Album Review: Magnum - Dance of the Black Tattoo
Reviewed by Gareth Pugh
When rock legends and national treasure Magnum realised that their touring plans for 2020 (and possibly longer... who knows at this point?) were going to have to be shelved due to the COVID-19 pandemic, they hit upon the idea to do a compilation album, a companion if you will, to 2017's 'The Valley of Tears – The Ballads', but this time concentrating on the harder, rockier side of the bands material. And so 'Dance of the Black Tattoo' was born.
Tony Clarkin, guitarist, main man and songwriter took to the archives to seek out rare and alternative versions of some of the band’s heaviest songs. Clarkin also took the time to remaster and use all means at his disposal, to ensure that sonically the band sounded right at the top of their game. Consisting of 14 tracks, all of which were already previously released in some version or other, including seven live tracks, four radio edits and two bonus songs, the track list flows surprisingly well for a compilation, and the sound is also very consistent, some of these songs have never sounded so good.
Starting with a live quintet, "Black Skies" one of their darkest tracks, ominous, yet still uplifting, with a bitingly heavy riff, together with 'Freedom Day', both from 2012's 'The Visitation', starts off the proceedings with a bang, the band sound super-tight and very focused. 'All My Bridges' changes the dynamic a little bit, being a little bit more playful, but then the bona fide classic, from the album of the same name, 'On a Storytellers Night' and the very heavy title-track 'Dance of the Black Tattoo' (from 2013's 'On the 13th Day') help make for a very strong opening salvo.
A couple of older studio cuts come next, radio edits of the wonderful anti-war track 'On Christmas Day' and the old fan favourite 'Born to be King', this version was only available on vinyl or download previously, and both tracks sound fantastic, with a slightly stripped down arrangement. The next two tracks were only available as exclusive bonus cuts on the 2016 'Sacred Blood - Divine Lies' album, and show just how strong a songwriter Clarkin is, how these were only bonus cuts is a wonder, 'Phantom of Paradise Circus' and especially 'No God or Saviour', both being very strong and really quite heavy, and it's only right they get a bit more attention than before. Two rare live versions of songs from the same studio album come next, the slightly flimsy 'Your Dreams Won't Die' and the much more robust 'Twelve Men Wise and Just', before ending with three radio edits, 'Show Me Your Hands', 'Not Forgiven' and 'Madman Or Messiah' from the last two studio albums: 'Lost on the Road to Eternity' and 'The Serpent Rings' respectively, and actually they are very effective versions, actually coming across as more punchy and succinct than their full length counterparts.
All in all, this is a very good compilation, I especially recommend it if you're new to the band and want a good starting point, or if you're a more casual fan of the band, but haven't heard all of their latest releases, or indeed if you just prefer the harder edge of the band's sound. If you're already a massive fan, then you might want to look at the track list before commitment, but I think Tony has done a great job of finding rare alternatives to the standard versions. One last thing I have to mention is the stunning cover art by long-time collaborator Rodney Matthews, it's every bit as good as you'd expect, and really captures the spirit of this release. Great to hear the band is still on top of their game, and here's hoping their planned tour, for later in the year goes ahead.
