For all intents and purposes, One Shot should’ve been Ronnie Atkins’ final album. The legendary Pretty Maids frontman has been battling stage 4 lung cancer on and off since late 2019. This and the unexpected COVID pandemic hindered any long term touring and recording plans for Pretty Maids, leaving Atkins to explore other creative vehicles. The result is now two solo albums and a rumored third Nordic Union album, the latter being a collaboration between Atkins and Eclipse founder Erik Mårtensson. Ronnie Atkins isn’t just defying death; he’s singing (and sometimes screaming) in its face.
Despite the endless rounds of radiation and chemotherapy he’s been through, Atkins sounds strong as ever on his latest album, Make It Count. He remains a prolific singer and songwriter within his respective genre, and is not afraid to step out of stylistic boundaries either. Whereas last year’s One Shot was an even balance of hard rock, AOR, and traditional metal, Make It Count is a largely old school AOR release, with only brief forays into the other two genres. Underneath all the fiery riffs and heart pounding tempos, melody was always at the backbone of Pretty Maids’ sound. On Make It Count, Atkins brings it to the forefront.
There’s a warm and nostalgic quality to this album, even if you weren’t alive during the era it pays tribute to. Cuts like “I’ve Hurt Myself (By Hurting You)”, “Remain to Remind Me”, and “All I Ask of You” show that Atkins owes as much to Journey and Toto as he does Judas Priest and Scorpions. There’s something about that combination of lush synths, hook heavy melodies, and the unmistakable voice of Atkins that touches my very soul. While the album largely stays true to this orthodox AOR formula, some songs venture into the bombastic world of pomp, like “Unsung Heroes” and “Fallen”, both of which conjure memories of Meat Loaf and Electric Light Orchestra respectively.
Not one to forget his roots, Atkins throws in two metal hymns to appease the headbanger crowd, “Rising Tide” and “Blood Cries Out”. “Rising Tide” is an exercise in ironclad riffing and triumphant power metal attitude, straight out of the Pretty Maids wheelhouse, while the dark and brooding “Blood Cries Out” is accentuated by Atkins’ signature roar. Both of these songs were penned in the spirit of Pretty Maids’ classic debut, Red, Hot and Heavy (1984). This, and a smorgasbord of melodic rock, culminates in the grand finale title track, which rounds this effort out on an uplifting, passionate note.
Yet again, Ronnie Atkins has showcased the resiliency of the human spirit through music. Whether or not Pretty Maids will ever reconvene again is uncertain. One thing that is certain is Atkins’ determination to continue creating until the day he dies. To that, I raise a glass in his honor. Cheers to a euro metal titan, singer extraordinaire, and an all around bastion of bravery, a true inspiration to humanity as a whole.
7 out of 10
Label: Frontiers Records
Genre: AOR
For fans of: Pretty Maids, Journey, Night Ranger