Nordic Union

Nordic Union is a debut born from a pairing Frontiers president Serafino Perugino thought up in 2015. Erik Mårtensson, the Swede, sent demos he had written for Ronnie Atkins, the Danish singer. The reaction that came back was enthusiastic. So the voice of Pretty Maids stood alongside the writer known from Eclipse and W.E.T. It appeared on 29 January 2016. Almost everything is played by the two of them: Mårtensson handles guitar, bass and keyboards and produced it as well, with Magnus Ulfstedt of Eclipse on drums. There are eleven tracks. From the anthem of the opener “The War Has Begun” through the hooks of “When Death Is Calling,” “21 Guns” and “Hypocrisy,” the sound mixes the melodic side of Pretty Maids with elements of Eclipse, Talisman and W.E.T. Only the guitar solos are guests: Thomas Larsson, Fredrik Folkare and Magnus Henriksson share them out. Atkins put it this way — Pretty Maids remains his first priority, but he could genuinely feel these songs as his own. The album reached number 93 in Germany and number 38 in Sweden.