Hailing from the south-western coastal town of Bergen, Norway’s Magick Touch release their second album Blades, Chains, Whips & Fire. The trio formed in 2014 and released their first album Electric Sorcery in 2015. With great riffs, good harmonies and plenty of hard-rocking songs that make you want to raise your fist to the sky, Magick Touch have delivered an album full of quality that easily matches anything that was produced by the great hard rock bands of the ’70s and ’80s. While heavy on the influences, Magick Touch definitely has their own unique identity while providing some excellent classic hard rock songs.
The opening track “Under The Gun” sets the standard for the album with the signature wah-laden guitar of HK Rein locking in with bass player Christer Ottesen and drummer Bard Nordvik to create their classic hard rock sound. “The Great Escape” begins with another example of the great riffs that drive this band to exciting places which when combined with the melodic chorus just takes this song to another level.
“Believe In Magic” sees Magic Touch take us on a journey back to the ’80s with a simple but catchy riff and an excellent vocal performance from HK Rein. The best riffs are always the simplest, with the bass pounding away and the drums providing a solid core for the song. The Polonium Blues swaggers its way through the beginning of this song and is jolted into life in the middle by a high-energy solo before returning to the bluesy swagger of the start. “After The Fire” finds the band locking into the solid groove which they continue to find with incredible ease while building to a melodic chorus that will have you singing along loudly.
“Lost With All Hands” once again highlights the band’s ability to keep the killer riffs flowing from start-to-finish on this album. The final and longest song, “Blades, Chains, Whips & Fire” begins with Middle-Eastern groove and sees HK Rein deliver his most menacing vocal performance of the album. The extra length of this song allows the band to show their craftsmanship with the more complicated arrangement allowing them to work their way through several different time signatures and also show their darker side.
The only thing needed to make this album any better is a good group of hard rock loving mates, a bbq crammed full of meat and several cartons of beer. This album is an impressive collection of hard rock songs that will easily stack up against any challengers both old and new.
