Search - Magnum :: Into the Valley of the Moon King

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trebe | 09/27/2009

(3 out of 5 stars)

"The British band Magnum, was formed in the early 70's, and Into the Valley of the Moonking (2009), sounds much like mainstream British rock from that decade. The retro style music is generally enjoyable, if you are not particularly interested in rocking out, however the band's appeal in 2009, might be mostly limited to their fans.



Magnum does a variety of things, and ready comparisons to other bands may be tricky, as their music sort of tickles the edges of hard rock, but does not stay there long. Guitarist Tony Clarkin is the primary songwriter, and the emphasis seems to be on cohesive songs, rather than showcasing his guitar playing. The band sometimes makes some interesting decisions regarding song structure.



The ambitious Blood on Your Barbed Wire Thorns, starts out like diluted ACDC, then adds honky tonk piano and slide guitar, before an orchestral assisted finish. The Moon King, is notable as the only bluesy number. It's quite nicely done, but it could have benefitted from more inspired guitar work. That seems to be true for many of the songs. The band probably rocks the hardest on Take Me to the Edge, but still manages to back off from delivering a crunching rocker. On the softer side, a couple of tunes are reminiscent of mellow 70's Elton John.



Into the Valley of the Moonking, is an album that some might be surprised to discover was released in 2009. Part of the lyrics for the song All My Bridges, seem kind of appropriate to the situation, "All my bridges are broken, My direction is lost, Yesterday's caught in the past, I'm stuck here I can't get across". Stuck in the past is where Magnum seems to be. These veteran rockers are competent musicians, comfortable in their particular style. This is perfectly fine, but this many not garner them many new fans. While the album has its moments, it doesn't reach out and grab you, and offers little that is new or notable. It's faint praise, but if you know not to expect any breakout guitar solos, the album does seem to improve with repeated listenings."