NORDIC UNION by Nordic Union
(Frontier Records)
NORDIC UNION is the name behind the new musical collaboration between singer Ronnie Atkins of PRETTY MAIDS and Erik Martensson of ECLIPSE and W.E.T. fame with guest appearances by Thomas Larsson, guitar solo on "Every Heartbest" & "Wide Awake", Fredrik Folkare, guitar solo on "Point Of No Return" & "Hypocrisy" and Magnus Henriksson, guitar solo on "The War Has Begun". The music, the vocals, the songwriting, the production - all are amazingly well done. After my initial listen to the album I am really digging all the tracks especially the guitar driven opening,"The War Has Begun", "Wide Awake", "Every Heartbeart", "When Death Is Calling", "Falling" and the melodic gem, "True Love Awaits You". Ronnie Atkins' vocals just sound incredible here. Of course, it helps that the songs he's singing are all extremely well-written and the production, courtesy of Erik Martensson is impeccable along with his powerful and impressive guitar work. Between the melodies and the solos he's definitely doesn't hold anything back. Overall, what Ronnie Atkins and Erik Martensson have created with Nordic Union is melodic hard rock at it's best, and a highly crafted debut release which is very complete - no fillers here. This album is diverse, musical, heavy and performed with passion. Great production and musicianship. I'm sure this one is going to get some serious replay time for me for months to come. Who said you can’t have hard, melodic rock with hooks anymore? - Highly Recommended
Tony @The Dedicated Rocker Society