played a big part in helping to keep melodic rock music accessible to us even though I'm sure a lot of the criticism they've gotten is valid too. 

Didn't expect to really like this as I just don't care for Strandell's vocals much anymore.....however, this has some really well crafted songs and a cool throwback 80's vibe that's done so well I almost forget about not liking Strandell's vocals.

Feel The Heat, All The Right Moves, Needs A Little Love....some good stuff there.

Still probably not something I'll go back to often as I really don't like Strandell but it probably is their best album to date and expect many will like it.

Gave this a listen....And honestly not much here grabbing me.

It's definitely heavier than his other solo releases but doesn't songs don't have the catchiness of those other albums IMO.

For me, If You Can Dream It is easily my favorite song here probably followed by Soul Divine and Sister Sinister.

New album dropped today...

Not too bad.  Can't say it's better than their first couple albums but liking it more than their last couple albums.

Good to see they got back to rock on the new one and have kept the ballads to a minimum with only the last song being a ballad.

I still feel like some of these songs could maybe be "beefed up" a bit with more production, backing vocals, etc.  But for me it's still pretty decent stuff.

I'd say my highlights are probably If You Want Me Too, Close My Eyes and Around The Sound.

I like that new tune.

I've liked some of her past stuff but some of her stuff also has been just a little too poppy for me.  This one sounds pretty good though.

Hope going forward she kind of stays in the melodic rock realm....which I kind of think she might based upon her roots.

2 hours ago, lettard said:

Got this today...first spin through and its ok so far...nothing mindbending and not as good as his debut solo effort...more time needed though.

Planning to check it out.

Listened to samples and it sounds like it might be a bit heavier than his previous solo albums with a few songs at least.

New tune out:

Good tune!

Haven't really heard anything about them doing a new album so guessing maybe that song was a leftover from previous recording sessions?

15 hours ago, Geoff said:

Yeah, I was wondering that the other day… is Pretty Maids still an active consideration for the chaps anymore? The solo stuff is generally nice, but it is not Pretty Maids. 

Really doesn't seem like they want to be active.  Clearly Ronnie has a lot of music he's wanted to get out and doesn't seem like Pretty Maids as a group was interested.

Too bad as I feel like they had done some of their best stuff with their last album.

On 9/12/2023 at 12:01 PM, gener8tr said:

That's a great song.  Perhaps a bit cliche with the lyrics, but it sounds fantastic.

Agree!  Little cliche but dig  the vibe of it.

Reminds me a bit of Face the World.

I do wish Pretty Maids would get back together for an album but happy that Ronnie is still putting material out.

2 hours ago, Captain Howdy said:

 I was talking to an artist several years ago about UK distribution (established 80s musician) and had they considered Frontiers. They out and out refused to deal with them as apparently they had spoken to them before and the  deal they were offered was awful.

I believe I heard Rob Wylde say in an interview that Frontier's offered Midnite City a deal but they decided to go with Pride & Joy instead.  I kind of thought it was a little curious to turn down as it seems Frontiers has way better distribution for those Euro bands here in the USA IMO but surely there were other reasons behind the decision. 

I always found it curious that Shiraz Lane left Frontiers too.  Those guys seemed to be an ascending band and did an amazing album with Carnival Days.  Then they left and have kind of drifted back in the shadows after getting with Euro labels that haven't seemed to do them many favors.

It's got to be tough out there and like Andrew said, I'm sure many artists just deal with it because they are one of the biggest names in the game for this melodic rock/hard rock genre these days.  Frontiers certainly could do a much better job though and their marketing efforts/presence have clearly seemed to diminish in the past couple years.  Bands probably figure that since they need to do all their promotion themselves anyways that they just want to find the cheapest distribution they can find.

It has to be a tough balancing act though.  I mean, clearly physical products aren't in the demand they used to be.  But by the same token, you need to be able to get stuff to the people that do still want it in a timely fashion and for reasonable costs.  I personally don't want to be ordering stuff from Europe all the time and having it take 2 weeks to get to me while having to pay more in shipping than the item costs.

My favorites through 3/4 of the year so far:

Midnite City

Defiants

Tempt

Eclipse

Really has been a down year so far for my tastes as I struggle even putting together a top 5 and really only feel like listing 4.  Even Eclipse at 4 feels like a stretch as I haven't been very taken by the album.

Degreed was one I wanted to like as I've been a fan of those guys and really liked their last album but I've struggled badly with the new one for some reason.  Heavens Edge was okay and would probably be my #5 if I listed one but I really haven't wanted to listen to it much.  Winger and Extreme were a couple others I had high hopes for but did very little for me.

Looking forward to Station and Temple Balls as those two have a shot to shake things up a little.

Good tune.  The last single If You Want Me Too is my favorite of the 3 but it's encouraging that all three singles are rocking songs and not ballads.  I don't mind a ballad here and there but just felt like the last album had too many softer moments and it hurt the flow of the album. 

Anyways, sounding pretty good and looking forward to this one.

On 9/3/2023 at 11:00 PM, Geoff said:

Nice to see some more balanced commentary here. I was listening to this and I rarely do this, but I went to Google while I was listening, to read reviews to see if other people were hearing what I was hearing. But all the reviews at the top of the Google search all gave this album bland, seemingly pre-written vanilla praise. 

And don't get me wrong. To each their own. But it seriously seemed like half the reviews were lifted from a previous review of the band, and they just put in new songs names and a few minor details about the new album. 

