Album Review — Ronnie Atkins

Ronnie Atkins — One Shot

Ronnie Atkins has been in the rock business for a long time. His band Pretty Maids have been around since the early 80s and he has released two records under the moniker Nordic Union with Eclipse guitarist/vocalist/songwriter Erik Martensson.

Pretty Maids released “Undress Your Madness” in 2019 and shortly after Atkins was diagnosed with Stage 4 cancer. With an incurable cancer diagnosis and in the middle of a global pandemic, Atkins decided to keep pushing forward and released his first solo album, “One Shot” via Frontiers Records.

The album starts a little more mellow than I expected with “Real”. It’s a mid-tempo melodic rocker that sets the tone for a record full of big hooks. The tone of the album is reflective but overall remains positive and “Real” is a good example of this.

“Scorpio” starts with a keyboard hook and has a similar feel to the album opener. We are greeted with another big hook in the chorus and the opening keyboard part repeats. Another strong track.

The title track starts off sounding like a ballad but picks up in the chorus. The five and a half minute track builds throughout and has that epic kind of feel to it.

The album is full of big choruses including “Frequency of Love”, “One By One” and the album closer “When Dreams Are Not Enough”.

“Before The Rise Of An Empire” is one of the heavier tracks on the record and an album highlight. “Miles Away” and “Picture Yourself” also stand out as really impressive tracks.

I can’t decide if the album is lacking some variety or if it’s just that every song is really good and it’s hard to differentiate one good song from another. After a few listens there isn’t really one or two songs that stick out but that might just be because they are all really good songs.

The one thing I can say for sure is that if you like melodic rock with big hooks and lots of guitars, you are going to like this record. “One Shot” is pretty similar to the feel of the Nordic Union records so that should give you a good idea of what you are in for.

Atkins deserves so much credit not just for releasing a really strong record, but for taking on such a great attitude despite the terrible circumstances that he finds himself in. It just makes “One Shot” that much better.

I’ll definitely be giving “One Shot” more spins in the coming weeks and it’s worth your time to check it out.

90 out of 100

Track Listing

1. Real *
2. Scorpio *
3. One Shot
4. Subjugated
5. Frequency Of Love
6. Before The Rise Of An Empire *
7. Miles Away *
8. Picture Yourself *
9. I Prophesize
10. One By One
11. When Dreams Are Not Enough

*Best Songs