Blades, Chains, Whips & Fire is the sophomore release from the Norwegian trio known as Magick Touch, and follows their acclaimed debut from 2015, Electrick Sorcery. Comprised of HK Rein on guitar and vocals, Bård Nordvik on drums, and Christer Ottesen on bass and vocals, Magick Touch carry their love of Thin Lizzy, KISS, Whitesnake, Deep Purple, and Led Zeppelin into their music, the songs here on Blades, Chains, Whips & Fire a combination of '70s & '80s hard rock, long on sizzling guitar licks and catchy vocal harmonies. One minute they deliver a hook laden '80s hard rock/metal gem in "Believe in Magick" (complete with a chorus that would have thrilled MTV audiences back in the day) and the next they are firing off gritty, blues based & wah-wah driven scorchers like "Under the Gun" and "Polonium Blues". "Siren Song" screams of early Europe as well as Dokken, while party rockers "After the Fire" and "The Great Escape" remind us why we loved all those early KISS records so much. They even crank out the epic, somewhat doomy title track to close things out, keeping the variety factor at full throttle.
Magick Touch are a trio that have a lot to offer, and this new release from them is a lot of fun, something that you should consider seeking out here at the beginning of 2018.
Track Listing
01 UNDER THE GUN 2:53
02 THE GREAT ESCAPE 2:56
03 MIDNITE SADUSA 3:39
04 BELIEVE IN MAGICK 3:36
05 POLONIUM BLUES 4:17
06 SIREN SONG 4:30
07 LOST WITH ALL HANDS 3:13
08 AFTER THE FIRE 4:10
09 ELECTRICK SORCERY 4:26
10 BLADES, CHAINS, WHIPS & FIRE 6:18