by Justin Gaines
– Senior Columnist —
Right on schedule, British Melodic/Pomp Rock legends Magnum are back with a new studio album. It’s titled Sacred Blood ‘Divine’ Lies, and is their 18th studio release (19th if you count that acoustic album they did way back when). Since reuniting back in 2002, Magnum has maintained their lineup and has consistently released high quality Melodic Rock albums, and Sacred Blood ‘Divine’ Lies is no exception. They’ve even kept cover artist Rodney Matthews, who crafted so many classic Magnum cover images, on board.
Even with as consistent as Magnum has been these past several years, their recent albums have varied between being instantly memorable (On the 13th Day) and needing a few spins to sink in (Escape From the Shadow Garden). Sacred Blood ‘Divine’ Lies is in the latter category. On the first spin it’s just kind of “there,” with none of the songs really jumping out at you. A second spin starts to bring them home. Come back to it a week later and you suddenly realize you can sing along to every chorus and remember almost all of the melodies. That’s a testament to guitarist Tony Clarkin’s songwriting and his knack for knowing exactly the kind of melodies that work best with Bob Catley’s instantly recognizable voice.
The album starts off with the title track, which is the kind of epic pomp rock song that Magnum does so very well. “Princess in Rags (The Cult)” and “Quiet Rhapsody” have that pomp grandeur as well. “Gypsy Queen” and “Don’t Cry Baby” are bit more catchy and straight-up Rock n’ Roll songs, so they bring to mind the Hard Rain sound.
It’s almost unfair to use the term “more of the same” to describe this album when “the same” is so consistently good, and given just how much Sacred Blood ‘Divine’ Lies grows on you. It does fall pretty much in line with the last several Magnum albums though, so if you’ve enjoyed their output in the new millennium, there’s no reason you won’t like this one as well. It’s also true enough to the classic Magnum sound that a fan from the On a Storyteller’s Night/Vigilante days should be able to immediately recognize Sacred Blood ‘Divine’ Lies as a Magnum album.
Edition Notes: The deluxe edition CD release of Sacred Blood ‘Divine’ Lies features a bonus DVD with video clips for the title track and “Crazy Old Mothers” as well as three bonus songs set to a photo slideshow. It’s frustrating not to have these songs as individual audio tracks on the CD. Hopefully the label will get them out in MP3 format at some point.
Genre: Melodic Rock
Lineup:
Tony Clarkin (g) (v)
Bob Catley (v)
Mark Stanway (k)
Al Barrow (b) (v)
Harry James (d)
Track Listing:
1. Sacred Blood “Divine” Lies
2. Crazy Old Mothers
3. Gypsy Queen
4. Princess in Rags (The Cult)
5. Your Dreams Won’t Die
6. Afraid of the Night
7. A Forgotten Conversation
8. Quiet Rhapsody
9. Twelve Men Wise and Just
10. Don’t Cry Baby
Label: SPV Records
Website: www.magnumonline.co.uk
Hardrock Haven Rating: 8/10