Before I mention what I still can't wrap my head around that I've not seen it mentioned anymore, I'll mention the songs. They're shit, lol, imo. Not every single one, but I don't love one song on here, which is very strange for Eclipse. Usually I might leave one or two, maybe three cuts off an Eclipse album when I collate my yearly playlist. But this time I'm flipping it and there's only five songs from here I'll add to my playlist... and to be honest, none I'm too excited about at all. 'The Hardest Part Is Losing You,' 'Got It!' 'Hearts Collide,' 'So Long, Farewell, Goodbye' and 'One Step Closer to You' are all pretty decent songs, but I must say it. On any other Eclipse album, they would easily be the weakest songs. I cling to them here because they're the best, but it's off a pretty bland bunch of songs. Put these on any other Eclipse album and I'm probably skipping them over. 

Like a few of you have mentioned above, for me, this is easily Eclipse's worst album. Amazed reviews on the net seem to be saying the opposite. 

Anyway, the thing I haven't really seen mentioned at all yet, which has me wondering if I'm hearing things... but what's happened with Eric's voice? Don't get me wrong - not saying it's good or bad (unlike the songs). But am I the only one that thinks he sounds completely different? I'm no vocal coach so I don't know the inner workings of tones and registers and stuff like that... but to me he sounds so different on this one. If I had to say in my simple terms, he sounds "flatter" and I guess less "fiesty" than he usually sounds. More dull, perhaps? I dunno, but it was instant for me and I couldn't shake it. Legit caught myself wondering a few times on the album if there was a different vocalist at times. And it turns out the bassist does sing one of the songs, but what about the other 10? Was he trying to copy his bassist's voice, lol? 

Guessing I'm alone on this last point, but anyone else hearing what I am? 

Either way, super disappointing album from what has to this point been a rock solid reliable band. I guess no one's invincible. 

Absolutely agree on the songs...I think that's the biggest problem for me....The songs just aren't very interesting or memorable.    I've only added 2 songs into into my "favorites" playlist (Hardest Part is Losing You and Children of the Night).  

It's a good, quick fix type of album that sounds fine but just not much really standing out.

And as for many of those reviews, I swear many of the reviewers are afraid even say anything negative anymore for fear that they'll stop getting asked to review albums and thereby getting advance copies. 

As to Eric's voice....Guess I'm not hearing too much different there.  I wonder if it's just the structure of these songs that sort of pushed him into a certain way of singing?  I mean, there's just not many big, melodic moments in these songs and they're mostly just 3 minute blitzes with similar templates.

It's still a decent album but as I've started thinking about where I'd rank it in their discography, it definitely would be behind Armageddonize, Bleed & Scream, Wired, Monumentum and Are You Ready To Rock.  I might put it ahead of Paradigm.

Gave it a brief listen.  The original Kenny songs ate okay and the live versions of songs he did are fine.  

But for me, the Erik songs he tries to do just doesn't work.  Erik did them better....just leave those alone.

I saw they're coming out with reworked 2023 versions of the first 2 albums.  I think that'll be more interesting to me than this.  I'd like to hear those first two albums with a puncher, more modern production.  I wonder if Kenny will redo his vocals on those albums?  I think he sings with more power now than he did then.  They'll probably just end up being pure remasters though.

On 7/7/2023 at 9:02 AM, Geoff said:

Oh dear, they're really excellent. No word of a lie, 'Burn me down' would sky rocket into the top 10 or even 5 songs I've heard this year. Superb. Their website said they were meant to release an album in 2022, which I don't think happened? So can we expect an album soon, with these gems on it? 

Album is out...Thoughts?

I suspect if you dig Burn Me Down that you'll likely dig the album.

I've been playing this one repeat the past week or so.  There's maybe 1 or two songs that get just a little bit too poppy for me like Girl & Sneakin' Around but for me the rest is basically an excellent blend of a modern/current sound with classic Leppardish sounding guitar riffs/backing vocals, etc.  I saw an interview where they said Mutt Lange is a big influence on them and I can see it in these songs.  Just lots of Mutt-Like hooks.  Stuff like Living Dangerous, Hideaway and Camouflage are good examples of that IMO. 

I feel like these guys along with Station are probably two of the best "younger" melodic rock bands going in the US scene.

On 8/30/2023 at 3:18 PM, Y&TForever said:

And there are going to be some people that get bent out of shape with “Anthem”….

I like Anthem.....bit different sounding to me which is needed on this album to break up the pace a bit.  

Overall....agree that the album doesn't blow me away but is still a decent album that mostly just continues what they did on the last album (albiet in a lesser way).  Most of it is just a 38 minute blitz of familiar feeling melodic rockers with no ballads which is fine with me.

I think my favorite song here is probably Children of The Night.  Least favorite is High Road.  I just don't want to hear another guy in the band doing lead vocals.  Anthem and The Broken are interesting as they sort of break up the pace a bit.  Most everything else just feels like fairly standard Eclipse rockers that we've heard plenty of times before.  And I guess that's probably going to be my main problem with it.

We'll see where it settles with more listens.   

12 hours ago, TEMPT said:

Thanks so much for posting about the new album. We appreciate the support and your comments. We received a rather nice review of the record from Classic Rock as well. We're always happy to talk about music be it here or on any of our other socials. We try to be as responsive as possible.

 

Well done guys! 

The run in the middle of Hideaway, Camouflage and Golden Tongue is where it really takes off for me.

Cheers and wish you guys would hook up with the Station guys again for a couple shows in the NYC or Jersey area!