Magnum
Chase The Dragon


4.0
excellent

Review

by menawati USER (94 Reviews)
April 9th, 2014 | 18 replies


Release Date: 1982 | Tracklist

Review Summary: Magnum's finest sacred hour.

The slow, inevitable decline of Magnum after this particular high point in their long career finds them, to this day, still churning out their cheesy brand of limp commercial rock to a faithful set of die-hards. But back in 1982 the energy was high, their eyes were still bright and lynchpin Tony 'The Hat' Clarkin was fairly brimming over with ideas. After two promising but inconsistent independent releases marred by piss-poor production and embarrassingly inept adventures in boogie rock, Jet Records picked up the Birmingham based quintet and sent them into the studio to record 'Chase The Dragon'. The album was a cult hit which sent them hurtling into the Top 20 album chart in the UK and when you listen to this triumphant slice of melodic pomp rock you can hear why.

From the dramatic hard rock riffs and swirling keys of the opener 'Soldier Of The Line' it is immediately apparent that the band came of age on this record. This is pomp-rock at its finest. Unbridled zeal and enthusiasm soaks through the whole record and there is not a hint of self-conciousness in sight, which is quite a feat considering the corniness of the material on offer. The unabashed church hall majesty of 'Sacred Hour' is a case in point. Deeply reverberated grand pianos create a regal backdrop for Bob Catley's ardent vocals while the song builds to a compulsive medley of pompous hard rock riffing and florid synthesizer. There is nothing particularly experimental or ground-breaking going on here but Tony Clarkin's inventiveness is in full show. Crowd favourite 'The Spirit' drips sentiment and bombast with its grandiose harpsichord passages and impassioned vocals but Clarkin's ever inventive aggressive riffing lends it a healthy dose of muscle to offset the treacle. In fact, the main reason for this album's ascendancy in Magnum's lengthy discography is that the band's natural propensity for saccharin melody rides on a much harder edge than was usual for them.

Pomposity is not often considered to be a desirable trait in a person. Being 'irritatingly grand' within an artistic expression is seldom admired either. Whether the music of Magnum will irritate you or not is, of course, down to your own tastes but it will depend to a large extent on how you react to your in built aversion to cheese. Yes, this record is a churning sickly mass of fermented curd. It's overblown, grandiose, overtly sentimental and incredibly uncool. But if you can handle that then get out the water biscuits, crack out a bottle of red and tuck in. Because this thing is brimming over with sing-a-long choruses, soaring melodies and more killer hooks than a Hellraiser movie.



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user ratings (47)
3.9
excellent


Comments:Add a Comment 
menawati
April 9th 2014


16739 Comments

Album Rating: 4.0

Very cheesy music but if you can handle that it's pretty fine.



Sacred Hour - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TvjiIHtG7Ws

Soldier of the Line - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QUspqZhPHXs

The Spirit - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jyVKwzjtSHk

Kingdom of Madness http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4hnpYXU3pao



Voivod
Staff Reviewer
April 9th 2014


10990 Comments


Very cheesy music

Does this apply for the new album too?




one tiny correction

Bob Catlin's ardent vocals

I think it's Bob Catley.

menawati
April 9th 2014


16739 Comments

Album Rating: 4.0

New album is cheesy yes, all of their stuff is, it's very forgettable though. They did a couple after

this that had some decent tunes but most of it is pretty average.



Catley yes thanks I think I was muddling up Catley and Clarkin, i'll change it.

manosg
Emeritus
April 9th 2014


12710 Comments

Album Rating: 3.5

So this is toward the AOR side?

Atari
Staff Reviewer
April 9th 2014


28012 Comments


good review, that album art is perfect. gotta check

Calc
April 10th 2014


17478 Comments


"more killer hooks than a Hellraiser movie."

love this bit man lol.

Hyperion1001
Emeritus
April 10th 2014


27313 Comments


cool review

pretty sure the intro to this song ripped off sacred hour: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SD8A036sZes

menawati
April 10th 2014


16739 Comments

Album Rating: 4.0

cheers guys

wouldn't call it AOR mano more like melodic medieval pomp rock (if that really means anything)



wow Hyperion that song is a complete rip-off indeed

manosg
Emeritus
April 10th 2014


12710 Comments

Album Rating: 3.5

Seems interesting. All wrapped up in a nwobhm cover art. Will listen today.

manosg
Emeritus
April 10th 2014


12710 Comments

Album Rating: 3.5

Very good album indeed. The Spirit is definitely my favorite from this one. Anything more worth checking by these guys?

menawati
April 11th 2014


16739 Comments

Album Rating: 4.0

the 3 after this you might find something you like on, storyteller's night is generally considered their best altho it doesnt compare to this in my opinion

vonseux
February 27th 2016


366 Comments


@manosg my favourite Magnum albums are actually "Princess Alice and The Broken Arrow" and "Into the valley of the moon king" they released on the 2000's. "Wings of Heaven" and "Storytellers Night" are pretty good too. All the other albums have great songs, but's mostly average.

Sabrutin
February 27th 2016


9843 Comments

Album Rating: 3.0

New one ain't bad.

Sabrutin
September 25th 2017


9843 Comments

Album Rating: 3.0

Kingdom of Madness >>>

Dewinged
Staff Reviewer
September 25th 2017


32219 Comments

Album Rating: 3.5

Gotta agree with Sab there.

Sabrutin
September 25th 2017


9843 Comments

Album Rating: 3.0

Sweet, a comment and an agreement, thought I couldn't get any of both. :D



This album has a bit of an inoffensive flavour that makes it hard for me to digest it. KoM has its poppy tracks sure but I find it a lot more memorable and it's basically a 40 minutes suite and I looove that

zakalwe
July 2nd 2019


40417 Comments


Fucking legendary

Dewinged
Staff Reviewer
January 31st 2022


32219 Comments

Album Rating: 3.5

Listening to this again today, how good is Sacred Hour and how skippable is Walking The Straight Line.



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