MAGNUM

Reviewed:

- Kingdom of Madness (1978)

- Magnum II (1979)

- Marauder (1980, live album)

- Chase the Dragon (1982)

- The Eleventh Hour (1983)

- On a Storyteller's Night (1985)

- Vigilante (1986)

- Wings of Heaven (1988)

- Goodnight L.A. (1990)

- Sleepwalking (1992)

- Keeping the Nite Light Burning (1993)

- Rock Art (1994)

- Breath of Life (2002)

- Brand New Morning (2004)

- Princess Alice and the Broken Arrow (2007)

- Into the Valley of the Moonking (2009)

- The Visitation (2011)

- On the 13th Day (2012)

- Escape from the Shadow Garden (2014)

- Sacred Blood "Divine" Lies (2016)

- Lost On the Road to Eternity (2018)

- Live at the Symphony Hall (2019, live album)

- The Serpent Rings (2020)

- The Monster Roars (2022)

- Here Comes the Rain (2024)

KINGDOM OF MADNESS          1978          (FM-Revolver Records)

- Standouts: 'In the Beginning', 'Baby Rock Me', 'Universe', 'Kingdom of Madness', 'All That Is Real', 'Invasion', 'Lords of Chaos'

My history with Magnum is essentially that I picked up their seminal 1985 album On a Storyteller's Night when I was 18 years old, listened to it once or twice and didn't like it - and then revisited the record when I was 29 years old (about to turn 30) in 2022, loved it and saw the band live just weeks later. As of May 2024, I now own every major studio release from the band, but there was no order in which I bought them and listened to them. In fact, Kingdom of Madness - their debut album - has only been in my collection a few weeks, so I've kind of worked backwards with this band in a sense.

I think this debut stands apart from the vast majority of Magnum's other albums. It's unapologetically '70s-sounding, with much more progressive songwriting from mastermind Tony Clarkin, and songs that are overall less conventional and more wacky in comparison to what Magnum would be doing in just a few years. If I had to summarise this band's sound, I'd say they play hooky melodic rock, with some progressive and hard rock elements and a'lotta sophistication. Basically, thinking man's melodic rock. Kingdom of Madness is a bit less streamlined in my opinion, but in no way is this a bad thing - because I think it's great. The band had already been together for several years before it was released, and made a name for themselves in the UK - and the professionalism shows on this record.

I'll get it out the way right now and admit that this is not my favourite Magnum album, and I'm glad Clarkin took the band in the direction he did later - but even so, this is a hell of a first outing, and a really strong album in it's own right. Opener 'In the Beginning' is a proggy epic with fine instrumentation throughout - pianos, synths, electric and acoustic guitars... and the unmistakeably vocals of Bob Catley, one of rock's most underrated singers. Seriously. 'Baby Rock Me' is very good as well; a bit hookier, even borderline arena rock-friendly with it's chorus. But the musicianship is impressive once again that it's far from being a dumb stadium rocker. 'Universe' is insanely melodic and keyboard-heavy, and also kinda pretty in some ways. They've always done this kind of thing well, but here it's just much more '70s if that makes any sense!

The title track is a classic that remained in the live set right up until the band dissolved after Clarkin's unfortunate death at the beginning of 2024. It's even got flutes on it, reminding me of Jethro Tull! It successfully blends hard rock, prog and even some folky touches to create another pretty epic number. It's not exactly surprising to see why it's on so many of their live albums. I really like 'All That Is Real' too. Bob Catley's vocal arrangements on this pretty acoustic rock piece manage to remind me of Queen at times. 'The Bringer' has passages that almost sounds like a slightly harder-edged ELO (minus a lot of the strings of course), and 'Invasion' is a fun and upbeat rocker that helps keep the songs varied musically. 'Lords of Chaos' again has some early Queen influence to my ears, with Catley's vocals and even some of Clarkin's lead guitar tones. Good stuff. 

The issues I do have with this one are pretty minor for the most part. The production is understandably very '70s (just like everything else here) and as a result can be a bit thin. There's not a lot of low-end to speak of, which is a shame. Also, while the songs are very well thought-out and professionally performed overall, any hooks that later albums would do so well are lacking here. Magnum are a band where they've always had a lot going on in their music, yet could still be very catchy. Well, there's a lot going on throughout Kingdom of Madness, but the music isn't very catchy overall. Not necessarily a bad thing by any means - I don't think they ever intended it to top the charts, but there's something about the nature of this record that makes me bypass it without realising. Like, there's not a lot to complain about, and I really enjoy the songs... but because it isn't you typical Magnum album, it's not one that I listen to very often. Yet when I do, I'm always reminded of how good it is.

Even though this isn't one of my absolute favourite Magnum albums (spoilers - I think a lot of the newest one's are among their finest), I'd still say it's up there as one of the strongest in what is a seriously vast and impressive discography. I wouldn't be surprised if there's a lot of prog fans out there who consider it to be their best of all time. It might not be for me personally, but I still whole-heartedly recommend it. It's just a bit different to their '80s and beyond albums, but don't let that turn you off it.

This album is quite expensive at the moment, at least on CD. Seems rare to find a copy for less than 20 quid. I paid exactly that for mine, and I won it in an eBay auction. The original has a black album cover with what looks like some sort of animals' eye on the cover - I actually like it. But mine is a 1988 reissue from FM-Revolver Records, and the artwork has been updated with amazing Rodney Matthews fantasy art depicting dragon. They'd use Matthews' incredible artwork for at least 75% of their albums, so this version is much better in that respect. 

Adam's rating: 8.4/10  

MAGNUM II          1979          (Castle)

- Standouts:  'Great Adventure', 'Changes', 'If I Could Live Forever', 'Reborn', 'Firebird', 'All of My Life' 

This follow-up is fairly similar musically to it's predecessor, in that it's a tad proggier than normal, and still doesn't quite sound like what they'd do from the '80s onwards. Opening track 'Great Adventure' is full of both acoustic and electric guitars as well as synths, but can still have the odd heavy riff and some vocal arrangements that once again remind me of Queen at times. Simply put, it's a cool song. 'Changes' seems to drop some hints of what the band would become in due time with it's catchy, melodic structures and hooks. But it still has a level of sophistication about it that is so prominent throughout Magnum's discography. It was released as a single, and it baffles me how it didn't chart. Maybe it was ahead of it's time? 'If I Could Live Forever' is superb; it's a really strong ballad with lots of pretty melodies and top-notch Bob Catley vocals, but it also has some bite with it's riffs and soloing. It's like an '80s power ballad (minus the cheesiness) released early.

'Reborn' has a kind of jumpy tempo when it gets going, but the piano-driven verses are also pleasant to my ears. Like the song 'Kingdom of Madness', it also has some flute on it - an instrument we wouldn't really hear much of (if at all) on later releases - and as a whole I think this is one of the proggier tracks on the album. Either that, or I can't identify prog when I hear it. I don't know, I've seen people online describe these first couple of Magnum albums as 'proggy', while others say they're not prog. I don't know. But I do know that I like them! Speaking of which, the heavy riffage in the intro to 'So Cold the Night' is awesome! Some of the synths can be a bit much, but I really dig about 90% of what this tune has to offer. 'Foolish Heart' is a solid pop rocker with tons of melody, while the moody 'Firebird' is a standout tune for me. As is 'All of My Life', which is just a big, pompy epic finale. Big guitars and a singalong chorus, yet the same sophisticated musicianship of the rest of the album... another precursor to what they'd do in the coming years then?

There aren't any proper duffers to speak of here, but the overbearing synth tones on 'The Battle' kind of irritate me if I'm not in the right mood. It's a shame really, because I like everything else about this track. Also, 'Stayin' Alive' (not a Bee Gee's cover!!) is a kind of a mediocre ballad. Bob's vocals are excellent on it, but I've heard songs like this done better by other bands before and after... including Magnum. Another thing I'd like to point out is the unusually lazy album cover. If you ask me, Magnum have some of the best album covers in the rock biz thanks to Rodney Matthews and his fantasy-inspired gallery, but this is just plain lazy. My 1987 Castle CD features the original crappy cover, but the 1989 FM-Revolver version - like my copy of Kingdom of Madness - has Matthews artwork and looks a trillion times better. 

All in all, Magnum II sits alongside Kingdom of Madness rather comfortably. It feels like a nice continuation of it's bigger brother, with more fine musicianship and cool ideas from start to finish. I'd say the production has improved too, with more bass this time around... but if I had to pick one over the other, I'd probably take the debut - only because I think the songs themselves are better and more consistent overall. That said, the highs of Magnum II easily match the highs of it's predecessor, and I still really like this one overall. Of course, these albums failed commercially and the next record, 1982's Chase the Dragon, would be the one where Tony Clarkin really knew what he wanted to do with this band in the long run. At least that's how I feel. Either way, these first 2 discs still qualify as classic Magnum, and deserve every bit as attention as the rest of the discography.

Adam's rating: 8.2/10

MARAUDER          1980         (Castle)

Despite the great songs Magnum II had to offer, it was a commercial failure next to Kingdom of Madness, not selling nearly as many copies. Apparently Jet (the label they were signed to) quickly released this live record, Marauder, in an attempt to boost the band's sales after the flop of the second album. 

Other than 'In the Beginning' and 'Lords of Chaos' from Kingdom of Madness, the remaining 6 tracks here are all taken from Magnum II. I think I might even prefer some of these live versions over the original studio recordings. Tracks like 'The Battle' (which is far more enjoyable here than it was on Magnum II) and 'Foolish Heart' on Marauder are so upbeat and manage to put a smile on my face from the get-go. The performance itself was recorded at the Marquee in London, 1979. The band play these strong early-period songs effortlessly, and this album as a whole is a nice reminder of just how good the band were at the beginning of their recording career. Even though I generally regard 1982's Chase the Dragon as the blueprint album for the band's signature sound, I really like those first couple of Magnum records!! In fact, I just replayed the live version of the elegantly proggy 'In the Beginning' found here for the second time in about 10 minutes while I type this! 'So Cold the Night' has much more balls! Great stuff.

