Eclipse Monumentum Interview



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Rockgig had the pleasure to catch up with Magnus Henriksson of Eclipse recently to talk about their new album Monumentum and of course a mention about a new W.E.T. cd due in 2018.

Rockgig What music did you listen to growing up?

Magnus I think I can answer for both of us if I say we both grew up on Chuck Berry, Spotnicks and 60´s stuff.  That taste eventually gravitated  towards heavier stuff like AC/DC, Deep Purple, Rainbow and Judas Priest.

R Who were and are your musical heroes?

M My first musical hero was Elvis Presley. Later on Malcolm Young and Bon Scott which remains my biggest heroes still today.

R First Eclipse cd came out in 2001 how do you look back at the early days of the band?

Well we were lousy songwriters, but we all had to start somewhere I guess. It was exciting and fun times to make your first record. That was a dream come true and we wouldn´t be where we are today if we hadn´t been given that opportunity. But I do have to say that playing that kind of music at that time in 1999 was like swimming against the current. People were laughing at us cuz time wasn´t ready for this type of melodic rock back then. We were sentenced to the realms of obscurity.



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R Monumentum has been out for a couple of months now and critical and fan acclaim has been amazing with many saying it is your best ever cd? Do you agree?

M I know I don´t speak for the rest of the guys in the band here, but it´s not my personal favourite, even though I get why it´s been recieved so well. The album is very accessible and easy to listen to with a lot of radio potential. I do however think it´s the best one production-wise. The sound is awesome on this one.

R Monumentum where does the word come from and what does it mean to you?

M It´s a game of words. Monument and Momentum. Erik came up with it. It´s an own word, and we like that. The band is having a good momentum at the moment and we wanted to achieve a monumental record. There you have it.


R What do you see as the differences between Armageddonize and Monumentum?

M I´d say that Monumentum is slightly more diverse with heavy tunes like Black rain on one side and poppy tunes like Jaded on the other. Armageddonize had more of a same feel from start to finish.

R Do you ever feel under any pressure when writing any new material that stands up to your past work?

M Before we start writing we feel the pressure. But once we´ve started writing we don´t think about that anymore. Then you have to be 100% focused on what´s happening at the moment. That´s when we cut the umbilical cord from the previous album and put it in the archives, so to speak.

R Lyrically how do like to write?

M Erik writes some of the lyrics. On some songs we invite an outside writer. We might decide the title or topic first and then we hand it over to a guy called Miqael Persson whom we´ve been working with for many years now.

R You had outside writers on the new cd what do they bring to the Eclipse sound and how do they help you write? 

M I guess the answer above already answered that question :-)



R I have read you have built a brand new studio in the countryside how was it to record there?

Yeah Erik moved back to his dads old house on the countryside and built a brand new studio there.
It´s a very nice place record at. No distractions. It´s beautiful and quiet there. Except for when we´re recording. It´s an efficient way of recording there cuz we can work from early morning until late night without disturbing anyone.

R How long did it take to write the new cd?

M 3 months from writing the first chord to delivering the final product to Frontiers. Must be some kind of record. I don´t prefer working in that pace, but we didn´t have more time. It turned out quite alright anyway.

R Do you demo the songs before entering the studio?

Not really. When we start writing we build the skeleton of what´s gonna be the song. With real instrumentation and arrangement. Of course we edit a lot of stuff along the way, but doing demos is just a waste of time. We prefer to cut to the chase right away.

R Do you feel playing more live shows has enhanced the Eclipse sound?

It hasn´t affected the way we write or anything, but it keeps our chops up and makes us better players the more we play live.

R Do you have a favourite song on the new cd and why?

My favourite is Downfall of Eden. It was the first song we wrote for this album and it still resonates with me. It´s got great melodies and I especially like the solo section of the song.


R Any other song stories you can tell us about?

The same song was actually written for Nordic Union at first, but we felt it sounded to much like Eclipse so we decided to keep it. I´m glad we did.

R Phillip Crusner first cd with the band what has he brought to the band?

M A very positive, serious and professional attitude. He´s a team player who´s very easy to work with. Besides that, he´s got a studio of his own and that helps a lot. Back in the days, it felt like it was Erik and I along with 2 hired guys. Now we´re a 4 man unit. A band.

R The new cd is a very heavy rock album was that pre conceived before entering the studio or just happened as the songs developed?

M No. For every CD we do we "think" we can plan how it´s gonna sound like, but it never turns out that way. It´s the best songs we write that´ll end up on the album, and we can never plan what they are gonna sound like.

R Your songs are so powerful but always melodic have you ever wanted to release a full on thrash album?

M I´d love to. But not under the Eclipse flag though.

R Music business has changed so much in the last decade what are your thoughts on the business now?
What is success in 2017?Cd sales/streams,critical acclaim or more on a personal level?

M What is success for us? It is doing what we love, getting to travel around the world and being paid for it. We´re doing that right now so I guess we call ourselves successful.


With Monumentum being all killer no filler how difficult was it to pick the sings to be played live?

It was. We all had different opinions within the band what singles and setlist we were gonna choose, so we took a vote. It´s still war (on a friendly level) everytime we write setlists.

R What does the rest of 2017 hold for Eclipse?

M A few more festival gigs this summer. Opening up for Electric Boys in Stockholm in Oct. Some more gigs coming up in Nov/DEC. That´s it.

R Ammunition,Nordic Union.W.E.T. and Eclipse how do you choose what song for what band?

I think all of the bands have different sounds, so we can hear where the songs are gonna belong in the end.

R And I have to ask a new W.E.T. cd for 2018.Any ideas formulated and when can we expect to hear anything from it?

There will be a new WET CD in 2018. Can´t say when, but the songs are already written. I wouldn´t expect to hear anything until sometime in 2018. It´ll be worth it though.

Rockgig would like to thank Magnus for taking the time to chat with us and to Gary Levermore at Red Sand PR for setting up the interview.

Eclipse will be in the UK at the Hair Metal Heaven festival in Hull on Friday the 25th of August and Rockgig will be there.


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