Release date: January 17, 2020
Label: Steamhammer Records/SPV
Production: Tony Clarkin
Length: 59:36
Genre: art rock/melodic rock/hard rock
Rating: 8.5/10
“The Serpent Rings” is the first album from English art/heavy rockers Magnum with new bassist Dennis Ward (Unisonic, ex-Pink Cream 69), and their twenty-first studio outing overall. The American bassist and producer, who stepped in for longtime bassist Al Barrow, was already something of an ‘old acquaintance’ of the band, having produced “Immortal” (2008), the solo album from Magnum singer Bob Catley. The album cover, which once again packs in plenty of nods to earlier Magnum sleeves, was done by the band’s longtime collaborator Rodney Matthews, while all the lyrics are, as ever, the work of guitarist Tony Clarkin, the only original member besides Catley left in this long-running English outfit.
Right off the bat, we have to mention keyboardist Rick Benton, who replaced longtime member Mark Stanway in 2017 and is once again the driving, refreshing force on “The Serpent Rings”, just like he was on its predecessor “Lost on the Road to Eternity” (2018). His ‘retro eighties’ synth arrangements often tap into some of the feats of his eighties predecessor, from the days when Magnum were at their creative peak. His keyboard chops are the reason most of the songs on “The Serpent Rings” don’t come off as boring or land in the ‘chewed to death’ pile.
Clarkin’s guitar work is the main source of sonic stability, but it’s kind of standard and, apart from a few more inspired moments, offers no innovative highlights. Ward’s melodic bass lines have given the solid rhythm section with drummer Lee Morris a bit of a lift, and we can only hope this pairing won’t be short-lived. The biggest flaw of the current Magnum is once again Catley’s worn-out voice. In recent years Magnum have managed to patch it up in a pinch with assorted studio tricks, but you can still hear the vocal decline of a once-great singer who often sounds like little more than a pale shadow of himself.
The central arrangement of “Where Are You Eden”, complete with its main guitar phrase, where Benton’s symphonic creativity shines brightest, strongly recalls the Magnum classic “Vigilante”, but that’s where the similarities end. The same goes for the epic chorus, which is solid enough but would surely have been outstanding if Catley were in his old vocal form. “You Can’t Run Faster Than Bullet” is more of a hard rock affair that, apart from the excellent synth textures and Clarkin’s showpiece guitar solo, comes across as a bit generic. “Madman Or Messiah” stands out with its ‘retro eighties’ sound and a great chorus that takes you back to when Magnum were a melodic rock superpower. It took a lot of studio ‘ironing’ to make Catley’s vocals sound reasonably solid this time around.
“The Archway of Tears” also sounds, at moments, like something from the ‘prehistoric era’ when the melodic rock Olympus lay before Magnum, but only until Catley’s voice, which is mostly well covered by backing vocals in the choruses, starts to ‘shake’ under too much strain. “Not Forgiven” has a slow, uninspiring start and a somewhat repetitive rhythm, but it makes up for it with a good multi-voice chorus, quality symphonic arrangements and even a brief experiment with Queen-style vocal multi-harmonies. The thoroughly epic title track, which, helped along by Clarkin’s lyrics, recalls the time when Magnum were the bridge between rock music and the (not necessarily literary) worlds of epic fantasy, mostly thanks to its art-rock-flavored middle section, is one of the album’s best moments. Prog rock is something you hardly ever hear mentioned in connection with Magnum these days, despite their roots in progressive music, yet thanks to Benton they haven’t come up with this many eclectic symphonic arrangements in ages as they have on “The Serpent Rings”.
“The Last One On Earth” stands out for its epic atmosphere, mighty guitar passages and just the right length. “House of Kings” is another very positive experimental surprise, with some very shy jazz elements on synths and piano tucked in between the beefy guitar parts. “The Great Unknown”, which is almost the prototype of the representative Magnum standard, and thus a likely regular in the live set, keeps building the epic-dramatic atmosphere the whole way through. “Man” has an opening synth arrangement that’s almost a copy of the one on the evergreen “How Far Jerusalem”, though it takes on more original shades after the first pass. The closing epic triumph, “Crimson On the White Sand”, opens with dramatic piano arrangements before developing into yet another quality piece that, thanks to its strong nostalgic touch, will go down well with most longtime fans.
“The Serpent Rings” is very much cut from the same cloth as its predecessor. Magnum conjure up the magic of their golden era (the 1980s) with real success, but for all the ‘corrections’ they still can’t hide Catley’s fading vocals. The main ‘star’ is once again keyboardist Benton, whose arrival was clearly needed to make things a bit livelier and more interesting again. Even though Magnum are no longer a guarantee of innovation these days, let alone of top vocal condition, their studio albums, which largely play the nostalgia card for longtime fans, still hold plenty of moments that recall the ‘good old days’. In Germany, where “The Serpent Rings” even hit the highest chart position of any album by these long-running art/melodic rockers, they’ve never enjoyed such popularity as they do now, which is extra encouragement for Catley and Clarkin not to wrap up their successful and turbulent Magnum saga any time soon.
Review by: Peter Podbrežnik
Tracklist:
1. Where Are You Eden? (5:37)
2. You Can’t Run Faster Than Bullets (5:40)
3. Madman or Messiah (5:18)
4. The Archway of Tears (6:21)
5. Not Forgiven (5:48)
6. The Serpent Rings (6:47)
7. House of Kings (4:46)
8. The Great Unknown (5:27)
9. Man (5:31)
10. The Last One on Earth (5:35)
11. Crimson on the White Sand (4:53)
Magnum:
Bob Catley – vocals
Tony Clarkin – guitar
Dennis Ward – bass
Rick Benton – keyboards
Lee Morris – drums
