Here's another band you can just count on year in and year out, album after album, song after song...even expect them to bring in the new year almost every year with a brand new platter of new music. That's right, we're talking about the UK's very own Magnum, who are now 22 studio albums into their career, and what a career it's been, despite still being practically unknown here in North America. The Monster Roars is another triumph from this veteran band, their perfect plenty of melodic rock, hard rock, and a touch of prog & pop ever housed within instantly engaging and classy songs, written by the always dependable Tony Clarkin and sung by the ageless Bob Catley. For The Monster Roars the band have delivered a dozen new anthems, each one chock full of those irresistible melodies and classic instrumentation we've come to expect from them.
Kicking off with the spectacular 1-2-3 punch of "The Monster Roars", "Remember", and "All You Believe In" sets the bar high, and it doesn't let up from there. There's the bright, hooky "I Won't Let You Down", the soaring and slightly proggy "The Present Not the Past", the symphonic rock of "No Steppin' Stones" (horns in a Magnum song? Yep, it works!), the heavy rocking "Your Blood is Violence", the upbeat, ultra catchy "The Day After the Night Before"...I could go on and on here, but I think you get the point. Excellent production that delivers crisp guitar work, majestic keyboards, rock solid rhythms, and yes, those one-of-a-kind vocals from Catley, make for an instantly engaging listen from very first note.
About the only thing that's lacking here is album cover artwork from Rodney Matthews, who generally has his work adorn every release from Magnum but sadly not this one. Regardless, The Monster Roars is another in a long line of excellent late period releases from this longstanding rock band, who still mysteriously aren't a household name in a good chunk of the world, and they absolutely should be.
Track Listing
1. The Monster Roars
2. Remember
3. All You Believe In
4. I Won't Let You Down
5. The Present Not The Past
6. No Steppin' Stones
7. That Freedom Word
8. Your Blood Is Violence
9. Walk The Silent Hours
10. The Day After The Night Before
11. Come Holy Men
12. Can't Buy Yourself Heaven
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