Tony Clarkin, guitarist for veteran UK rockers MAGNUM, is featured in a new interview with SeaOfTranquility.com. An excerpt from the story is available below:

By Steven Reid

With their new release The Visitation, it would be fair to suggest that Magnum have released one of the best albums of their career.

"We were starting from scratch when we reformed", says Tony, "But we have grown with every album since then, and I felt very confident about this album and those feelings just got stronger and stronger as it neared completion". So far the media have given The Visitation a very favourable reception, with the album receiving a five star review on SoT which Tony was delighted with. "Thanks for those kind words Steven, it really is an album we are very pleased with and are delighted it has been so well received and I have to say that I agree it is one of the strongest things we've ever done".

Like all good albums The Visitation makes a very favourable initial impression, but it is repeated listens that really reveal what a strong set of songs it contains. "The album developed exactly the way I wanted to", says Tony. "It has an instant impact, but with every listen you find something new". As with all the best Magnum albums, this release sees Tony mix up the vibe and mood across the disc and within the songs. "It's not something I consciously set out to do, but I write songs over a long period of time", Tony continues, "which gives me the chance to revisit the songs again and again to hopefully get nearer to what I hoped they would be. Ultimately I want to make an album that remains interesting to listen to".

Along with the excellent song writing, The Visitation also benefits from an excellent sound and while Tony produces the album (as he has since 1990 Keith Olsen produced Goodnight L.A.), they did do some things differently this time Tony explains. "We worked in the same studio as we usually do, but we used a different engineer this time, Sheena Seer who is great to work with, she's very fast and efficient". The other change the band made was in the backing vocals, "Normally Bob (Catley) does all the vocals and backing vocals", continues Tony, "But this time I wanted to use Al in this role to give the finished album a different texture. I think it worked out really well."

Go to this location for the complete story.

The Visitation is available in the following formats:

- Limited Edition Digipak
- Jewel Case
- Double Gatefold Vinyl
- Download

The Visitation tracklisting:

'Black Skies'

'Doors To Nowhere'

'The Visitation'

'Wild Angels'

'Spin Like A Wheel'

'The Last Frontier'

'Freedom Day'

'Mother Nature's Final Dance'

'Midnight Kings'

'Tonight's The Night'

Bonus DVD / Limited Edition Digipak:

The Visitation Lyrics

Live at the High Voltage Festival 2010 in London 2010 ('Brand New Morning', 'Les Morts Dansant', 'All My Bridges', 'When We Were Younger', 'Eyes Like Fire')

Behind The Artwork video with Al Barrow (with tracks 'The Moonking' and 'In My Minds Eye')

Rodney Matthews Artwork

Photo Galleries

Moonblog montage

Magnum will embark on a European tour in support of the new album in March / April 2011. Dates can be found at this location.