Go on the Wikipedia page and you'll find that Allmusic gave this album 1 star, stating that the sound quality here is poor and the vocals are sometimes prone to feedback issues. Eh?! I can hear every instrument quite clearly throughout the CD, and don't recall there being any issues regarding feedback. Bob Catley sounds fabulous as always, and sonically this album is just fine. The problem with Marauder has nothing to do with the music or audio quality itself, but rather the fact there's only 8 songs in total, with a playtime of just over 35 minutes. Put simply, it's too short!! I can only assume the reasons behind this are due to the fact it was released as an afterthought due to Magnum II's lack of sales, and putting more material on here and releasing it as a double LP back in the day would have cost the label too much money to produce. Of course, the fact it only covers songs from the band's first 2 albums is also a subjective issue; if you're not a fan of those albums, then Marauder probably won't win you over either.

Still, the good news is that there's a 2005 Expanded Edition out there featuring 9 more live tracks (again, all of which are originally from Kingdom of Madness and Magnum II). It seems to be kind of expensive throughout the online marketplace right now, but I'll keep an eye out for a copy to update my old 1987 Castle reissue. 

Adam's rating: 8.2/10

CHASE THE DRAGON         1982         (Castle)

- Standouts: 'Soldier of the Line', 'On the Edge of the World', 'The Spirit', 'Sacred Hour', 'The Teacher'

Magnum are one of those bands that had already been around for a number of years before they achieved any sort of mainstream success, and already had multiple records before the press really took note of them. Just look at those first couple of albums - they're great, yet the debut only made #58 in the UK, while Magnum II didn't chart at all. And even though they did get noticed in the 80's, they never really became huge worldwide. They've certainly kept a large cult following here in the UK however. I saw them in concert a couple of weeks ago at the Birmingham Symphony Hall, which is quite a large venue, and it must have been about 90% full despite being on a weekday. Clearly I like them then, if I recently saw them live. Yeah I do, but it's only been recently that I've began to like them a lot. I remember picking up the 2005 expanded edition of 1985's On a Storyteller's Night (probably their biggest record) as an 18 year old, and aside from a couple of tracks here and there, I simply wasn't diggin' it. Too melodic, too many keyboards (and not in a Deep Purple/Uriah Heep style) etc., and I basically forgot about it for a long time after - so long in fact, that it was only a few months ago that I actually listened to it again in full. Hearing it again in recent times I happened to love it, and it rekindled my interest in Magnum and made me pick up more of their records. Of course, I also caught them live, but it was purely coincidence that they were playing a show local to me a month or so after I started listening to them again.

So, Chase the Dragon was Magnum's third album, and already you're hearing the bulk of the traits that make this band special. Driving hard rock riffs combined with extremely melodic vocal lines and keyboards, memorable hooks as well as the occasional progressive songwriting bits and bobs. 'Soldier of the Line' is an excellent opening number. I can't get enough of Bob Catley's vocals and lyrics during the chorus ("You're in a murderous playground...") - super catchy stuff. But this song is also kinda slow building to begin with, and sets the mood really well. There's even some Iron Maiden-esque guitar harmonies in there. The keyboards and synth usage on this track - and indeed this album in general - are very 80's, that much is true, but it really works for Magnum because it's basically always been a part of their sound. 'On the Edge of the World' is a nice rocker chock-full of solid hard rock riffage, as well as some great, poppy hooks. 'The Spirit' is great too - it manages to blend acoustic, almost baroque-like instrumentation with a heavy, hard rockin' chorus that is reminiscent of Uriah Heep to me. It's cool stuff, definitely one of my favourite songs on this album. 'Sacred Hour' is another classic number, built around a very pretty piano/synth intro, and a powerful, emotional Bob Catley vocal performance.

'Walking the Straight Line' is quite a straightforward rocker next to any of the previous tracks. I do like it, but it's definitely weaker by comparison. It's just sort of lacking in creativity. 'We All Play the Game' is a light number with some almost Queen-like vocal melodies. I really enjoy the majority of this track, but the occasional synth usage can be a little off-putting this time around. It's followed up by 'The Teacher', which is a fun, upbeat kinda boogie rock piece. 'The Lights Burned Out' finishes things off in a slower, spacey, singalong fashion. It has an almost uplifting quality about it.

The first half of this record is fantastic. The second half is good overall, although 'The Teacher' is particularly impressive. All in all, Chase the Dragon is a flawed classic. Guitarist Tony Clarkin is an immensely talented songwriter (he's literally written every song in Magnum's massive discography save for a few tracks on Goodnight L.A., if I'm not mistaken), and Bob Catley is honestly one of rock's most underrated singers... but even so, not every song on here is outstanding - three are bordering on filler, but enjoyable overall. Still, great album. And great cover art! Seriously, you've gotta love all that Rodney Matthews fantasy artwork on all these Magnum records!

Adam's rating: 8.4/10

THE ELEVENTH HOUR          1983          (Castle)

- Standouts: 'The Prize', 'Breakdown', 'Vicious Companions', 'One Night of Passion', 'Young and Precious Souls'

This album begins with 'The Prize', which is actually quite a hooky pop rocker. Chase the Dragon obviously starts with the epic 'Soldier of the Line' - The Eleventh Hour on the other hand, jumps right in with this catchy little tune. The pianos in 'Breakdown' give it a medieval/baroque aura, much like 'The Spirit' from the predecessor. Tony Clarkin adds some distorted guitars throughout this track, to give it a rocky edge. Nice song. 'The Great Disaster' is a heavy, riff-focused rocker, and the pianos give it more melody. The brief acoustic break in the middle keeps it interesting. 'Vicious Companions' is great - it's full of great guitar work and synthy elements, and is poppy enough to be catchy and memorable, but still heavy and complex enough to please the serious rock fans. Same can be said for 'So Far Away', which comes with a strange little moody break in the middle. 'Hit and Run' is built around some simple heavy chord riffs, and is a good, melodic hard rock track with definite radio potential.

'One Night of Passion' has some surprisingly soulful keyboard work all over it, and the guitar solo to me has some funk-like techniques in it. Probably one of my favourite songs on this record, actually. 'The Word' is a full-on pop, piano-driven ballad. Meh, not too fussed about this one, but Bob Catley definitely has the pipes for it. This is followed-up by 'Young and Precious Souls', a much faster and more upbeat melodic track.  Quite a feel-good tune if you ask me. The last number, 'Road to Paradise' has some nice proggy acoustic and electric guitar usage, as well as some decent hooks - but it's over too soon with it's short three and a half minute track length. Shame. 

To me, this album feels as if the band were trying to keep things more simple overall - at least compared to Chase the Dragon that is. And it's certainly different musically to the first couple of records (and not as good as them if you ask me). Not a single track on here reaches five minutes in length, which is rare for this band. I do find this album to be more consistent overall, but none of the songs on Eleventh Hour really stand out as all-time Magnum classics to me. Some had the potential to be superb - like, all the ingredients are there alright, but the songwriting is just a little unambitious this time around. Still, like I said, it is consistent for sure, and mostly enjoyable from start to finish.

Adam's rating: 7.3/10

ON A STORYTELLER'S NIGHT         1985          (Castle)

- Standouts: 'How Far Jerusalem', 'Just Like an Arrow', 'On a Storyteller's Night', 'Les Morts Dansant', 'Before First Light', 'Two Hearts', 'Steal Your Heart', 'All England's Eyes'

As I said in my Chase the Dragon review, this was the first Magnum album I owned, and aside from the odd song, riff or melody here and there, I wasn't getting into it regardless of how much I tried. I bought it when I was 18, and from ages 17 to maybe 21 was peak 'death metal phase' for me. I mean, I still loved all the classic rock, traditional metal and thrash stuff that I grew up with, but whenever I was purposely seeking out new music I hadn't heard before, it was almost always stupidly heavy death metal. That was just my thing at the time. So right now I'm trying to figure out in my head what it was that made me pick up On a Storyteller's Night? All I can think of is the absolutely brilliant Rodney Matthews album artwork, and the striking band logo. Like, how could this not be great? Well, turns out it is great, as are Magnum in general. It's just a shame I listened to this maybe five times and never returned to it fully until I was 29 fucking years old!! I've come full circle - I turned 30 the other day, and these days I have to be in a particular mood to listen to death metal, which isn't very often. I'd now much rather chill out with a bit of Magnum most days. 

Right, well then, this album is often considered to be Magnum's, uh, magnum opus (sorry not sorry). It's easy to see why. Like I stated, I listened to this in full for the first time since I was 18 a couple of months ago in the gym, and I loved it. It doesn't surprise me that this is often many fans' favourite release from the band. It starts off with 'How Far Jerusalem', a song that contains everything you'd ever want from Magnum. Big, soaring melodic vocals and keyboard melodies, along with some heavy riffage and progressive songwriting tendencies. A wonderful way to kick this record off, and 'Just Like an Arrow' is the best pop rocker I've ever heard from them - it's the kind of song I can just stick on repeat and listen to over and over. The riffs, the structure, the chorus... it's all insanely memorable, highly catchy stuff. The title track is a slow-building, atmospheric number, but features a fantastic arena rock kind of chorus ("Keep your night light burnin'...") that really sticks with you. It's a live favourite for a reason. 

'Before First Light' is driven by some simple hard rock riffage, topped off a nice melodic atmosphere. 'Two Hearts' has a chugging rhythm, and to me is something of a deep cut. Same can be said for 'Steal Your Heart', which is more upbeat and fun overall, and features some great, Def Leppard-ish guitar riffs and lead parts. All Magnum fans presumably consider 'All England's Eyes' to be a classic. With that great, singalong-y chorus, how can it not be?

