Year : 2021
Style : Melodic Hard Rock
Country : United Kingdom
Audio : 320 kbps + all scans
Size : 167 mb
Bio:
Influential British melodic hard rockers MAGNUM will release their 19th studio album, "Escape From The Shadow Garden", on March 25 (one day earlier internationally) via Steamhammer/SPV. The effort will be made available as a limited digipak edition with bonus material, as a double colored vinyl LP, standard jewel case CD and download. The cover artwork was once again created by famous fantasy artist Rodney Matthews (ASIA, NAZARETH, ELOY)."We used to be under permanent pressure from our record companies," says MAGNUM mastermind Tony Clarkin. "They kept calling us, demanding hit singles and radio numbers. But that sort of thing doesn't work on demand. Now we're with SPV, where it's a totally different situation. They give us the necessary time and trust us to do the right thing. That's probably the reason why I enjoy working with MAGNUM again."Clarkin's regained joy in his band is omnipresent on "Escape From The Shadow Garden". Just like his simple-yet-logical work ethos. "I simply told myself: you're a passable guitarist, so you should play the guitar," he says. "As the band's guitarist and producer, I have all the freedom I need to create exactly what I feel like creating." The result of his latest burst of creativity consists of eleven wonderfully melodic rock songs which blend all the typical MAGNUM ingredients, sounding in a fascinating way both timeless and classic."This band has certain unmistakable trademarks," Clarkin explains. "Among them are my feel for melodies and Bob's unique vocal style."Only a month after the release of its predecessor, "On The 13th Day", Clarkin started with the preparations for "Escape From The Shadow Garden" — as always, an exciting phase in his life."Before you haven't recorded and mixed every single note, you never really know whether you'll be happy with the result," he says."When I heard the final version of the eleven new songs with their different stories and diverse arrangements, I knew it had turned into an impressive and complete album."Together with the great cover artwork designed by Rodney Matthews, this is a release which forges an arch to the early days of MAGNUM's career. And that's wonderful!"I was really happy when my friend Jimmy Lea of SLADE came to visit me at the studio again and said: 'You've done it again?'"It doesn't matter whether by sheer luck or hard work — life could have gone a totally differently way."
Abum:
What do inveterate songwriters do in Lockdown when they’ve no band to steer in a live direction and time on their hands? Well Tony Clarkin doesn’t do a spot of gardening, that’s for sure. Since earlier this year he has used the COVID hiatus to revisit some of Magnum’s heavier tracks for this new compilation.Thought of as a companion to the earlier ‘Ballads’ release, Clarkin has plundered 14 of the back catalogue and served up on heavy duty magenta vinyl with printed inner sleeves and a Rodney Matthews cover. It could almost be 1982.The studio catalogue is mainly plundered after 2014 so this is essentially Millennium Magnum, dusted off, brushed up, remastered. Only a live version of the classic ‘On A Storyteller’s Night’, ‘Born To Be King’ (originally on Goodnight LA) and ‘On Christmas Day’ (Rock Art) recall earlier times.The inclusion of “fan favourite” ‘Born To Be King’ might seem a little arbitary (it’s the version that appeared with the Christmas single in 2014). If it’s a fan favourite how come it hasn’t appeared in millennium setlists to prompt a more recent live recorded version?For the more casual fan it does mean they get the previously released bonus tracks from the live album ‘Escape From The Shadow Garden’. ‘Black Skies’, ‘Freedom Day’, ‘All My Bridges’ and ‘On A Storyteller’s Night’ are from the DVD whilst ‘Dance Of The Black Tattoo’ is from the vinyl version.Two bonus tracks are taken off the limited edition ‘Sacred Blood – Divine Lies’ (CD/DVD). It’s certainly one of the band’s finest albums of recent times and ‘Phantom Of Paradise Circus’ and ‘No God Or Saviour’ are both good tunes. Fans (and collectors) might be grateful the other bonus ‘Don’t Grow Up’ is excluded.There are also two other live bonus tracks ‘Your Dreams Won’t Die’ and ‘Twelve Men Wise And Just’ both originally appearing on the bonus ‘Lost On The Road To Eternity’ disc.The album is rounded off with radio edits of ‘Show Me Your Hands’, ‘Not Forgiven’ and ‘Madman Or Messiah’, all hardly essential, whilst ‘On Christmas Day’ will miss the festive season as the album is out in January.I don’t know whether it’s our advance copy (or my advancing years) but the new (CD) package is somewhat let down by the lack of recording information or narrative and with no inner liner. And the track listing on the reverse is rendered in a type size that will have ancient rockers (surely at least 50 per cent of the band’s audience?) reaching for their reading specs and then a magnifying glass.The “all tracks digitally remastered” tag also begs the question why weren’t the millennial tracks properly mastered in the first place?There is a definite sense of “nothing to see here, move along please” for fans, but newbies can certainly hear what all the fuss is about.There is no re-recording as with the Ballads collection but as with that earlier collection this is a good enough introduction to contemporary Magnum and an adequate side dish before the next big helping of studio beef.No doubt – currently isolating in his COVID-free cocoon – Clarkin is probably readying the band’s next magnum opus. In the meantime we can all enjoy these refreshed recordings as a reminder of a still great and future band.
Line-Up:
Bob Catley - vocals
Tony Clarkin - lead guitar, vocals
Rick Benton - keyboards
Lee Morris - drums
Dennis Ward - bass guitar, backing vocals
Tracklist:
01. Black Skies (Live)
02. Freedom Day (Live)
03. All My Bridges (Live)
04. On A Storyteller’s Night (Live)
05. Dance Of The Black Tattoo (Live)
06. On Christmas Day (Radio Edit)
07. Born To Be King
08. Phantom Of Paradise Circus
09. No God Or Saviour
10. Your Dreams Won't Die (Live)
11. Twelve Men Wise And Just (Live)
12. Show Me Your Hands (Radio Edit)
13. Not Forgiven (Radio Edit)
14. Madman or Messiah (Radio Edit)
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