MAGNUM - "SACRED BLOOD 'DIVINE' LIES" (2015)

MAGNUM - "SACRED BLOOD 'DIVINE' LIES"
(Running time: 54:26 minutes; 10 songs)
("Steamhammer"/"SPV"; 2015; CD+DVD limited version):

Next one's coming in and we'll remain a little bit in the year 2015 with this record review being again a record review on a 2015 album and here and now we will have a closer look on the 2015 MAGNUM album "SACRED BLOOD 'DIVINE' LIES", the 19th regular full length album by this British Grandmasters of Rock/Hard Rock music (live and compilation albums not counted here and now) in a now 45 years spanning career, and it's also for all what I know their current regular full length album to date with having released since then just a "THE BALLADS" or so titled compilation album more or less recently this year, I guess. I knew MAGNUM before this one, to be honest, not really at all (I know, shame on me), some of their "hits" (I guess) were known to me but beside this bunch of songs not much else. When I then read two years ago a lot of very interesting and positive reviews on "SACRED BLOOD 'DIVINE' LIES" I got curious and when I finally saw it in the local media store I grabbed it, bought it and took it with me, and it convinced me pretty much right from the start. This is just damn fresh and intersting, exciting and from start to finish grapping, very heavy and yet symphonic-melodic Hard Rock of the premium kind and with some nice strong Rock/AOR marks in it all, and it is also very self-contained/independently done with a huge own identity and a pretty unique own character, with big bombastic elements/arrangements and all delivered with overwhelming playfulness. The songwriting is pretty diverse and all the time high skilled, covering a wide area or stretch/distance of truly wide emotions, tones/tonings, and moods, not to talk about all the majestic changes of the paces and in the rhythmic architecture and the arrangements of the songs as well as in the dramaturgy of the strong tension building and atmospehric close songs. This is really high skilled stuff the premium way and it's a really grapping album, very intense and it really stands out even still today with already being two years old now. It's an exciting musical roller coaster ride and a, if you want so, pure "joyride" for sure with a lot of little, huge surprises in it all. Gorgeous, diverse, sensitive and melodic yet stunningly heavy guitars mark and carry the songs in combination with the fantastic piano/keyboard playing and the bright shining melodic and still pretty heavy or maybe better strong done clear lead vocals with that charismatic tone to it, and the fantastic tight, precise, diverse, and to the point played rhythm section is then backing everything up in a beefy and bulky way and is so giving the songs the/their final heavy punch, and all done highest skilled. First class expressive lyrics, a brilliant and gorgeous artwork, and a warm yet bonedry and heavy production sound are then rounding everything just beautifully up. My personal favorites are the title track and opener "SACRED BLOOD 'DIVINE' LIES", "PRINCESS IN RAGS (THE CULT)", "AFRAID OF THE NIGHT", "A FORGOTTEN CONVERSATION", "QUIET RHAPSODY", and "DON'T CRY BABY" and that are purest gems you simply need to know, period. And in my book the only really weak or at least weaker song is the personally for me just too corny ballad "YOUR DREAMS WON'T DIE" that I skip more or less always, but that's at the end just a matter of personal taste and says pretty much nothing about the musical quality of this particular song. So, with all this said, with "SACRED BLOOD 'DIVINE' LIES" the mighty MAGNUM delivered us one hell of a great album and to every Rock/Hard Rock fan out there I can only highly recommend it and this also still today with now being already two years old. The bonus DVD is also pretty nice stuff and offers us also three strong bonus songs that are more than worth listening. Okay, so I guess you know what you should do now in case you still don't have  or know it. So, yes, with having said everything I am signing out for today and so I wish you all a nice saturday, enjoy your weekend, I'll try it as well... and you read from me again more or less soon or so. Bye.

(9 of 10 points)

http://www.magnumonline.co.uk/ (-the link to the homepage of the band)

MAGNUM - "SACRED BLOOD 'DIVINE' LIES" (2015, "SACRED BLOOD 'DIVINE' LIES")