This album contains what is by far my favourite Magnum tune - 'Les Morts Dansant'. This is an absolutely epic, soulful ballad with brilliant lyrics about a soldier in World War I, executed by firing squad for 'cowardice'. In reality, the man is shell-shocked and his condition is misjudged as cowardly. I love lyrics about military history (unless it's that idiot out of Sabaton singing them of course, bleh). Musically, the first half of this track is very mellow and atmospheric, but it builds up to a masterful climax with such a powerful chorus. The added bell chimes at the end are great too. In general, this song has been a favourite of mine recently. But in terms of any gripes, well, I do think 'Endless Love' is decent overall - but I'm not such a fan of the synth tone that occasionally plays. I mean, this album sounds like an 80's album so of course it doesn't sound fresh per say, but that synth lets this track down slightly for me. Still, the hooks are good. 'The Last Dance' is not really a favourite either. It's a pretty piano ballad, with a great vocal performance from Catley, but is just too soft for my tastes. And let's be honest, if you have a problem with certain mainstream 80's rock traits in general, you're probably not going to enjoy On a Storyteller's Night. I will say that in terms of production however, everything still sounds natural here - you aren't getting any of those horrible, processed or high-reverb drum sounds that sound as if a computer was used instead of an actual drummer. The guitar tones are heavy, and the keyboards really add to the atmosphere.

So, excellent album then. It's a go-to record for me when I want something with an arena/hard rock feel with poppy yet proggy sensibilities. I just feel that Magnum do it better for me than other arena rock bands from the same era, and I think that's because Tony Clarkin knows how to write a catchy pop rock hook, but still manages to fit them within a more intelligent and proggy setting. It sets Magnum apart from bands like Journey or late-80's Whitesnake for example, in that Magnum are still a band largely followed by die-hard rock fans, unlike Journey who appealed to casual pop fans and rock fans alike. This is personally my favourite Magnum album, out of the one's I actually have in my collection at least. 

Adam's rating: 9.1/10

VIGILANTE          1986          (Polydor)

- Standouts: 'Lonely Night', 'Red On the Highway', 'Holy Rider', 'When the World Comes Down', 'Vigilante', 'Back Street Kid'

There's a definite focus on production this time, Vigilante has a very polished sound compared to the previous stuff. In fact, Queen drummer Roger Taylor helped produce it. Like On a Storyteller's Night, it charted just as well in the UK and slightly better in Europe as a whole, so maybe they were attempting to appeal to a wider audience. Meh, still sounds like Magnum to me, which is a good thing! Opener 'Lonely Night' is a very listenable pop rock ditty. Not as good as 'Just Like an Arrow' from the previous record, but very good still. 'Need a Lot of Love' is a slower, moodier number, but again, is very pleasant to listen to. 'Sometime Love' is good too - ever-so-slightly slightly harder-edged and faster-paced, but still hooky enough to be catchy. I think 'Red On the Highway' is pretty damn good; it's a well-written 80's hard rock song, good driving music. Maybe a little American-sounding, but not in a bad way.

'Holy Rider' sounds more in-line with the previous records, musically. Obviously the shinier production sets it apart, but I could imagine this track fitting on the last few records thanks to it's more progressive nature. The ballad 'When the World Comes Down' is atmospheric, and kind of smooth all the same. I was tappin' my foot to 'Back Street Kid' as well. Ticks the boxes you'd want to be ticked for this band. To be honest, the majority of this record is good stuff, but practically all these tracks - as good as they are - are overshadowed by the title track, which is easily one of the best Magnum tunes of all time. The guitar work is superb, the bridge section, chorus, vocal arrangements... this song is 80's rock at it's finest.

I will say that this record is lacking a little in the prog department, save for tracks like 'Vigilante' and 'Holy Rider'. I mean, these guys were never a fully-fledged prog rock band (except for maybe on their 1978 debut album, which I don't yet own a copy of...) but there's a noticeable lack of creativity overall with this album. Thing is, as a poppy AOR rock album with hard rock touches, I find Vigilante to be rather strong overall... so part of me can overlook the fact there's a little less nerdy, pompous songwriting elements than usual. Also, the saxophone in 'Midnight (You Won't Be Sleeping)' kind of ruins it for me. Saxophones only work under very specific circumstances for me, and even then, I can't actually explain when they do actually fit in for my tastes. Nope, I can't even come up with one reason when I actively want to hear a sax in a rock song. Erm... Neil Young's 'Crime in the City (Sixty to Zero Part I)' - there's an example of a rock song with some sax in it that I actually like!

Overall then, I actually think that many of the obvious mainstream traits on here work in the band's favour. I will say that I'm glad they never used this album's sound as a benchmark for every future record, but the point is, this is a more radio-friendly Magnum that doesn't stray too far away from what made albums such as Chase the Dragon and On a Storyteller's Night great in the first place. Vigilante ain't the best Magnum album I've ever heard, but is still very good at what it sets out to be to be, if that makes any sense. It's well worth checking out if you're new to this band.

Adam's rating: 7.9/10

WINGS OF HEAVEN         1988          (Polydor)

- Standouts: 'Days of No Trust', 'Wild Swan', 'One Step Away', 'It Must Have Been Love', 'Different Worlds', 'Don't Wake the Lion (Too Old to Die Young)'

Wings of Heaven is Magnum's highest-charting album, getting them number five in the UK. Like Vigilante, the music here is still slightly more radio-friendly, with glossier production than their earlier efforts. Also like Vigilante, it still sounds like Magnum, which is obviously what you want. The opening 'Days of No Trust' is classic stuff; a big, shiny, catchy arena rocker that immediately grabs my attention. 'Wild Swan' contains some metallic riffs along with the melodic rock rhythms that you've come to expect from this band. This track has it's own moments of prog, with the dramatic break in the middle. 'Start Talking Love' is a solid pop rock number - not one of their best in my opinion, but certainly the kind of thing that radio stations would've wanted to play in those days. I'd argue that 'It Must Have Been Love' is stronger in this sense. 'One Step Away' is really good though, this is pure Magnum.

I got nothin' to really complain about when talking about 'Different Worlds'. Again, sounds like Magnum to me with more polish. 'Pray for the Day' is another nice and straightforward pop rocker. To contrast the rest of the music, the concluding ten and a half minute 'Don't Wake the Lion (Too Old to Die Young)' is one of the proggiest epics from this band. It's an anti-war song with tons of atmosphere, big heavy singalong parts, enjoyable instrumental pieces... the works, really. I think when you listen to this record - particularly a song like 'Start Talking Love' - it makes you wonder why Magnum weren't huge in the 80's. Sure, this album sold well and they've always had a cult fanbase, but they weren't ever reaching stadium-level status in the live setting. To be fair, many of the biggest rock bands in the 80's were wearing makeup, hairspray and spandex, and generally looking ridiculous. Magnum didn't, nor were they exactly the best-looking bunch of blokes. Honestly, the band photos from this period look like they've come straight out of the 70's. I doubt this was the primary reason for the band not achieving super-levels of success, but sure it had to be part of the reason why?! One other thing I want to mention is the fact that only half this album is available on Spotify, despite all tracks being visible. Why? Fuck knows.

This is essentially a continuation of Vigilante, to me at least. But Wings of Heaven does things slightly better overall, so for that reason it comes highly recommended.
Adam's rating: 8/10

GOODNIGHT L.A.          1990          (Polydor)

- Standouts: 'Rockin' Chair', 'Mama', 'Reckless Man', 'A Matter of Survival', 'Heartbroke and Busted'

Magnum never achieved the success they deserved in the States, but then again, imagine if they had? Everything from this album onwards could've quite possibly sounded the same! Yep, Goodnight L.A. is an obvious attempt at trying to break America, hot on the heels of the success that Wings of Heaven brought them. The irony is that despite Goodnight L.A. again charting well in Europe (#9 in the UK, #7 in Sweden), it still failed to chart in America!! The band even went out of their way to record it in Los Angeles with well-known producer Keith Olsen, erm, producing them. Hell, this has to be the only Magnum album with any songwriting credits beyond Tony Clarkin!! Yeah, Tony even recruited Russ Ballad to help write the songs 'Rockin' Chair', 'Matter of Survival' and 'No Way Out', Jim Vallance for 'What Kind of Love Is This?' and Sue Shiffron for 'Cry for You'. You can really feel their desperation to break the US when you look at all these ingredients!

Vigilante and Wings of Heaven were more commercial-sounding than ever, that much is true, but they still had that essential Magnum mysticism and, well, Englishness about them - if that makes any sense. In short, they sounded like more polished versions of albums such as On a Storyteller's Night and The Eleventh Hour. Goodnight L.A. however, is lacking that special spark in my opinion. It's a much more straightforward-sounding, shiny AOR record by comparison, with crystal-clear production. Musically, I just don't get the instantly recognisable Clarkin songwriting traits that I did with past records. If Bob Catley wasn't singing on this thing, you'd have to really know your Magnum to realise that Clarkin had anything to do with any of these tracks!

The fact of the matter is though, Goodnight L.A. is actually a good album, even if it's not a particularly good Magnum album! Tony is that good at writing hooks, and let's be honest, how many great songs has Russ Ballad written? Hint - it's a lot! As soon as 'Rockin' Chair' kicks in with it's up-tempo, rockin' feels I'm immediately drawn into the album. Other rockers such as the mid-tempo 'Mama' and the stadium-worthy 'Reckless Man' are enjoyable enough too. And the ballads are solid, even if they're not as creative as previous epics. 'Matter of Survival' or 'Shoot' would never have sounded right on an album such as On a Storyteller's Night, nor do they stack up to the masterpiece ballad that is 'Les Morts Dansant' - but it's still as good as what any other AOR band was doing at the time. Also, 'Heartbroke and Busted' really does have me tappin' my foot along and joining in on the massive chorus! Yeah, none of these songs are great as such (I'll admit I don't particularly enjoy 'No Way Out'...), but musically they tick every box in terms of what the band was at least trying to achieve around this time. Speaking of which...

