Magick Touch are a three-piece power rock trio from Norway. Their new album Blades, Chains, Whips and Fire builds upon, their debut album of two years back, Electrick Sorcery, which went some way in introducing the band to the rock fraternity. Certainly, rock fans of a certain age will have no difficulty identifying the source of the band’s influences. Magick Touch are heavily influenced by seventies and eighties acts of the likes of Whitesnake, Lizzy, Purple, etc. What they play is somewhere midway between heavy metal and classic rock. They’re neither a full-on metal band or an AOR sounding band. But the songs on this new album, whilst often heavy in tone, are also melodic and in some instances, even radio-friendly as there’re a couple of good singles here. This is an album which improves on their debut album and shows that Magick Touch have upped their game.
What’s particularly pleasing about this album is that none of the songs are overlong, most coming in at four minutes or less, with only the title track exceeding the six-minute mark. What they play are songs rather than ground out heavy riffs, with the songs punctuated by some quite splendid guitar licks from HK Rein.
The opening track, ‘Under The Gun’, gives a good foretaste of what’s to come. It’s a fast rocking number that has been released as a single. Whilst it’s unlikely to trouble the R.2 playlists anytime soon, it’s a good taster for what’s been heralded in some quarters as a much anticipated second album.
‘Polonium Blues’ gives a nod to Black Sabbath and is part bluesy in its feel, while ‘The Great Escape’ is reminiscent of Lizzy’s ‘The Rocker’ in places, and is a short but very punchy number. The concluding track, which is also the title track, is perhaps a curious choice to end the album with, being a slow almost bluesy piece, after some of the power rock which preceded it.
But that shouldn’t detract from what is overall a good, honest, basic rock album. Magick Touch haven’t reinvented the wheel here. Instead, they’ve come up with an enjoyable album of power rock, an album which’ll have fans reaching for those air guitars.
