Label: SPV/Steamhammer Records
Release date: January 12, 2024
Production: Tony Clarkin
Album length: 50.15 min.
Genre: Art Rock / Hard Rock
Rating: 8.5/10
It’s a sad but true realization, and one that will keep plenty of fans up at night for a long time: unless some kind of miracle happens, “Here Comes the Rain”, the twenty-third album by cult band Magnum, is most likely their farewell studio record too. Dark clouds started gathering over the English champions of melodic hard rock with a progressive undertone at the end of 2023, when founding member, guitar master and writer of all their music and lyrics Tony Clarkin fell seriously ill. Because of the poor health of the band’s key man, Magnum had to cancel their 2024 tour. Plenty of people feared the worst when the news broke, but not even in their worst nightmares did they imagine that Clarkin would lose a short battle with illness and die five days before the release of the new album, one most fans had been eagerly awaiting.
By Magnum standards, “Here Comes the Rain” is a relatively dark and melancholic record, which hints that Clarkin already knew his days were numbered. At the same time, it’s still got that epic, atmospheric magic that has clung to their work since the “good old days”, when they hit worldwide fame in the mid-eighties with masterpieces like “Chase the Dragon” (1982) and “On a Storyteller’s Night” (1985). Just how good a guitarist and songwriter Clarkin was, with his incredible ear for melody, says a lot about the fact that since reuniting, in a relatively short time (the last twenty years), Magnum have managed to put out a healthy number of studio albums that are at the very least solid, if not outright excellent.
Throughout their whole career, Magnum have also proven that they simply can’t make a bad album, so it’s no surprise that “Here Comes the Rain” and its set of songs will delight every fan of melodic hard rock with an adventurous streak. Clarkin’s knack for building thrilling bridges, in both his songwriting and his lyrics, between fantasy and the real world, between epic adventures and pressing social issues, has once again borne rich fruit.
“Here Comes the Rain” isn’t one of their most varied albums, but even under a magnifying glass you won’t find a weak moment on it. Opener “Run Into the Shadows” is a proper energy catalyst in true, long-standing Magnum tradition, and most fans of their music will agree on that. Bob Catley, the last founding member standing, may have lost some of his former vocal range over the years, but he’s still a superb singer whose singing charm often plays a key role in creating a great atmosphere. The title track deserves special attention, since the spotlight falls on the subtle, at times almost solemn symphonic arrangements by Rick Benton. It’s a melancholic yet optimistically epic number of the kind we’ve been used to from Magnum since their early days.
“Some Kind of Treachery” is epic too, another one of the album’s highlights, and it brings back memories of those “bygone days” when Magnum were at their creative peak and Clarkin and Catley were a lot younger. “After the Silence” will also thrill everyone who loves the epic magic so typical of most of this cult band’s albums. Among the more unusual cuts is “Blue Tango”, which has a much more rock ‘n’roll rhythmic flavor than is usual for Magnum, but it comes off just as well.
“The Day He Lied” successfully ramps up the epic drama amid pompous symphonic arrangements. “The Seventh Darkness” will probably join the ranks of Magnum classics too. It’s one of the punchier and more complex pieces on the album, while an emulation of a sax sound on the keyboards adds a slight pinch of jazz. “Broken City” is a decent ballad that deepens the album’s melancholic nature. “I Wanna Live”, seasoned with a mighty chorus, tells you the song’s central message with its title and dramatic organ finale alone, and how its author wished he could (sur)vive on this earth for at least a little while longer. The closing, thoroughly solid “Borderline” reveals, even without digging too deep into the message or lyrics, that Clarkin didn’t have the border between two countries in mind, but the borderline between life and death.
If “Here Comes the Rain” really is their last studio act (it would be a big surprise if Catley decided to carry on with another guitarist and songwriter), Magnum have said goodbye in superb, almost ideal fashion. The fact that “Here Comes the Rain” became Magnum’s highest-charting album ever in German-speaking countries just days after release says a lot about its quality, too. What’s left for Magnum fans hungry for new music and live shows if this is the end is a big question mark right now. If nothing else, Catley will probably pick up his enviable solo career again, which has plenty of parallels with the musical legacy of his legendary band.
Author: Peter “Dr. ProgRock” Podbrežnik
Track list:
1. Run into the Shadows (5:22)
2. Here Comes the Rain (4:37)
3. Some Kind of Treachery (4:28)
4. After the Silence (4:34)
5. Blue Tango (5:26)
6. The Day He Lied (4:34)
7. The Seventh Darkness (4:41)
8. Broken City (4:39)
9. I Wanna Live (5:29)
10. Borderline (6:16)
Line-up:
Bob Catley – vocals
Tony Clarkin – guitar
Rick Benton – keyboards
Dennis Ward – bass guitar
Lee Morris – drums
Guest musicians:
Chris ‘BeeBe’ Aldridge – saxophone on track 7
Nick Dewhurst – trumpet on track 7