...considering this album came out in 1990, I think Magnum came in too late to make a mark in the US. This kind of glossy stadium rock was already on the verge of becoming yesterday's news by the '90s... maybe if they'd released Wings of Heaven in 1986 and Goodnight L.A. in 1988 it'd have done better? We'll never know. Pete Pardo and Steven Reid also made a good point on the Sea of Tranquility YouTube channel - the guys in Magnum were probably too old and unattractive for the '80s American market! It didn't matter how good you were back then, image was a big deal. I'll give Magnum a pass though. A lot of British bands tried to break the States and failed. But Clarkin was such a talented songwriter that he still managed to do a decent job in creating a poppy and radio-friendly, melodic anthemic rock record. And Catley is just a fantastic vocalist regardless of what he's actually singing. This album deserved to be big in America, but it wasn't. And that's a good thing, because us Brits got to keep 'em for ourselves!! Ha!! Wings of Heaven was glossy Magnum - but it was still undeniably a Magnum record through-and-through. Goodnight L.A. is Magnum doing glossy '80s pop rock, American-style. And really not badly at all. Take it for what it is.

This disc was out of print for a long time, but was reissued in 2023 by Universal Music - so that's the version I have.

Adam's rating: 7/10 

SLEEPWALKING          1992         (Music for Nations)

- Standout: 'Too Much to Ask', 'You're the One', 'The Flood', 'Only in America', 'Sleepwalking'

1992's Sleepwalking is probably one of the more mellow one's overall in the discography, probably more-so than Goodnight L.A.. It was however, produced solely by Tony Clarkin for the first time since The Eleventh Hour, and as a result sounds like a genuine Magnum album (unlike it's predecessor). It starts off with the slow and soulful 'Stormy Weather' - not the most exciting note to kick things off on, but it's a nice and floaty song with a noticeable atmosphere. 'Too Much to Ask' does crank up the tempo a little by comparison, and is a bit rockier overall. There's some proper riffage here, but labelling it one of Magnum's more rockin' tunes probably wouldn't be right. It has more of an arena rock feel, and that's fine with me. As for 'You're the One', this is a catchy little pop rock number that surprisingly wasn't released as a single. In my opinion, it should have been. There's also a strong ballad to be found in 'The Flood'; great lyrics on this track, with Bob Catley really putting in the emotion. It doesn't reach 'Les Morts Dansant' greatness, but I like it a lot. 

'Just One More Heartbreak' is another decent anthemic rocker, and helps to keep the flow of the record nice and interesting. Although I think 'You're the One' should've been this album's single, the actual single in question 'Only in America' is still a cool song despite sounding horribly dated. It has some groove to it, and an almost fun kind of vibe overall. It shows off the band's diversity and Tony Clarkin's talents as a songwriter not afraid to stir things up a little every now and then. The title track is a standout too, it's a catchy pop rocker with some nice melodies and a memorable chorus. 'The Long Ride' closes this album on a high note too - a big, moody, near-7 minute number that's dripping with atmosphere.

I could maybe do without 'Broken Wheel', but that might just be because it's an uber-smooth rock ballad that comes straight after another ('The Flood'). It's really not a bad song at all, it just feels a little dime-a-dozen musically. Also... mehhhhh, the sax on 'Every Woman, Every Man' is a bit much for me. I like most aspects of this track, but the saxophone parts really put it on the fence for me. And while the actual music on 'Prayer for a Stranger' is very good, Bob kinda ruins it for me with his silly "do doo do doo d-do-do-d doo" vocal melody!! The production on this album sounds a bit dated by '90s standards; it's full of reverb and smooth tones, but it's still not as slick as Goodnight L.A.. In short, it sounds more like it was recorded in the '80s. The production is part of the reason why Sleepwalking sounds more like a Magnum album than it's predecessor, so really it ends up being a good thing overall. 

Another good CD then... unsurprisingly. I like this more than Goodnight L.A. because it sounds more like a legit Magnum album of course, but as far as their poppier arena rock albums go, Vigilante and Wings of Heaven are still better. That said, songs like 'The Flood', 'Sleepwalking' and 'You're the One' are really great tracks that make Sleepwalking another disc that every fan should track down for themselves. I don't think casual listeners should go out of their way to buy this one, as there's a whole host of better Magnum albums out there, but it's still an entertaining soft/arena rock romp to sit through. It also sports one of the best Rodney Matthews album covers; it's full of references to their past albums and simply put, is cool as fuck.

Adam's rating: 7.2/10

KEEPING THE NITE LIGHT BURNING          1993         (Receiver Records)

- Standouts: 'Need a Lot of Love', 'Shoot', 'Soldier of the Line'

Well, a bit of patience can pay off! This CD is one of the rarer ones in the Magnum discography, and prices can be a bit steep. Thankfully I eventually found a UK seller on Discogs selling a used copy for £10, plus £2 postage. I was happy to pay up at that price. As for this disc's contents, well, it's an acoustic album. The band revisit songs from throughout their career, and, erm, acoustic-ize them! This was by no means a priority purchase; I wasn't expecting too much from it, but Magnum make these acoustic renditions work very well. They're not completely stripped-down, acoustic guitar-only kind of tracks - the entire band still play on the album, and the arrangements are still deep and creative. The version of 'Soldier of the Line' has a completely different feel and atmosphere, but is still very good in it's own right. I might even prefer this acoustic edition of Goodnight L.A.'s 'Shoot'. 'Need a Lot of Love' even has a reggae feel now, and it's kinda cool. In fact, much of the music here is very pretty and majestic, and I just think Tony Clarkin and the boys were such good musicians that they can play these songs any way they like and make them sound good.

That said, I can't exactly call Keeping the Nite Light Burning essential Magnum. It's most definitely a fan-orientated record, and depending on who you ask, it's not always even considered to be one of their main studio albums. As it stands however, I like it. I can't see myself listening to it all that often when looking at the discography as a whole, but the songs have been executed very well and the whole CD is relaxing to listen to from start to finish. Not something I'd wanna listen to all that often, but there's nothing really wrong with it either. I'd only recommend serious fans track it down right now, because of it's rarity. If it gets reissued in the future sometime, then I could recommend it much more easily.

Adam's rating: 7/10

ROCK ART          1994          (EMI)

- Standouts: 'We All Need to Be Loved', 'Hard Hearted Woman', 'Rock Heavy', 'Tall Ships', 'Tell Tale Eyes', 'On Christmas Day'

This was the last Magnum album to be released before their breakup in 1995. Tony Clarkin was, at this point, just not feeling it creatively anymore, and decided to form the band Hard Rain with Bob Catley instead - putting Magnum on hold until the reformation in 2001. Some fans reckon that you can hear the tensions within the band on Rock Art, but I'm not so sure. Unlike records such as Goodnight L.A., this album feels more like a 'true' Magnum effort once again to me. The only difference is that a lot of the pompy '80s sounds have been replaced with slightly gritter '90s tones now thanks to the production. To say the band were following '90s musical trends here however, certainly isn't true. 

I can hear it from the start with the anthemic 'We All Need to Be Loved', and the surprisingly fun, upbeat heavy rocker 'Hard Hearted Woman'. In fact, 'Hard Hearted Woman' grooves along in an almost Led Zeppelin-esque manner - it's really great. The piano ballad, 'Back in Your Arms Again' is a pretty one too. Not one of the greatest Magnum ballads by any means, but it does it's job quite nicely here. One of the more experimental numbers on this album is 'Rock Heavy'. This track has some reggae-like (!) guitar licks and kind of bobs along in a raggae-rock kind of manner - sorta like what the Police were doing in the late '70s. It's oddly catchy and I like it. One of the best and most Magnum-y tracks here is 'Tall Ships'. There's something really light and floaty about this soft rock piece. The chorus is more uplifting and borderline stadium rock-ish, either way it's classic Magnum if you ask me. 

Things get more upbeat once again with the fast rock n' roller 'Tell Tale Eyes', another rock-solid and riff-heavy track that shows the band can be fun when they want to. Clarkin's guitar licks and riffs on 'Just This Side of Heaven' are nice and varied, and this song brings good old-fashioned arena rock to the grungy, stripped-down '90s rock scene. The acoustic guitar/piano-driven 'I Will Decide Myself' is another enjoyable romp, and the finale 'On Christmas Day' is a huge 7 minute rock piece about the Christmas truce of 1914, during the First World War. It might be the best track on the album actually. Bob Catley's vocals are excellent, and the whole song has a very epic arena feel about it. And thankfully, it's a song I feel like you could listen to anytime of the year - not just December!

In terms of the bad stuff... well, like most of their records there isn't really anything totally sucky to be found here. I will say that I'm not too fond of the ballad 'Love's a Stranger'. It's pretty solid once the bridge and chorus come by, but the mellower keyboard parts are a little too '90s-sounding, and not in a good way. I could really do without that flute/woodwind solo too! 'Hush-A-Bye Baby' doesn't do a lot for me either. Bob Catley's singalong chorus is nice and again, it's really not terrible by any stretch of the imagination. But the fact it plods along directly after the equally slow 'Love's a Stranger' just means the pacing feels off around this point in the tracklisting.

At first I was tempted to give this an 8/10 because there's a lot of very good songs on this record. The trouble is, none of them are really excellent even if they're mostly strong. I also think the first half is noticeably stronger than the second, even if there's plenty of good songs throughout. The songs that rock on this album, rock harder than a lot of the other records. I think most Magnum albums have some sort of unique feature to separate them from one another, and Rock Art is a bit more guitar riff-focused in general, although it still has it's mellow ballads too. It's not one of their best records, but the weakest Magnum albums are still worth owning - so that really tells you something about the consistency of this catalogue.

Adam's rating: 7.4/10

BREATH OF LIFE          2002          (SPV)

- Standouts: 'Cry', 'This Heart', 'That Holy Touch', 'Night After Night'

Breath of Life was the first Magnum album post-reformation after the Hard Rain project, and aside from the unusually terrible album artwork, more-or-less all the essential ingredients are once again back in place on this record. It's like they never went away. Back to that album cover though (just briefly!), the normally incredible Rodney Matthews artwork has been replaced by some ugly, lifeless CGI bullshit. Magnum have at least 3 different iconic logos for the band name too, all of which are brilliant. On Breath of Life however, it's been replaced by what looks like fucking Comic Sans font!!

