Artist: MAGNUM
Album: SACRED BLOOD, DIVINE LIES (CD)

Year: 2016
EAN/UPS: 886922689727
Media type: CD

For a musician like Tony Clarkin who composes constantly, viewing and selecting the material he has written is always one of the most significant moments during the creation process of a new Magnum album. On the one hand it’s a luxury to have the opportunity to separate the wheat from the chaff and to be in a position to use only the strongest numbers. On the other hand it’s also a difficult process, because after all the creator of those songs has grown fond of every single one of them. “I usually start composing for our next album immediately after the release of the previous one,” Clarkin explains. “When Escape From The Shadow Garden arrived at the stores in March 2014, my thoughts had already turned to our next recording.” Clarkin wrote 25 new songs during the subsequent months, the most promising 13 of which were selected for Sacred Blood "Divine" Lies. Ten of those tracks made it onto the new album, the other three onto the included bonus CD. “It would have been too much of a shame to disregard them,” Clarkin reckons, “particularly since our fans want to know after every release what happened to the rest of the material. This time they’re getting it in addition to the album tracks.”

The ten numbers on the regular album present Magnum from their most rocking side again. The epicentre of this soundquake features, along with frontman Bob Catley’s charismatic voice, Clarkin’s awesome riff and lead guitar which provides the all-important substructure to the songs. Courtesy of his driving style, Sacred Blood "Divine" Lies counts without a doubt among the group’s most dynamic releases. Clarkin: “I’ve always been into rock numbers. But it isn’t necessarily that easy to write really good rock material. It’s much more simple to compose a ballad. But that dynamic pace suits Magnum perfectly.”

So here it is: Sacred Blood "Divine" Lies - again with a fantastic cover by Rodney Matthews - has been scheduled for release by Steamhammer/SPV on 26 February 2016 as digipak version incl. DVD, 2LP coloured version, CD and Download and will – you don’t need to be a clairvoyant to predict this – be loved by the band’s fans. That Clarkin will probably already have his mind on Magnum’s next release by that time – well, that’s another story.


TRACKLIST CD:

01 Sacred Blood, Divine Lies  6:41
02 Crazy Old Mothers 5:48
03 Gypsy Queen 4:29
04 Princess in Rags (The Cult) 5:27
05 Your Dreams Won't Die 5:25
06 Afraid of the Night 4:32
07 A Forgotten Conversation 4:56
08 Quiet Rhapsody 5:40
09 Twelve Men Wise and Just 6:18
10 Don't Cry Baby 5:05



LINE-UP:

Tony Clarkin - guitars
Bob Catley - vocals
Mark Stanway - keyboards
Al Barrow - bass
Harry James – drums