Including Tour Debut At The Brook In Southampton
Mighty British melodic hard rock group Magnum, whose new album “Sacred Blood ‘Divine’ Lies” crashed into the UK national album chart at number 31 last month – the bandís highest top 40 album chart position since 1992 – are set to play a 15 date UK tour in May. Dates are:-
11th May SOUTHAMPTON The Brook
12th May CARDIFF Tramshed
13th May LONDON Islington Assembly Hall
14th May OXFORD O2 Academy*
16th May NORWICH Waterfront
17th May NOTTINGHAM Rock City
19th May BIRMINGHAM O2 Institute*
20th May HOLMFIRTH Picturedome
21st May MANCHESTER Academy 2
22nd May NEWCASTLE O2 Academy*
24th May ABERDEEN Garage
25th May GLASGOW Garage
27th May BELFAST Limelight 1
29th May BRISTOL O2 Academy*
30th May LEAMINGTON SPA Assembly
*ticketweb.co.uk
“Sacred Blood ‘Divine’ Lies”, which also debuted at number 2 in the Rock & Metal chart and at number 6 in the Indie chart on release on Steamhammer / SPV, is a notably heavier, harder offering than its much acclaimed predecessor, “Escape From The Shadow Garden”, and is packed with even more of Magnum’s massive trademark rousing rock melodies.
Magnum mastermind Tony Clarkin started working on the resounding new album even before ëEscape From The Shadow Gardení crashed into the UK Album Chart at 38, (the bandís first top 40 album chart position for over 20 years), on release in March 2014.
“I usually start composing for our next album immediately after the release of the previous one,” Clarkin recalls, continuing “When ‘Escape’ arrived at the stores in March 2014, my thoughts had already turned to our next recording.”
Clarkin was inspired to write 25 new songs during and after the subsequent triumphant European tour, the most outstanding 13 of which were selected for “Sacred Blood ‘Divine’ Lies”. Ten of the numbers made it onto the standard album CD and another three onto the DigiPak bonus DVD, which also contains videos for three of the brand new songs on the album.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yJk_5lYl1uk
The epicentre of this soundquake features, along with frontman Bob Catley’s charismatic voice, Clarkinís awesome riffing and hard-driving lead guitar licks, which provide the all-important substructure to each of the ten gems of songs on the album.
“Sacred Blood ‘Divine’ Lies” counts without a doubt among the groupís most dynamic releases; Clarkin states that “I’ve always been into rock numbers. But it isnít necessarily that easy to write really good rock material. Itís much more simple to compose a ballad. But that dynamic pace suits Magnum perfectly.”
Nowhere is this more evident than on the title track and album opener; “I feel that Bob delivered it really well,” Clarkin praises his vocalist Bob Catley. “As far as I am concerned, “Sacred Blood ‘Devine’ Lies” is definitely likely to join the ranks of great Magnum classics.î So it comes as no surprise that “Sacred Blood ‘Devine’ Lies”, with its significant message, became the album title.
Among the other multiple highlights on this thoroughly powerful recording, mention must be made of the anthemic “Gypsy Queen”, which Tony was inspired to write after a concert in St. Petersburg, a city which deeply impressed him with its unique atmosphere.
By no means less memorable is “Your Dreams Won’t Die” which is based on a cascading piano chord sequence, reflecting the songís poignant philosophical message. “To me, the title and lyrics have an almost religious depth,” says Clarkin. “There’s a saying that somebody is not forgotten if their name is remembered.” A successful rock group like Magnum should be entitled to eternal renown, shouldn’t it? Says Clarkin: “You want my honest opinion? I donít think that far ahead, but of course it’s a nice notion that this band may always be remembered because so many people love our music.”
And last but not least: “Sacred Blood ‘Devine’ Lies” closes with a song which surprised even Clarkin; ìI liked the general sound of “Don’t Cry Baby” from the start,” he remarks. “Although I initially didn’t have a lyric, the melody kept going through my head, as well as the chorus with acoustic and e-guitars plus piano. We even kept the drums from the demo version because our drummer Harry James liked them so much. He said: “I love it the way it is. We shouldn’t change a thing about it.”
“Sacred Blood ‘Devine’ Lies”, the cover of which was once again designed by renowned fantasy artist Rodney Matthews (Nazareth, Asia), is nothing other than a stupendous record, packed with classic, majestic hard rock compositions.
Powerplay Magazineís Dave Cockett awarded the album 10/10 in his review in the magazineís February 2016 issue, stating ìThumping opener and title track “Sacred Blood ‘Devine’ Lies” has a mesmerizing beat and a chorus that is simply to die for classic Magnum! The equally engaging “Twelve Men Wise And Just” is another track echoing with sentiment and ringing with majesty, whilst the likes of “Gypsy Queen” with its superbly contrasting light and shade, the perfectly understated “Your Dreams Won’t Die” and pomptastic “A Forgotten Conversationí are all destined to become cherished Magnum staples. A superb album from a band with no peers, this is simply glorious”.
Links
http://www.magnumonline.co.uk
https://www.facebook.com/magnumbandpage
