For two decades Magnum have been releasing great albums with almost uncanny consistency. "The Serpent Rings", their 21st studio album since their debut in 1978, is no exception. Although no one who has spurned the music of the Middle English so far can be disabused, songwriter and guitarist Tony Clarkin and his colleagues make sure that the band does not get bogged down in routine.
"Making bad albums would be a waste of life at our age," singer Bob Catley recently joked in an eclipsed interview. But he's actually right: You have to make a damn effort to remember a mediocre or even bad Magnum album. On the other hand, with the exception of a few overtracks in the last decade, they haven't produced a big album anymore.
Since their reunion in 2001 Magnum, the pomp hardrockers from the Black Country, have been known for their consistently high quality. The fans were more than satisfied, but masterpieces like "Chase The Dragon" (1982) or even "On A Storyteller's Night" (1985) didn't come close. "Sacred Blood 'Divine' Lies", the eighth work since the reunification of the main protagonists Tony Clarkin and Bob Catley, will probably not be considered a Magnum classic one day. But that it is one of the most rewarding recordings of the second band phase is obvious. We talked to founding member Bob Catley about it.
eclipsed: Apart from your family, is there anyone close to you as your guitarist and sole songwriter, Tony Clarkin, with whom you've been working since 1972, except for the six-year silence at Magnum? In other words: Is Tony the most important person in your life?
SPIDERGAWD - No Man's Land (3:52)
Album: III (2016)
Label/Distribution: Crispin Glover/Stickman/Soulfood
www.spidergawd.no
Spidergawd were more than just a motor psycho side project from the beginning, even though half of the quartet consists of Norwegian Trondheim motor psycho members (Bent Saether on bass and Kenneth Kapstad on drums). Spidergawd are a vehicle in their own right, as in the furious "No Man's Land".
PINK FLOYD
In Concert 1974
The star is the music. This was always the credo of Pink Floyds. Nothing should distract from the music and its sound, primarily not the musicians themselves. Nevertheless, the English formation had already had a reputation on their psychedelic days for offering their audience live happenings rather than concerts.
LIVE! LIVE! LIVE!
14 classic live releases of the year 1974
THE DOORS
Myth of the Resurrection
What would The Doors be without Jim Morrison? Or the other way around, what would Jim Morrison be without The Doors? Morrison is an icon, the Doors are a legend. A myth that is refreshed every few years with a new compilation. 40 years after the release of their cult debut The Doors now let all their samplers lead into a "The Very Best Of". But who needs a new Doors compilation? After all, no new material has been added for 35 years, and the only two albums without Morrison were never released on CD.
ECLIPSED IN BERLIN