Fortunately, the music is a different story. It starts off rather nicely thanks to the big, dramatic arena rock of 'Cry', and then leading into the moodier hard rocker 'This Heart'. Hard rock though it may be, it has plenty of hooks and melodies as you've come to expect from Magnum. 'Everyday' has a ballad-like chorus going for it, but I wouldn't necessarily describe the song as purely a ballad. Nope, it's just Magnum doing their thing in a, erm, Magnum-y way I guess! 'Dream About You' is quite obviously a soft rock ballad, and a good one at that. It's could have easily been lifted straight 'outta the '80s.

The slow-building title track has lots of little poppy melodies throughout, and they stick in my head. There's another soft rock, piano-touched piece with 'After the Rain'. 'That Holy Touch' is a bit more rockin', with some nice grooves in the riffs. A bit of riffage was necessary at this point within the tracklisting. The same can be said for 'The Face of an Enemy', which is more of a nice and simple rocker found towards the back end of the record. The closing 'Night After Night' is something of an epic with it's near-8 minute playtime, it's big soaring vocal passages and proggy structure. It's one of the best tracks on the album.

This album isn't perfect. I don't really enjoy the piano parts of 'Still' all that much, although I'm quite fond of it's uplifting chorus. I don't care much for the ballad 'Let Somebody In' either. Once again, there's plenty of other better ballads throughout the catalogue - and even on this same album - to choose from. And there's nothing on here that I'd really label 'classic' Magnum. True, there's no duffers to be found either, but I can't call Breath of Life a go-to album in their catalogue. At least for me anyway. The thing about this band is, they have soo many albums at this point in time, and pretty much all of them are good - 7/10s at the very least. If you like Magnum, then you should check them all out at one point or another... HOWEVER - I do think that some people would be better off just seeking out the 8/10 and above records. There's plenty of those to go around after all, and while the 7/10 stuff is still well worth a listen, I wouldn't call them essential.

So yeah... another solid effort right here. Breath of Life is maybe a bit mellower and understated than usual, and makes for perfect background music when chilling at home. It's a pleasant listen overall. That said, it's not one I'd listen to on a road trip, or in the gym - especially compared to many of their other records. It's a bit more ballad-focused overall, and I think Sleepwalking does things a bit better as far as their more mellow albums go. Still, what this album did do was re-establish Magnum as one of the premier melodic rock acts after their 6-year break.

Adam's rating: 7/10

BRAND NEW MORNING         2004          (SPV)

- Standouts: 'Brand New Morning', 'It's Time to Come Together', 'We All Run', 'I'd Breathe for You', 'The Last Goodbye', 'Immigrant Son', 'The Scarecrow'

The album cover's better this time around, but it's still lacking any of Rodney's colourful fantasy goodness as well as any of the band's classic logos. More important though is the music, which is again mostly better here than what Breath of Life had to offer. Brand New Morning's opening title track is already better than anything from the predecessor; it's a chunky anthem with all the atmospheric keyboards you could ever want, heavy riffs and a fantastic Bob Catley chorus. An excellent way to begin the album. Also excellent is 'It's Time to Come Together', which is an uplifting number that is classic Magnum in every sense of the word. Big singalong chorus, big riffs, fine keyboard/piano work... just a great rock song. 'We All Run' is powerful too, with apocalyptic-themed lyrical matter and lots of melodic instrumentation as you'd expect from this band. I don't quite enjoy 'The Blue and the Grey' like I do the first 3 tracks, but it's still a mellow, pretty ballad.

'I'd Breathe for You' is more guitar-driven and blends the distorted guitars with spacey keyboards nicely. Yeah, this is probably one of the better songs on the album if you ask me. 'The Last Goodbye' feels like it's gonna be a ballad with it's piano intro, but in reality is just another fine slice of dramatic Magnum-style melodic rock. To counter this, 'Immigrant Son' has more grunt and is much more hard rock than it is melodic/AOR. Good stuff. 'Hard Road' is another grittier number that nicely bridges the gap before the album's climax - the slow-building epic 'Scarecrow', which (if I'm not mistaken) is the second longest track they ever recorded behind 'Don't Wake the Lion' from Wings of Heaven. It reaches almost 10 minutes in length, but it's infectious rhythm makes it fly-by for me.

I didn't really have a lot to say about this entry, but I'll summarise and say that Brand New Morning is decent from start to finish. I wasn't sure if I was being too generous by dishing out an 8/10, but at least half of this record is excellent, and the rest is all very good. The production is rich and everything is audible, and the only complaint I really have is that there's other Magnum albums better than this one. Nothing on here blows me away, but it's a top-notch melodic rock record - and that's all it needs to be. I think the band really got their mojo back at this point. I mean, there is no such thing as a bad Magnum album, but many of their releases from this point onward are among my favourites. 

Adam's rating: 8/10

PRINCESS ALICE AND THE BROKEN ARROW         2007          (SPV)

- Standouts: 'When We Were Younger', 'Eyes Wide Open', 'Like Brothers We Stand', 'Out of the Shadows', 'Dragons Are Real', 'Be Strong', 'Thank You for the Day', 'Desperate Times'

I must admit, I'm missing a ton of material released between Wings of Heaven and this, 2007's Princess Alice and the Broken Arrow - at least five or six albums. But honestly, hearing this album directly after Wings of Heaven, there wasn't any song or particular moment that stood out as new or unusual for Magnum. Yep, Princess Alice is most definitely Magnum alright! Okay, maybe they've gotten a little proggier over time again, moving away from the more mainstream direction of Vigilante or Wings, but progginess was always a trait typical of this band anyway. Speaking of prog, this record begins with the lengthy, majestic 'When We Were Younger'. Hearing this excellent track for the first time immediately sets the mood for the rest of the album. 'Eyes Wide Open' is driven around hard rock guitar riffs and leads, and the added keyboard harmonies give it a much more melodic flavour, how it should be. I think 'Like Brothers We Stand' blends the melodic, proggy touches of Magnum with some poppy rock rhythms and vocal hooks with ease. To counterbalance the more gentle 'Like Brothers We Stand' is the hard-edged 'Out of the Shadows'. This is the harder rockin' side of Magnum at their best. Heavy Clarkin riffs topped off with all the melodic touches you could ever want.

'Dragons Are Real' has a very simple, catchy hook that the band write the rest of the music around, and as a result, this is the kind of AOR rocker that could go on forever and not get dull. You're getting a solid piano-focused ballad with 'Inside Your Head', it might not one of my favourite tracks on here, but is still enjoyable. I do like how it moves out of ballad territory near the middle and features it's own little moments of prog. Again, to keep things fresh, 'Be Strong' is heavier and more upbeat than the previous track. The verses have this oddly funk-tinged bass lines, which is cool and actually works very well in the song's favour. 'Thank You for the Day' is a thoughtful pop rock ballad while 'Your Lies' is a nice and straightforward rocker to digest. The final two tracks, 'Desperate Times' and 'You'll Never Sleep' continue this record's consistently strong track record. The former has some nice soft rock touches as well as big arena-style choruses and guitar parts. The latter is another decent melodic rocker.

It was quite difficult for me to arrive at a score for Princess Alice and the Broken Arrow. At first I was tempted to give it a 9/10, but I feel that's too generous. The album's really strong from start to finish, and very enjoyable as an overall experience. But individually, save for a handful of tracks, the songs probably aren't one's that I would stick in a random rock playlist. And the second half of the record is ever-so-slightly weaker than the first. But even so, this is an incredibly solid Magnum album with only minor faults of it's own. I was surprised to find out that I actually enjoyed it more than I did the majority of their 80's works. And of course, the Rodney Matthews artwork is once again a masterpiece.

Edit: this review was written sometime before I got hold of all the Magnum albums, hence what I said at the beginning.

Adam's rating: 8.7/10

INTO THE VALLEY OF THE MOONKING          2009          (SPV)

 - Standouts: 'Cry to Yourself', 'All My Bridges', 'Take Me to the Edge', 'The Moonking', 'Blood on Your Barbed Wire Thorns'

Don't really have anything to say introduction-wise regarding this record, so let's just jump straight in shall we? 

Into the Valley of the Moonking - Magnum's fifteenth studio album - begins with a radio-friendly rocker, 'Cry to Yourself'. A nice little tune with some fine pop sensibilities if you ask me. 'All My Bridges' sounds like classic Magnum to me, only with a much more refined, crisp production job. So, two nice and melodic soft rock pieces to begin with then, and after those tracks we get 'Take Me to the Edge'. This number has plenty of heavy, meaty rock riffage throughout, as well as some tuneful melodies in the verses. Great stuff. 'The Moonking' is a lengthier, proggier track with a ballady kind of aura. Again, another powerful song. 'No One Knows His Name' is a slower number that builds up to a big, dramatic chorus. I like the poppy hooks of 'A Face in the Crowd'. This one's too long at six and half minutes given it has no real proggy qualities, but it's a nice song either way. 'Feels Like Treason' is the shortest number, but it's upbeat and breaks up the tedium of the album quite nicely. At this point in the album, a song like this was needed. The final track, 'Blood on Your Barbed Wire Thorns' has an oddly AC/DC-like rockin' quality about it. This is 100% down to Clarkin's riffs, and weirdly I think it actually works well. It's one of the more memorable songs on this album, and considering Magnum aren't really what you'd call a 'fun' band, it's actually a welcome change of pace.

