From the opening bars of opener ‘Where Are You Eden?’ you can tell Tony Clarkin is particularly inspired as Magnum his baby since the early 70’s see in the new decade. It’s a solid opener, lushly orchestrated and as well as sounding a little heavier than recent offerings, also has a lushness that glides over the refrain giving it a feel of, say ELO. ‘You Can’t Run Faster Than Bullets’ which follows retains that heaviness and takes the mood down with a hypnotic verse and soaring chorus 21 albums into their career, it’s my favourite opening certainly this century.
Clarkin this time as you might expect, has kept working the way he always has over the years – starting writing as soon as the previous album is put to bed and seeing the album from demo to finished article. It’s a process that has produced ten albums over the last two decades and this could just be the best of those.
‘Madman or Messiah’ that follows is the perfect mid-tempo rocker and cements the harder sound as it pushes melodically, driven by Catley’s inimitable vocals and Clarkin’s guitars, it’s perfect Magnum and the sort of sound that no one does as well as these guys over the years. As well as songs like that, that talk about the cult of personality and self proclaimed messiahs, there are also contemplations on ecology like ‘Man’ which contemplates what we are doing to the planet in the name of short-term greed.
It wouldn’t be Magnum though without the fantasy element, as Clarkin states – “The Serpent Rings also presents Magnum from their dreamy, magical side, the title song being a perfect example – and a direct reflection of the amazing cover artwork courtesy of Rodney Matthews. Clarkin: “‘The Serpent Rings’ started out as a science fiction story but continued to evolve over time and even features a slightly bizarre side today. I’d describe the song as an eerie and somewhat creepy fairy tale.”
The new album also features a line-up change with bassist Dennis Ward (Pink Cream 69, Place Vendome, Unisonic) joining Clarkin, Catley, keyboardist Rick Benton and drummer Lee Morris, to replace Al Barrow for the album and the extensive UK Tour and European dates with Gotthard that follow.
Getting back to the album ‘The Archway of Tears’ takes you right back to those sweeping epics that Magnum has excelled at over the years and has some simply wonderful guitar in Clarkin’s most inspired solo here; whilst ‘Not Forgiven’ is a nice stomping rocker with a great breakdown, before the epic title track sweeps in on the back of a gathering storm and some atmospheric keys and just underlines the unerring quality here.
‘House of Kings’ has a great swing that is inescapable and makes you wonder what Catley would sound like singing the Blues as he blusters through the verses and for all its simplicity its amongst my favorites here and I love that crescendo of horns at the close. ‘The Great Unknown’ is the closest we get to a ballad here and its the sort of song to get lost in. ‘Man’ as we mentioned is a contemplation of capitalist greed at the price of our future and whilst I know Tony never gets political its a subject we all should be concerned about, and eloquently explored here.
The album closes out on as much of a high as it started out: ‘The Last One on Earth’ is the shortest song here but is packed with melody and swelling with emotion. The last word comes with ‘Crimson on the White Sand’, I’m always intrigued with how Tony closes and album and this time he chose to do so with what at first sounds like a contemplative ballad but the song quickly soars away in classic Magnum tradition.
On an album where the average track length is well over the five minute mark there’s plenty to get lost in here, but equally nothing here is overdone, Magnum are it seems at their very best striking out into the 20’s – melodic, powerful, wonderfully embellished and all a little harder than in recent times which just gives the compositions all that crisper an edge. This is Magnum at their finest and an absolute must. It might be far too soon to call contenders for album of the year, but I know this will be in that mix…
Tracklisting: 01. Where Are You Eden? 5:37 | 02. You Can’t Run Faster Than Bullets 5:40 | 03. Madman or Messiah 5:18 | 04. The Archway of Tears 6:21 |05. Not Forgiven 5:48| 06. The Serpent Rings 6:47 |07. House of Kings 4:47 |08. The Great Unknown 5:27 | 09. Man 5:31 |10. The Last One on Earth 3:43 |11. Crimson on the White Sand 4:53
Line-Up: Tony Clarkin – Guitar | Bob Catley – Vocals | Rick Benton – Keyboards | Dennis Ward – Bass | Lee Morris – Drums
Headliner Tour
19.03. UK-Glasgow – Garage
20.03. UK-Belfast – Limelight 1
21.03. IRL-Dublin – Voodoo Lounge
22.03. UK-Cardiff – Tramshed
24.03. UK-Sheffield – Leadmill
25.03. UK-Hull – Welly
26.03. UK-Manchester – Academy 2
28.03. UK-Holmfirth – Picturedrome
29.03. UK-Cambridge – Junction
30.03. UK-Birmingham – Town Hall
31.03. UK-Norwich – Waterfront
02.04. UK-Exeter – Lemon Grove
03.04. UK-Southampton – Engine Rooms
04.04. UK-London – Islington Assembly
05.04. NL-Uden – De Pul
06.04. DE-Kiel – Max Music Hall
08.04. NO-Oslo – Vulkan Arena
09.04. SE-Huskvarna – Folkets Park
10.04. SE-Stockholm – Fryshuset Klubben
11.04. SE-Karlstad – Nöjesfabriken
13.04. SE-Gothenburg – Pustervik
14.04. SE-Malmö – Babel
on tour with GOTTHARD
16.04. DE-Frankfurt – Batschkapp
17.04. DE-Regensburg – Airport Obertraubling
18.04. DE-Balingen – Volksbankmesse
20.04. DE-Munich – Tonhalle
21.04. DE-Fürth – Stadthalle
22.04. DE-Hamburg – Grosse Freiheit 36
24.04. DE-Hannover – Capitol
25.04. DE-Bremen – Pier 2
26.04. DE-Berlin – Tempodrom
28.04. DE-Singen – Stadthalle
29.04. DE-Cologne – E-Werk
30.04. DE-Saarbrücken – Garage
Headliner Tour
01.05. CZ-Prague – Nová Chmelnice
02.05. DE-Schwalmstadt – Kulturhalle
05.05. DE-Stuttgart – Im Wizemann
07.05. CH-Pratteln – Z7
08.05. IT-Milan – Legend
09.05. IT-Bologna – Alchemica
11.05. ES-Barcelona – Razzmatazz 2
12.05 ES-Madrid – But
13.05. ES-Bilbao – Santana 27
16.05. UK-Nottingham – Rock City
