Magnum initially formed back in 1972 in Birmingham, England. While listed as a Progressive Rock act, the group seemed to compose material more along the lines of anthem-like material, taking earlier Rock ideas and making the music sound a little heavier, as well as coming off somewhat epic at times. while the music isn't all that complex, it's rare to really find the band go all out into a Progressive direction, though moments where the music does seem to trail off into a more atmposphere-rich sound that could be argued takes ideas from the Space Rock genre as well. All of this shows nicely on The Visitation, an album that features more solid tracks from such a well establish Progressive Rock act, and it shows that, even after all this time, the group has no intentions of stopping any time soon, despite their long term career, and their hiatus between 1995 and 2001. They do, however, show signs of being a bit of a musical tease...
The overall feeling of The Visitation comes off more relaxed then anything, though still touting songs that feel both epic, and many times, uplifting. "Wild Angels" makes for a simple song by the band in the vein of a traditional Meat Loaf song, but mixed more with a stadium Rock Band of the early eighties. That era of music is something that sticks throughout the entire album, and really pushes many of the songs on this release, aiding them nicely to give them a little of an over-the-top feel. That song really becomes easy to get into with the soft, subtle, yet uplifting vocals, as well as subtle changes in the music itself throughout the song as it transitions between verse, chorus, bridge, and the like. "Spin like a Wheel" also comes off as one of these kinds of songs, and features a rather haunting, though still somewhat simple guitar solo that, if this were being performed live, would have the listener (or viewer in that case) breaking out a lighter and sway it in the air along with it. The added keyboards to the song also sound fantastic, but these same keyboards are also responsible for the more Space Rock moment of "The Visitation", a nice addition to the song, though feels a little out of place and not needed.
Outside of all that, one fo the more shining aspects of this release is the bass. To keep the music with that anthemic sound, the guitars are simpler and often held on more, giving off a more melodic feel to the release. With the guitars being played in this manner, of course the bass to pick up, and it essentially plays the guitar chord pattern that doesn't exist, and really just takes over the song to keep the general beat alive within the song. They are also just at the right level that you can hear them over everything, and don't necessarily overtake the entire album, though sometimes it could be drowned out by the keyboards at times, such as during "Freedom Day", which is a powerful song, though the bass being a little higher in the mix would be nice, which isn't entirely out of the question considering how crisp the production on this album is. While the recording has a genuinely digital and clearer sound to it, the album itself actually sounds more like a remastered studio effort from the eighties at times due to the music itself through the distortion and overall anthem sound, and a slightly muddied quality, but not enough to say it's not a clear-sounding release from modern technology.
The only real downfall is that you can tell the band still has some strength left in them. The Visitation is a very laid back album with songs that generally build as you go through it. Each track has a nice amount of variety to get them to stand out, and the building used throughout the songs from start to finish does come off a bit repetitive after a while, but it's just done so well that it doesn't become a problem. "Mother Nature's Final Dance" seems to change things up with that building pattern, and it honestly doesn't work out that well, as the building doesn't seem to occur from the verse to chorus until the very end of the chorus, and it just sounds a little off. But, for those subtle yet still somewhat well orchestrated and powerful changes in the building of power in each track, most of the time it feels a little restrained. Many times the listener will be sitting back listening and honestly waiting for the music to just crash to life with plenty of emotion and drive behind it, but it justn ever seems to happen. This is an insult considering "Black Skies" is the biggest tease of it, and in fact could easily be considered a nice mixture of Progressive Rock with some Power Metal influences. This is the only thing that holds the album back, though it works nicely for that and "Doors to Nowhere", but songs like "Freedom Day" and "Mother Nature's Final Dance" genuinely needed it for them to survive, but instead they are simply well performed songs that are catchy and addicting, but still leave a hole in the listener's heart.
Had Magnum been able to really use the building of emotion better on this release, The Visitation would have been a jaw dropping spectacular. There's plenty of fantastic tracks that will hook the listener instantly, but they are just lacking the emotion and drive that the music teases at having, and that's like a kick to the gut when it comes to this style of music. The subtle singing and laid back atmosphere of the recording suits the Progressive nature of the band nicely, and the production quality is top notch, making this an effort that music fans should definitely give more attention to then just a passing glance. Just don't expect a truly powerful and emotional album, but a more restricted effort that has the power and emotion chained down. It's understandable that it may be due to age, but given the talent and what power exists on this recording, it just feels like a terrible thing to waste for a release of this caliber.
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