'In My Mind's Eye' is a bit generic by the band's standards. The chords and overall structure of this track is a bit dull compared to the rest of the album, and sounds like anyone could have written it. But it is still kind of easy to listen to, so that's okay I guess. 'Time to Cross That River' is kind of a faceless ballad too. Again, not awful by any stretch of the imagination, just slightly boring to sit through. And I have no idea why crowd sounds were added - they don't make this track any more exciting for me. 'If I Ever Lose My Mind' - not a lot to say about this one, it's just Magnum doing what they do - decent enough, but not great or anything. And although most of the songs on this album are very solid for the most part, I just don't get as much enjoyment out of Into the Valley of the Moonking like I do it's predecessor, Princess Alice and the Broken Arrow. The tracks just aren't as diverse or memorable overall, and the album doesn't flow in the same way - it's very slow-moving for the majority of the runtime and could have been cut short by a song or two in my opinion. When you look at every album that comes after this one however, a slight misstep is completely forgivable. 

When all is said and done however, Into the Valley of the Moonking is yet another competent addition to the frankly massive Magnum discography. Magnum kind of remind me of Saxon. Not musically of course, but in terms of their work ethic. Both bands have been around forever, consistently deliver new music every two to three years, tour regularly and have rabid UK fanbases. Oh, and both bands are releasing what is arguably some of their best music ever in the later stages of their careers. You have to give Magnum props for that.

Adam's rating: 7.2/10

THE VISITATION          2011          (SPV)

- Standouts: 'Black Skies', 'Doors to Nowhere', 'The Visitation', 'Freedom Day', 'Mother Nature's Final Dance', 'Midnight Kings'

The Visitation begins with some heavy guitar riffage on 'Black Skies', before transitioning into their trademark melodic sound in the verses. This track blends classic Magnum with more modern-sounding heavy elements throughout, and it's a very solid start for this record. 'Doors to Nowhere' mixes ballad-like verses with a heavy rock chorus. Again, pure Magnum. The title track features more metallic guitar riffing, as well as some slower, bassy rhythms with extra electronic overtones to add more depth to the music. This is another very strong cut within the record. 'Wild Angels' has a warmer feel than the last bunch of tracks, and 'Spin Like a Wheel', although a tad too long, is another solid melodic rocker with enough proggy touches to keep things interesting. 'Freedom Day' is also very good, with a notable lead guitar intro and slow, moody verses that build up to dramatic transitions. The poppiest number would be 'Mother Nature's Final Dance', which is probably the most memorable on here in terms of hooks. By comparison, 'Midnight Kings' kicks off with some really heavy, groovy, Led Zeppelin-esque riffs. 'Course, this track still has plenty of melodic segments too, and it's one of my favourites from this album.

In terms of downsides, 'The Last Frontier' is a classical-tinged ballad, and it's actually kinda boring and tired compared to the rest of these songs. Closer 'Tonight's the Night' (not a Neil Young cover...) is okay too, but definitely fits in the 'been there, done that' category. And the weird acapella vocal bit in the middle sounds out of place, but it doesn't last long enough to completely butcher this track. Like the previous album, it's also more of a 'complete experience' sort of record, in that I enjoy listening to this thing in full, but it's not an album I ever really feel the urge to hear individual tracks from. On the plus side, there's not a lot to say in terms of production when discussing these twenty-first century Magnum CD's. I mean, it was certainly worth mentioning the production on some of their earlier efforts such as Vigilante, but these newer releases are hard to fault as far sound quality/listening enjoyment goes. 

I enjoyed this album a fair bit more than I did Into the Valley of the Moonking. It's not quite great, but it is certainly very, very good. To be honest, Magnum are a band that are consistently strong, but some of their records are just better than others for me. The Visitation doesn't really do anything differently to any of their other albums post-Breath of Life or Brand New Morning, but that's more than okay with me. It probably ain't gonna win over any new fans, but it will please existing ones. They've crafted a formula that works for them, and they aren't gonna mix things up anytime soon. Which is just as well, because they don't need to.

Adam's rating: 7.9/10

ON THE 13TH DAY          2012          (SPV)

- Standouts: 'All the Dreamers', 'Didn't Like You Anyway', 'So Let It Rain', 'Dance of the Black Tattoo', 'Shadow Town', 'From Within' 

Magnum are at it again with On the 13th Day, which as per usual starts off very nicely with 'All the Dreamers'. It's a slow-building number that eventually melds into a stylish anthemic number that the band have always done so well. There isn't a lot to say really, it's just Magnum doing their thing, and doing it brilliantly. 'Blood Red Laughter' contains a simplistic but infectious riff, and a rhythm that gets my foot a'tappin'. Catchy, melodic hard rock. 'Nuff said. I think 'Didn't Like You Anyway' has a bit more of a poppy feel to it; the way the keyboards skimp the song along is extremely infectious, while the chorus sticks in my head. The title track is more of a rocker however, and is more guitar-driven by comparison. But it still comes with all the melody you'd expect from Magnum. Perhaps one of my favourite tracks is the uplifting 'So Let It Rain'. It's one of the most memorable tracks on the album thanks to Bob Catley's amazing vocal performance and arrangements, and is just about as good as a pop rock song can be with it's lovely piano/electric guitar combo. 

'Dance of the Black Tattoo' is built around maybe the heaviest, most metallic riffage Tony Clarkin ever laid down. Would I call it a metal song? I don't know, maybe - but it's probably about as heavy as Magnum can be whilst still sounding like Magnum, if that makes any sense. It's an awesome tune either way, and one of the best tracks on the record. 'Shadow Town' is a very nicely crafted AOR/melodic hard rocker as well, and 'Putting Things in Place' is another fine and pretty ballad to add to their long list of existing ones. 'See How They Fall' has a chugging kind of riff - again, kinda metallic, but the keyboards provide pretty melody. The album's closing song, 'From Within', is another hooky number that only adds more positivity to the record. Just about the only 'meh' track for me would be 'Broken Promises' as I'm struggling to think of anything to say about it, but even so it's still completely inoffensive to my ears. 

Bob Catley stated that this was the rockiest Magnum album to date (at least at time of release, according to Wikipedia). I don't know if I fully agree with him on that statement. 'Dance of the Black Tattoo' is likely the heaviest song they ever wrote, yes, but I think On the 13th Day sits perfectly comfortable alongside any of their albums from 2004's Brand New Morning all the way up to their 2024 swansong, Here Comes the Rain. Other than that 1 song (which rules anyway), I think the rest of these tracks could fit on any of the albums from the latter period I've just mentioned. And that's completely acceptable! If anything, this album is stronger than The Visitation, and I'm finding it difficult to pick holes. Production is tip-top, polished and rich as always. Basically, I think there's better albums released before and after On the 13th Day, but this one is still great and well worth owning.

Adam's rating: 8/10

ESCAPE FROM THE SHADOW GARDEN          2014          (SPV)

- Standouts: 'Live 'Til You Die', 'Unwritten Sacrifice', 'Falling for the Big Plan', 'Crying in the Rain', 'Too Many Clowns', 'Midnight Angel', 'The Art of Compromise', 'The Valley of Tears'

Hey! That power-chord progression on opener 'Live 'Til You Die' sounds awfully familiar! Oh yeah, it totally reminds me of Saxon's '747 (Strangers in the Night)'! Yep, 'Live 'Til You Die' is a hard rockin' way to open the album, and the Saxon similarity is only a win for me. Other than that chord pattern however, this song is 100% Magnum. Once 'Unwritten Sacrifice' gets going, this song too displays the heavier side of Clarkin's guitar playing, and is relatively upbeat. And as always, all the melody you could ever want is still there too. As far as hooks go, I think Bob Catley's vocal arrangements and chorus on 'Falling for the Big Plan' might just be catchiest moment of the entire album... soo good! As for Bob himself, his voice in the 21st century has gotten somewhat gravellier compared to how smooth he sounded in the '80s, but he can still sing with the best of 'em (well, as far as rock singers go anyway).

'Crying in the Rain' has some balls behind it, particularly regarding it's riffs which are almost metallic once again. The rest of the instrumentation on this one is very intricate. Really cool. Meanwhile, 'Too Many Clowns' might be the most fun Magnum song ever! Aside from the occasional melody here and there, this song is more-or-less a fast, full-on rock n' roller! It even has some wah-wah guitar soloing. There's also a brilliant ballad with 'Midnight Angel' - it's not really a soft one, more of a rock one. In a way it feels like a big, spacey kind of stadium ballad. I guess you could call 'The Art of Compromise' a ballad too, but this one has a much more soaring, uplifting vibe. And it's great! 'Burning River' is another up-tempo melodic rocker, while the last track, 'The Valley of Tears', is a beautifully epic ballad to go out on. It's terrific.

Like On the 13th Day, there's only 1 track here that doesn't do a lot for me, and it's 'Don't Fall Asleep'... it's pretty, but sadly it does kind of make me want to fall asleep! Maybe 'Wisdom's Had Its Day' loses steam a little too, but whatever. I still dig it. In fact, I like this one a fair bit more than I do On the 13th Day. There's great hooks to be found across every single Magnum release, but this album is just more memorable than it's already great predecessor in my humble opinion. And sonically, the production is as good as it's ever been (although to be fair, I don't think any of the post-reformation albums have production issues to speak of). In fact, Escape from the Shadow Garden might be up there with the best of 'em as far as the entire discography goes. 

Well Magnum, you gone and dun' it again! Cheers lads!

Adam's rating: 8.7/10

SACRED BLOOD "DIVINE" LIES          2016          (SPV)

- Standouts: 'Sacred Blood "Divine" Lies', 'Crazy Old Mothers', 'Gypsy Queen', 'Princess in Rags (The Cult)', 'Quiet Rhapsody', 'Twelve Men Wise and Just'

Another year, another Magnum record. I know what to expect before I even listen to these albums now. I'm running out of shit to say right now, but I mean that in the best way possible!

