THE VISITATION

A band that has been around for the better part of four decades, English rockers Magnum have already long proven that their arena-oriented, highly melodic brand of rock music can stand the test of time, appealing to multiple generations of listeners. Evidently refusing to let down their pace, the band is releasing their 16th full-length in 2011, entitled 'The Visitation.' While the album presents the same anthemic brand of melodic rock that's now easily associated with the AOR sound and it is nothing really new in terms of sound, 'The Visitation' sports some of the most achieved production values for Magnum yet in their career, as well as some generally good songwriting to keep things moving along nicely.

With the soaring, melodic and crunchy style popularized by such acts as Foreigner and Journey, Magnum's sound doesn't fall far from the AOR umbrella, but it's clear that the band has put some more thought into each track than might be expected for another band of the type. Always making sure to throw a few hints of progressive rock into their songwriting, there are some very keen musical surprises in the music that help give an added jolt of interest to the otherwise generally straightforward structures here. The title track for example, throws a powerfully atmospheric electronic section into the middle of the song, and 'The Last Frontier' develops into an orchestral blow-out. As a rule however, the majority of the music on 'The Visitation' takes the shape of melodic rock, which.while well-done, still feels a bit dated in context.

In front of the mix on 'The Visitation' are the powerful vocals of singer Bob Catley, a musician whose charisma and warm tone seem to have only grown and fermented with time. While the rest of the instruments here frankly don't feel very extraordinary in their performance, Catley's voice manages to faithfully drive each of the album's ten tracks. Lyrically, there's little wordplay here and things are kept very straightforward, but the topics covered here are thought-provoking, ranging from the environment ('Mother Nature's Last Dance') to human rights ('Freedom Day.') All in all, there's no complaint about the lyrics, but they don't really contribute to the enjoyment of the album too much either.

The undeniable highlight of the album is the dynamic opener, 'Black Skies,' a track that has every great thing about Magnum rolled into one; strong melodies, contrast, and powerful delivery. Also of keen interest is the title track 'The Visitation,' which starts off as a pretty standard melodic rock number, but develops into something very different and interesting a couple of minutes in. 'The Visitation' will likely not be on the top of my list by the end of 2011, but it's a good way to ring in the year nonetheless. A fair addition to this band's career.

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