The opening title track, 'Sacred Blood "Divine" Lies' sets things up nicely - this is very much a heavy rocker. Tons of guitar, and surprisingly little in the way of keyboards considering this is Magnum. The next song, 'Crazy Old Mothers' is a bit more in line with the band's typical sound. It starts off with a huge intro, has light piano-led segments, heavy riff-based transitions... everything you want to hear. 'Gypsy Queen' has it's share of slow and moody atmospheric parts, but also plenty of very catchy, groovy, Jimmy Page-esque riffy bits. It might be my favourite song on here. 'Princess in Rags (The Cult)' has a stupidly infectious keyboard melody, and very upbeat tempo. It's my favourite track from this disc, and 'Your Dreams Won't Die' is a solid pop rock ballad. 'Quiet Rhapsody' is very good, while 'Twelve Men Wise and Just' has some catchy, poppy qualities as well as some heavy, galloping hard rock riffing on it. 'Don't Cry Baby' - yep, this is another fine ballad to go out with!

Like the majority of this band's output, there aren't any noticeably bad songs on here whatsoever. Well, maybe 'Afraid of the Night' and 'A Forgotten Conversation' are basically cookie-cutter Magnum, but they're both still polished and well-performed as you'd expect... and I like them! The guitar leads near the end of the latter are really cool, come to think of it. Whatever, the point is that if you liked just about anything else this band has put out, then you're sure to get enough enjoyment out of Sacred Blood "Divine" Lies. There's a whole host of great songs on offer here, and overall I'd probably stick it on par with Escape from the Shadow Garden. Great packaging once again. Brilliant artwork from Rodney Matthews (as always). I have a really cool t-shirt sporting the cover on the front, and the tracklisting on the back - I got it from the Birmingham show in 2022 that I attended.

Adam's rating: 8.2/10

LOST ON THE ROAD TO ETERNITY          2018          (SPV)

- Standouts: 'Peaches and Cream', 'Show Me Your Hands', 'Storm Baby', 'Lost on the Road to Eternity', 'Without Love', 'Tell Me What You've Got to Say', 'Ya Wanna Be Someone', 'Forbidden Masquerade', 'King of the World'

Can we take a minute to appreciate just how freaking epic the title track is on this record?! The way it begins with that majestic piano introduction before transforming into this quasi-symphonic, melodic hard rock piece is just sublime. It even has Tobias Sammet of Edguy and Avantasia duetting with Bob Catley on vocals. I don't care much for either of his bands, never have done, but on this track he only makes it even more awesome. One of the best songs Tony Clarkin has ever written, and one of the best Magnum tracks of all time if I say so myself!

I had to get that out the way first, as that song is just phenomenal. To be fair, the rest of this album is really darn good too. 'Peaches and Cream' is a superb opening number that musically sounds like classic Magnum mixed with a hint of Deep Purple thanks to it's keyboard tones - it's great stuff. 'Show Me Your Hands' is also great, an anthemic melodic rock track that you can definitely sing along to. The ballad 'Storm Baby' begins very mellow, but soon transforms into a big dramatic pomp rock number. 'Without Love' is neat too; it has an almost funk-based rhythm that holds the track together while the guitars are big and distorted, and the chorus is catchy and stadium-ready. Meanwhile, 'Tell Me What You've Got to Say' has a militaristic, galloping style that makes it instantly standout from the pack.

'Ya Wanna Be Someone' begins a little generic and by-the-numbers, but it's saved by it's memorable, poppy chorus, and also the guitar soloing towards the end of the track. Kinda sounds like the band are jamming at that point. 'Forbidden Masquerade' is yet another winner - Catley's vocal arrangements are brilliant, and the song takes full advantage of both the melodic pomp the band does so well, as well as the heavier, hard rock sound that is often playing out behind the softer keyboards. And there's definitely worse ways to end a record than 'King of the World'. It's a fine, proggy epic with huge vocal melodies and even bigger chords to go with it.

I don't have any major issues with Lost On the Road to Eternity, just little gripes along the way. There's nothing inherently wrong with the melodic, proggy 'Welcome to the Cosmic Cabaret' - musically it does everything you expect a rock-solid Magnum song to do - plenty of mellow parts, many pompy bits... frankly it just doesn't need to last more than eight minutes. It's perfectly competent musically, but it's overly-long playtime just seems a bit drawn-out to me. One other niggle I might have includes the fact 'Glory to Ashes' could have maybe been ditched from the tracklisting, or at least included as a bonus track or something. This song is filler, albeit pleasant filler. It's Magnum at their most generic, but at least that makes it listenable by default I suppose. Aside from that, I can't really criticise much else here. It's hard to pick holes with the production, and the performances from everybody on the record are top-notch.

Magnum's discography is huge. I own all of their main studio albums on CD (and a few on vinyl). And when I look at their entire career, they're one of few classic bands whereby I think I might prefer these latter-period Magnum records more than I do the old stuff; there's a level of sophistication about them that's kinda difficult to describe - but it's certainly a good thing. They're all formulaic and relatively similar musically, but at least they're much more consistent because of it... and I never get fed up of said formula. And some, like Princess Alice and the Broken Arrow and this one are just better than others. Yeah, this album sounds very close to anything else the band have recorded over the past couple of decades - so there's no real surprises to be found along the way - but sometimes the songs are just very, very strong. Case in point, Lost On the Road to Eternity.

Adam's rating: 8.7/10

LIVE AT THE SYMPHONY HALL          2019          (SPV)

Thoroughly enjoyable 2-CD live platter from the mighty Magnum. It was recorded in 2018 at the Symphony Hall in their hometown of Birmingham - the same venue I'd see them live at some 4 years later. A good chunk of the songs here are taken from the Sacred Blood "Divine" Lies and Lost On the Road to Eternity albums, which is just fine if you ask me. I've said it before and I'll say it again - although On a Storyteller's Night is my absolute favourite Magnum album, a huge portion of my other favourites have to be the late-career ones. So I have absolutely zero problem hearing a setlist with a high percentage of more recent material in it. In fact, it's probably one of many reasons as to why I enjoy this package so much.

That said, you really can't go wrong with the epic rendition of the 1985 classic 'How Far Jerusalem' on here - Tony plays an extended guitar solo and it totally rules. There's also a spectacular version of the lengthy 'Don't Wake the Lion (Too Old to Die Young)' from Wings of Heaven. The mellow parts to the song almost sound like a studio recording, they're so tight. But when it picks up in speed and Bob sings in his harsher, gravelly tones there's just so much energy seeping out of such a long-running band at this point. Simply put, they were just great live - even in their last few years. The newer stuff is also brilliant though, like I said. The 'Lost On the Road to Eternity' performance has Catley and Tobias Sammet duetting, just like they do on the album. I'm often torn on what my favourite Magnum song is, but this one is definitely up there. And then there's songs from the Sacred Blood "Divine" Lies album, and I'm reminded just how good that record is too; 'Crazy Old Mothers' - what a song! Even better live!

There's a lot of Magnum live albums out there. I don't have all of them - this being the first one I ever listened to. But man oh man is Live at the Symphony Hall a treat for fans like myself. I love it.

Adam's rating: 9/10

THE SERPENT RINGS          2020          (SPV)

- Standouts: 'Where Are You Eden?', 'You Can't Run Faster Than Bullets', 'Madman or Messiah', 'The Archway of Tears', 'Not Forgiven', 'The Serpent Rings', 'House of Kings', 'Man', 'Crimson On the White Sand'

It's currently January 2024 as I write this, and Tony Clarkin unexpectedly passed away just 9 days ago. The band released a new studio album, Here Comes the Rain, just 5 days after his death - so rest in peace Mr. Clarkin, and your utterly admirable songwriting credentials. I'm still waiting for my copy to show up in the mail, but in the meantime I'm trying to review the Magnum albums I picked up since the last update to this post. The last review I wrote was Lost On the Road to Eternity, and that was sometime during the first half of 2023. Since then I've picked up a good chunk more of their records, and I feel like starting with this one, 2020's The Serpent Rings. Like I said in the previous review, I think I actually prefer the bulk of the late-period Magnum albums over the earlier stuff. The music is consistently good across albums from Princess Alice and the Broken Arrow-onward, and they almost feel like a continuation of one another. The Serpent Rings is just that - a fine continuation indeed.

It starts off with the epic, almost symphonic-like anthem 'Where Are You Eden?' - how brilliant is this track?! I love it. The keyboard melodies combined with Clarkin's heavy rock riffage has me humming along almost immediately, and it's easily up there as one of my favourite songs on the album. The second track, 'You Can't Run Faster Than Bullets', is a slower romp with majestic guitar leads and plenty of transitions between heavy riffing and mellow passages. It's another prime modern-day Magnum cut. There's also a very strong ballad in 'Madman or Messiah', which has some definite '80s touches going for it - musically it's very comparable to the kind of thing they were doing on albums such as Wings of Heaven, but the modern production let's you know this is very much 21st century Magnum. Alongside 'Where Are You Eden?', my other favourite track on this record has gotta be 'The Archway of Tears'. I'll admit that both these songs being in their setlist when I caught them live back in 2022 has something to do with this, but musically 'The Archway of Tears' really is a treat for fans of this band. The piano lines throughout this track absolutely stick with you, and the whole song ticks every box in Clarkin's songwriting textbook. It's powerful, epic, melodic and dramatic as well as heavy when it needs to be. Spot-on.

Bob Catley really does wonders with his vocal arrangements on the melodic rocker 'Not Forgiven'. There's a bit where he just repeats "forgiven" over and over in different pitches that just makes me want to sing along to the rest of the song! And that I do. Meanwhile the title cut sounds like something from a fantasy movie soundtrack with it's epic, grandiose melodies, and all the instrumentation of it's outro in particular. Catley again displays his versatility as a vocalist by going for a harsher, gruffer tone on 'House of Kings', which is mostly a hard rock tune at heart, but the added horns give it much more depth and musicality. The middle of the song has an almost jazzy feel to it, but it really works in the song's favour. And 'Man' works for me too, with it's metallic chugging guitars and overall proggy feels. 'The Last One on Earth' is a very pretty and short (by this album's standards), sweet number while 'Crimson On the White Sand' ends the record on a rather triumphant, elegant note.

I think the album briefly loses steam by the time 'The Great Unknown' comes on. There's nothing about this tune's ingredients that I really dislike as such, there's just something about it that screams "been there, done that". It's not bad as such, it's just a by-the-numbers Magnum ballad, and unlike the majority of The Serpent Rings' other tracks, it doesn't quite stick with me in the same way. Also... I'd really like to give this a 9/10, but there's something holding it back and I'm not quite sure what that is!! It might just be the fact that despite the way this album holds my attention and engrosses me, there's not many tracks here that I often want to play individually, save for 'Where Are You Eden?' and 'The Archway of Tears'. This record is incredibly strong from pretty much start to finish, but compared to say, On a Storyteller's Night - which contains a lot of tracks I love to hear individually - it's not quite casual listening for me. Either way, when looking at the band's discography as a whole, surely The Serpent Rings is destined to become a classic?

I feel like if you asked me to rank these newer Magnum albums in order of preference, I'd be constantly switching up the order. Right now I think I like The Serpent Rings more than I do Lost On the Road to Eternity... ask me again in a couple of months and the order might have reversed. One thing's for sure though, this band's catalogue is ridiculously strong and - I'll say it again - consistent from their 2001 reformation and onwards. Can't recommend this one enough.

Adam's rating: 8.8/10

THE MONSTER ROARS          2022          (SPV)

- Standouts: 'The Monster Roars', 'Remember', 'All You Believe In', 'I Won't Let You Down', 'The Present Not the Past', 'No Steppin' Stones', 'The Day After the Night Before', 'Come Holy Men'

The Monster Roars was the only tour I ever saw the band live on, in March 2022 at the Symphony Hall in Birmingham. So I guess this album, along with On a Storyteller's Night, hold the most sentimental value for me when looking at the band's discography as a whole. I really hate how much of a late bloomer I was to this band; I bought Storyteller's Night when I was 18 and it only clicked with me when I was 29 - soon to be turning 30. Flashforward to 2024 and Magnum have now split following Tony Clarkin's passing at the beginning of the year. Well, at least I got to enjoy them live the one time I suppose (actually, I had the chance to see them again at the end of 2022, but stupidly did not attend - more about that when I review their last album, 2024's Here Comes the Rain).

It won't come as a surprise that The Monster Roars follows closely in the footsteps of almost every album they've made from Princess Alice and the Broken Arrow onwards. Yep, listen to the opening title track and you're greeted with yet another masterful pomp rock piece. It starts off all floaty and melodic with it's pianos, but soon launches into a powerful arena-worthy rock number. 'Remember' continues in similar fashion, and is full of some tasty, heavy riffage to accompany some fine piano work once more. I don't know how Magnum pull off hard rock riffs and pianos so well, but they do. 'Remember' fades into 'All You Believe In', which is something of an AOR anthem. Kinda pretty too - I really like it. Meanwhile, 'I Won't Let You Down' features some tasty blues licks, but also one of the biggest and most grandiose choruses of the entire record.

'The Present Not the Past' makes use of some nice acoustic guitars, but is also something of an upbeat rocker when it wants to be. It's musical contrasts keep me interested. One of the more surprising tracks musically is 'No Steppin' Stones', which adds live audience effects and even brass/horn elements to the song. I dig it - it has a very uplifting and positive kind of aura. 'Your Blood Is Violence' on the other hand, is more guitar-focused and features a very strong Bob Catley vocal performance, with some top-notch vocal melodies throughout. One of my favourite tracks is 'The Day After the Night Before' - such a great riff and chorus! They played this one live on the tour, so maybe that partly explains my love for it, but it's a tip-top song regardless. 'Come Holy Men' is a big dramatic heavy rocker.

As for any of this album's weaker moments, well, I suppose I could throw 'That Freedom Word' into that category. But to be honest, there aren't any legitimately poor moments on this entire album. It's just that this song sounds a little autopilot Magnum to me, and isn't as memorable as most of the other tracks in my opinion. 'Walk the Silent Hours' is a bit too slow and plodding for me overall too, but it does kind of pace the album out fairly well. Just feels a tad filler-ish to me. Closer 'Can't Buy Yourself a Heaven' is pleasant enough, but again, kind of a tepid finale in some ways. I like it, it's just not particularly great as such.

As I type this review, I now own every Magnum studio album (except for 2012's On the 13th Day for some reason, but I'm keeping an eye out for a good deal on that one right now. Oh, and also the rare acoustic Keeping the Night Light Burning, but a lot of people don't consider that to be one of their major releases) and I can honestly say that I don't think this band ever made a bad record - and they've made a lot of 'em! I'm not entirely sure I like The Monster Roars more than I do The Serpent Rings... I feel like there's a couple of fillers here that could have been cut. But the highs of this album certainly match the highs of albums like said 2020 predecessor, and also others such as Princess Alice and the Broken Arrow and Lost On the Road to Eternity. As a result, The Monster Roars is one more super-worthy effort from this incredibly underrated band.

I have the special box set version of this album, which I bagged on eBay in 2022 for about £20. It comes in a very nice big box, featuring the artwork. The artwork this time wasn't done by Rodney Matthews for some reason, and is a little more subtle by comparison - but it's still very nicely presented. Anyway, inside the box is the standard digipak album, a cassette copy (I currently own just 3 cassettes, including this one!), a bonus CD with 3 solid exclusive tracks including a fun re-recording of 'Days of No Trust', a nice 50 years anniversary patch, a fridge magnet, a metal button pin and a large postcard. The seller also threw in a Magnum t-shirt (this one)... I don't think this shirt was a part of the box set, so I can only guess the seller received it as some sort of promotional thing. Either way, the shirt was new and the box set still sealed. I also have The Monster Roars shirt from the tour, which features the album artwork.

Update: I now own a copy of On the 13th Day, hence the review!

Adam's rating: 8.4/10

HERE COMES THE RAIN          2024          (SPV)

- Standouts: 'Run Into the Shadows', 'Here Comes the Rain', 'Some Kind of Treachery', 'After the Silence', 'Blue Tango', 'The Day He Lied', 'The Seventh Darkness'

... and Magnum's swansong is 2024's Here Comes the Rain. I don't think this was an intentional choice; Tony Clarkin unexpectedly passed away in January 2024, just days before the album's release. And they were set to tour as well, but clearly it wasn't to be. Bob Catley threw in the towel around March and split up Magnum, as Clarkin was so integral to the band. None of these albums and songs would exist without his songwriting talents. Bob was right - sometimes it's just better to call it quits than to continue.

Well, the good news is that Here Comes the Rain is yet another fine addition to the Magnum catalogue. Very fine indeed. The bar is immediately set high with the soaring opener 'Run Into the Shadows', a majestic number with masterful keyboards backing some very cool guitars and a fantastic Bob Catley chorus. The title track is also terrific; atmospheric, pretty, dramatic... all these things and more. 'Some Kind of Treachery' has this really uplifting feel - particularly in it's chorus - which I love. I suppose it is a ballad at the end of the day, and one that seems to motivate me in ways I can't explain! I think 'After the Silence' is a tad weaker than the first 3 tracks, but even so, Clarkin is soo good at writing a good hooky chorus that I always find myself coming back to this tune with nothing but positivity.

'Blue Tango' was released as a single a few months prior to the album's release, and is almost a straight-up rock n' roller. It does still have the key Magnum ingredients you'd want of course, but it's the most fun and up-tempo track on the album. It's not silly in any way, but it's definitely a little less serious than the other songs on offer here. Speaking of which, 'The Day He Lied' is much more dramatic once again, and I'm staggered at how good Bob Catley sounds on it sometimes. This is a fine rock ballad. 'The Seventh Darkness' was also released as a single - and this track is one of my favourites on the album. Like 'No Steppin' Stones' from The Monster Roars, it once again adds brass/horns that really work in it's favour and make it one of the most memorable tracks from the record in the best sense possible. It probably shouldn't work on paper, but I've had this song stuck in my head numerous times this year already! Magnum's discography is insanely strong, but in particular I really like these last few albums; Lost on the Road to Eternity, The Serpent Rings, The Monster Roars and now this, Here Comes the Rain. Add to this the usual excellent production and another sublime Rodney Matthews album cover and you have one hell of an album once again.

Just about the only songs I'm not as fussed about would be 'Broken City' and 'I Wanna Live'. Both are still decent, just weaker than the rest in my opinion. The former is a piano-focused ballad that doesn't quite hold my interest, whereas the latter comes dangerously close to fitting within the autopilot Magnum category. I think closer 'Borderline', while still very good, is still more of a 7/10 kinda track as opposed to an 8 or higher. It plods along and isn't as hooky as the bulk of this album, but I really enjoy Clarkin's guitar leads on it at least.

7/10 of these tracks are instant classics. The last 3 are good, but not great... I'm thinking an 8.8/10 is in order right now. I think if it had one more great track, the album would be worthy of a 9/10... but it just falls short! Either way, this might just be my favourite of the newest Magnum albums, and I've listened to it a lot since it dropped in January. Here Comes the Rain is a bittersweet record. It's the last real studio album we'll ever see from them, and there won't be any more tours. But it's also a fantastic record, and one that every Magnum fan will lap up. Thanks guys.

I picked up the limited edition which comes with a bonus DVD of a concert filmed in December 2022 at KK's Steel Mill in Wolverhampton. I'm reluctant to watch it... reluctant because I should have been at this gig, but ended up not going despite the fact I had a ticket!! I bought my house in the summer of 2022, and began renovating it in November that year, right up until August 2023 (with some breaks and holidays here and there). I was fitting my new bathroom in December 2022 on top of working my full-time job, and I remember just having zero energy or motivation on the night of the gig, after lots and lots of hard work. I just couldn't bring myself to drive to Wolverhampton for the concert! Because I'd already seen them live in March that same year and the fact Magnum regularly toured the UK, I just assumed I'd have another chance to see them in the future. How wrong I was.

Adam's rating: 8.8/10